Unified light heavyweight champ Dmitry Bivol has recovered from minor back surgery and now, is ready for a quick return in 2026.
Dmitry Bivol has healed and is ready to resume ruling the light heavyweight division.
After undergoing back surgery in August, the Russian Bivol is apparently targeting a return to full training next month, with hopes of making his long-delayed IBF mandatory 175 lb. title defense, according to insider Dan Rafael and his "Fight Freaks Unite" Substack.
Bivol’s manager, Vadim Kornilov, told Rafael that, while the recovery process is still ongoing, the outlook is cautiously optimistic.
“Dmitry is planning to start training in February,” Kornilov said. “Hopefully, he feels good and we can return starting with the IBF mandatory in due time. It’s hard to say right now whether his back is 100 percent. He has just started moving around and hitting the heavy bag lightly in the recent week or so.”
The 34-year-old Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) had a relatively quiet 2025 in terms of activity, fighting only once, but the bout proved to be the most significant of his career. In February, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he earned a majority 12 round decision win over longtime rival, fellow Russian Artur Beterbiev, in their immediate rematch, capturing the undisputed light heavyweight championship and avenging his first professional loss.
Their initial meeting in October 2024, also in Riyadh, ended in a narrow majority decision win for Beterbiev and made him the first undisputed light heavyweight champion in 25 years, since Roy Jones Jr. unified the division in 1999. Bivol’s rematch victory restored balance to the rivalry and elevated him to the top of the division, albeit briefly.
Bivol’s undisputed reign lasted only six weeks. In April, he vacated the WBC world title rather than comply with an ordered mandatory defense against American David Benavidez. Benavidez was subsequently elevated from interim champion to full titleholder. Bivol made the decision in order to honor a commitment to a planned third bout with Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs), who is now 42.
Watch Bivol get his revenge against Beterbiev here:
That trilogy fight was tentatively scheduled for October in Riyadh, but plans shifted in July when Saudi Entertainment Authority head Turki Alalshikh granted permission for the bout to take place in Russia, where IBA officials hoped to stage it. Ultimately, the fight failed to materialize, and Bivol chose to address his lingering back issues, surgically.
Before undergoing surgery, Bivol’s team had already begun discussions with Germany’s Michael Eifert (13-1, 5 KOs), who became the IBF mandatory challenger in March 2023. Eifert stepped aside to allow the Beterbiev-Bivol rematch to proceed with all four belts on the line and has not fought since August 2024, while waiting for his title opportunity. Due to the surgery, the IBF granted Bivol a medical exception to delay the mandatory defense.
“We are very time sensitive with the IBF,” Kornilov said. “I am hoping that if all goes by plan, we can be ready to fight by April.”
Looking ahead, Kornilov did not rule out the possibility of a rubber match with Beterbiev if Bivol successfully returns.
“We will consider the biggest opportunity, of course,” he said. “If Turki still has interest in the third fight, we would definitely embrace the opportunity if it makes sense for everybody.”
Bivol could also elect to fight Benavidez later in the year, who has become a PPV star at light heavyweight and is looking to move up to cruiserweight and potentially fight unified champ, Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez in May.