By Vadim Pushkin
Russian citizen Dmitry Bivol is focused on securing the opportunity to fight for the WBA "regular" light heavyweight title in the near future, according to his manager Vadim Kornilov.
Last Thursday in Russia, Bivol impressed by retaining his WBA "interim" title for the first time with a four round stoppage of New Zealand veteran Robert Berridge.
Bivol captured the WBA belt in only his seventh fight last May when he won a unanimous decision over 13-0 Felix Valera.
The WBA "regular" title is currently held by Nathan Cleverly of Wales. Cleverly captured the title last year from Juergen Braehmer. There was a rematch clause in place and the two fighters are in discussions for a second fight.
If the Cleverly vs. Braehmer rematch is not made, Bivol is ready to fight Cleverly as soon as possible. If the rematch does go forward, then Bivol will wait patiently to fight the winner.
The sanctioning body is looking to downsize the number of titles per division. The WBA "super title" at 175 is owned by Andre Ward, who is contractually bound to face Sergey Kovalev next.
Kornilov also reveals that Bivol might return to the United States for some ring action this year. Bivol has already fought twice on American soil.
"In the near future Bivol will get the opportunity to fight for the regular WBA belt. They are currently negotiating a rematch between Cleverly and Braehmer. Thus, the fight for Bivol for the regular title can be arranged immediately after that rematch, or if the parties fail to agree to the rematch - then Bivol can fight with Cleverly," Kornilov said to Vasily Konov.
"There are also developments and possibilities that Bivol could fight in April and he might be able to perform in the United States."
26-year-old Bivol is being fast-tracked. The dangerous prospect has an undefeated record with nine victories and seven of them coming in by way of knockout.
