Undisputed light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol says he’s eager to break his tie with Artur Beterbiev – but that it might not happen until the end of the year.

Bivol told DAZN interviewer Claudia Trejos that he hopes their rubber match will take place in November or December. 

Bivol had told reporters after their rematch in February, which he won by majority decision, that he needed some time to recover from injuries and had been able to get through training camp with the help of anti-inflammatories.

“I hope November-December, I will have a chance to have a fight,” said Bivol, 24-1 (12 KOs).

Bivol was in Saudi Arabia to watch the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. William Scull undisputed super middleweight championship fight. Bivol, 34, rose to pound-for-pound prominence in 2022 by defeating Alvarez by unanimous decision. He says the secret to winning was that he believed in himself.

“I think I was just myself without fear because most of his opponents, they have fear, and they don’t do what they can do and they’re very tight mentally and the body, they don’t throw enough punches. This is the most important,” said Bivol.