Dmitry Bivol WILL, it appears, still fight on June 1 – but not many people expected him to be fighting THIS opponent.
The Russian superstar WBA light-heavyweight king had been tabbed to meet Artur Beterbiev in that long-awaited unification bout at 175bs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
But then last week we got the devastating news that Beterbiev had ruptured a meniscus in his knee and will be out of action until September.
Beterbiev vs Bivol then must wait, and attention switched to whether Bivol would still feature on that blockbusting June 1 show – which of course also boasts that stellar Eddie Hearn vs Frank Warren 5 on 5 contest.
Now, it appears, we have the answer. It is in the affirmative with something of a surprise across the ring from the 22-0 Bivol.
For the 33-year-old fistic genius will lock horns with Libyan light-heavy Malik Zinad (22-0 with 16 wins inside distance).
Who is Malik Zinad?
To say this is a big step up for the 30-year-old Zinad would be something of an understatement. Just a couple of weeks ago he was beating Jerome Pampellone by majority decision in an IBF eliminator in Sydney. In a few weeks he’ll be fighting the true elite of the light-heavyweight division.
The Tripoli-born Zinad, who fights orthodox and now resides in Malta, turned pro in 2015, is not currently in the top 15 with the WBA, but he is ranked #2 by the IBF after that win over Pampellone.
What happens to 5 on 5?
That Hearn vs Warren 5 on 5 card of course will go on with Bivol now meeting Zinad instead of Beterbiev. But it does mean one major change – the show topper.
Now the show will be topped by that heavyweight blockbuster pitting Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang.
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