Dmitry Bivol

Dmitry Yuryevich Bivol (Russian: Дмитрий Юрьевич Бивол; born 18 December 1990) is a Russian professional boxer. He won the undisputed light-heavyweight title in February 2025, and has held the unified championship since April 2025, as well as the International Boxing Organization (IBO) and Ring magazine titles since February 2025. Previously, he held the World Boxing Association (WBA) light-heavyweight title (Super version) from 2019 to 2024. He also held the IBO title during his first reign as champion.

As an amateur, Bivol won the gold medal at the 2013 World Combat Games in the 81 kg weight category. He was listed by multiple sources as the fighter of the year for 2022, including being selected as The Ring magazine Fighter of The Year and as the Boxing Writers Association of America's Fighter of the Year. He is the only boxer to defeat two reigning undisputed world champions in the "four-belt era," with his victories over super-middleweight champion Canelo Álvarez and light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev, though only his fight with Beterbiev was for the undisputed championship, as his fight with Álvarez was for the WBA light heavyweight title. He is also the first fighter to go the distance with Beterbiev, a feat he accomplished twice in a row, first losing by majority decision and then winning by majority decision.

Early life

Dmitry Bivol's father was born in the Moldavian SSR, while his mother is an ethnic Korean born in the Kazakh SSR.

Bivol's parents moved to the Kirgiz SSR after graduating and marrying. He was born and raised in Tokmok, in what is now Kyrgyzstan, until the age of 11, when he moved to Saint Petersburg in the Russian Federation after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.