By Ricardo Lezama 
Dmitry Bivol has vacated his WBC light heavyweight title, opting to pursue a trilogy fight with Artur Beterbiev instead of facing mandatory challenger David Benavidez. This decision comes just before the scheduled purse bids for the Bivol-Benavidez bout. Through a lawyer, Dmitry Bivol vacated the WBC belt and opted to avoid his mandatory there in order to satisfy the demands of Saudi Arabia’s Entertainment minister, Sheik Turki Al Sheik.
The fight was much anticipated by fight fans who have come to find the exchanges between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev abut predictable. Benavidez, who fights with a promotional outfit that is a rival to Turki’s TKO boxing project, could have brought a new element to the undisputed dynamic.
Curiosly, Turki Al Sheik has been the subject of some criticism and skepticism from Paulie Malignaggi,a fan friendly retired Italian American boxer.
Malignaggi noted that major television distributors ran away from a considerably more fighter friendly boxing promoter in Daniel Kinahan’s MTK promotions due to alleged connections with the drug trade. However, those same distributors were willing to collaborate with Turki despite numerous links to heinous human rights atrocities.
Thus, it’s not a stretch of the imagination to assume that Sheik could be resorting to strong arm tactics on fighters, like Bivol, who have dealt with him under favorable business conditions. The endgame would be to prevent a major event from a rival boxing outfit.
Impact on David Benavidez
As a result of Bivol’s vacating the title, David Benavidez, who held the interim WBC light heavyweight title, has been elevated to full champion status. Benavidez is expected to make his first defense of the WBC title in the coming months, with potential opponents including WBO interim champion Callum Smith.