The fight is impossible: WBC makes new statement on suspension of Russian boxers

Mauricio Sulaimán, President of the World Boxing Council (WBC), has reiterated that his organization will not hold fights with Russians because of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. For this reason, the fight for the title of absolute heavyweight champion of the world between Artur Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs) and Dmitry Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) is impossible today.

Sulaimán said this in an interview with the Boxing News YouTube channel. He rejected accusations that Dagestani Beterbiev is only hiding behind a Canadian passport to circumvent sanctions against representatives of the aggressor country, while Bivol has not applied to the WBC about his status.

"We have said several times that Bivol should contact us and explain why we should not consider him a Russian. Because we don't allow citizens of Russia and Belarus to fight, we don't take them into account in the rankings, we don't support athletes from these two countries. However, Bivol has not been in contact with us for many months. It's simple. If Dmitry believes that he is being treated badly and that we should give him a different status, he should contact us. Beterbiev. Arthur has been living in Canada for 15 years. He has a Canadian passport and a Canadian boxing license. His children were born in Canada. This is a completely different story," Sulaimán said.

Earlier, the WBC insists that the owner of the organization's belt, Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs), should hold a unification fight with Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs).

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, Dmytro Bivol was outraged by the WBC's decision due to sanctions against Russia, noting that he was born in Kyrgyzstan.

Only verified information on our Telegram channel Obozrevatel and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!