Bivol Turned Down $8 Million Offer to Fight Benavidez

WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman has revealed that Dmitry Bivol rejected a lucrative $8 million offer to face David Benavidez in a mandated bout. The fight had been ordered due to Benavidez’s status as interim champion and mandatory challenger for the full WBC title.

According to Sulaiman, Bivol turned down the offer despite it being nearly three times higher than what he earned for his second fight against unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev.

Reportedly, Bivol earned $2.7 million for that second bout and approximately $10 million across both fights with Beterbiev.

Bivol’s legal team explained the reasoning behind their decision, but Sulaiman later dismissed their arguments as “absurd.”