Within the newest effort to sabotage all of the work it took to create an undisputed champion, unbeaten, four-belt light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev discovered Wednesday that he faces a compulsory struggle with an obscure opponent or dangers being stripped of his Worldwide Boxing Federation strap.
Lower than 100 hours faraway from his stirring majority choice overcome then-unbeaten WBA champion and Russian countryman Dmitry Bivol, Beterbiev, 21-0 (20 KOs) was knowledgeable that he’s on the hook to struggle little-known Michael Eifert, 13-1 (5 KOs) of Germany.
The apparent query is one {that a} consultant of Beterbiev promoter Prime Rank requested Wednesday: “Who’s Michael Eifert?”
Regardless of Bivol’s attraction for a direct rematch and the sunshine heavyweight presence of unbeatens David Benavidez and David Morrell and the WBO’s top-ranked contender Anthony Yarde, Eifert, 26, discovered his option to the highest of the IBF rankings by defeating an aged Jean Pascal by unanimous choice in March 2023 after which scoring a second-round TKO of lesser-known Carlos Eduardo Jimenez (13-6) in August.
Take into account all of the wondrous choices earlier than Beterbiev, 39, at this hour: a Bivol rematch, the winner of the early 2025 Benavidez-Morrell bout or perhaps a showdown with just lately undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
Prime Rank Chairman Bob Arum stated he seeks to conduct a dinner assembly in December with Alvarez coach/supervisor Eddy Reynoso when Reynoso and Alvarez are anticipated to attend the Dec. 7 WBO super-featherweight title struggle of Reynoso-trained Oscar Valdez in Phoenix.
“We take a look at Eddy Reynoso and Canelo as buddies … I wish to sit down and have a meal with them and broach the topic,” Arum advised BoxingScene Wednesday.
At this hour, unbeaten former super-middleweight champion Benavidez, 29-0 (24 KOs) is WBC interim light-heavyweight champion and in addition stands as that group’s necessary for Beterbiev.
The IBF is professing Eifert is the first-in-line necessary, once more casting the group because the saboteur of an undisputed champion after earlier this yr ruling that Daniel Dubois had the power to exchange unbeaten undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk days after Usyk’s thrilling win in Saudi Arabia over Tyson Fury.
The IBF then stripped Alvarez for not combating his little-known necessary William Scull, who was given the belt and defends it for the primary time Saturday in Germany towards Russia’s Vladimir Shishkin – a struggle so uncompelling that it’s not being streamed/televised within the U.S.
“These organizations are actually destroying the game by not permitting the fighters to stay undisputed. It’s actually unhappy,” Arum stated. “The IBF, specifically, will get carried away with itself.
“All of those organizations ought to sit down collectively after an undisputed title struggle and determine whom the champion ought to struggle subsequent. And actually, after turning into undisputed, that fighter ought to be capable of struggle whomever he pleases.”
Prime Rank President Todd DuBoef reminded that his firm has labored diligently to maneuver its fighters towards undisputed place among the many 4 sanctioning our bodies – the IBF, WBC, WBO and WBA.
The record contains Terence Crawford, Josh Taylor, Devin Haney, Fury (who misplaced) and now Beterbiev. All of these reigns had been short-lived due to necessary obligations.
“There’s the nice and the dangerous to it – you convey all of the belts collectively (listening to “unify, unify, unify”) and you then discover it so laborious to maintain them (listening to “necessary, necessary, necessary”),” DuBoef stated. “It turns into an unimaginable place to defend.”
DuBoef stated it’ll be Beterbiev’s choice as to how he’ll proceed, that he deserves time to correctly savor the largest victory of his profession earlier than prematurely dashing to resolve whether or not he needs to fulfill Eifert – whom he’d doubtless flatten inside 5 rounds – or pursue the massive fish of the division whereas doubtless being pressured to toss the IBF belt within the waste bin for doing so.
“We will solely supply him the alternatives in entrance of him, (reminding) it’s nice to be undisputed, however laborious. You win, then it’s a must to peel off the titles,” DuBoef stated. “You set the fighter on this path towards turning into undisputed, after which it’s a must to work to carry that path with out it getting splintered.”
DuBoef likened the scenario to soccer, the place many nice athletes take part in a number of totally different leagues throughout the globe.
One of the best ways to settle who’s finest is the World Cup, which occurs solely each 4 years.
Perhaps it’s the identical factor within the legacy sport of boxing – if we will obtain an undisputed champion in each division as soon as each 4 years, that’s the most effective we will hope for.
The IBF’s penchant for implementing its necessary fights is linked to a previous corruption scandal involving its former president Robert Lee and Arum.
By the IBF not adhering carefully to its necessary guidelines, it will possibly immediate a wronged fighter and his handlers/authorized workforce to make a hair-trigger transfer towards litigation – an expensive episode the New Jersey-based IBF clearly needs no a part of.
However as we’ve seen with the emergence of necessary contenders like Scull and Eifert, the IBF rankings are ripe for manipulation with guidelines which can be “antiquated,” based on a veteran boxing official who spoke on the situation of anonymity due to their frequent IBF dealings.
Arum raised a sound level: Whereas necessary guidelines can apply to non-unified IBF champions, they need to not apply to undisputed champions who’ve confirmed they’re a uncommon breed and have completed what the purpose of the sport is: to face as king of the hill of their given division.
“The WBO and WBC, and even the WBA, have all been terrific on this topic … they perceive what it means to be undisputed,” Arum stated. “Artur shouldn’t need to be excited about jerking round with this German man he’ll knock out in two rounds … he has much more profitable fights to get to, and he’ll struggle anyone.”
