Dmitry Bivol left in limbo after Canelo Alvarez skips rematch

Dmitry Bivol’s promoter admitted it’s “impossible to say” who he will fight next after Canelo Alvarez chose not to pursue an immediate rematch against the Russian.

Bivol produced the best performance of his professional career earlier this month when he defended his WBA light-heavyweight world title against Alvarez, winning a convincing points decision in Las Vegas.

Afterwards, Alvarez, who had suffered just the second defeat of his career, said he planned to activate a rematch clause in his contract but has instead chosen to face Gennady Golovkin in a trilogy bout in the super-middleweight division.

Alvarez said he still plans to face Bivol afterwards but the Russian wants to remain active in the meantime and is already in training for his next fight.

Who Bivol will face next though remains unclear. The other two light heavyweight champions, Joe Smith and Arthur Berterbiev, are scheduled to fight in June, while Britain’s Anthony Yarde is in line to face the winner of that bout.

Joshua Buatsi could be a potential option after his close-fought victory over Craigh Richards last weekend, but Bivol’s promoter Andrey Ryabinskiy told Sky Sports that no decision was close to being made.

“Dmitry has begun his preparations for the next fight already. But it is impossible to say, who will be the next person to fight with - we have just begun to think about it,” he said.

“I believe in Dmitry. Today he is definitely one of the best fighters in the world because of the combination of his physical conditions, his abilities to concentrate on the result and his technique.”