And we’re off! After months of negotiations and speculation, it appears that a two-round tournament is brewing in the men’s light heavyweight division. On one end of the bracket, undisputred super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is scheduled to fight Dmitry Bivol for the men’s WBA Light Heavyweight Title on May 7, 2022 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. On the other end of the bracket, there is WBO Light Heavyweight Champion Joe Smith Jr. and unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev.
It appears that Top Rank will not only host a major event on June 11, 2022 in New York, New York. Boxing insider Mike Coppinger has reported that Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr. will fight for the men’s WBC, WBO and IBF Light Heavyweight titles. The showdown is tentatively scheduled for June 18, 2022 at the Hulu Theater in New York, New York.
The winner of the proposed light heavyweight title fight will likely earn a fight with the winner of Alvarez-Bivol. If all goes according to plan, an undisputed light heavyweight champion could be crowned by the end of 2023. Alvarez has emerged as the clear betting favorite, but Smith Jr, Beterbiev and Bivol all have the potential to walk away with the glory.
