Dmitry Bivol will finally be back in action, returning to the ring on May 30 in Russia to defend his light heavyweight titles against Michael Eifert.
The fight had been previously linked to the Usyk vs Verhoeven card on May 23 in Egypt, but instead will headline its own card in Ekaterinburg.
The 35-year-old Bivol (24-1, 12 KO) has been out of action since February 2025, when he won a majority decision over Artur Beterbiev in their rematch in Riyadh. A third fight between the two was tentatively expected
for later in the year, but did not materialize. Neither has fought in the year-plus since that second bout between them.
Bivol will defend his WBA, IBF, and WBO titles.
Germany’s Eifert (13-1, 5 KO) is the IBF mandatory challenger and was ordered, finally, for a fight with Bivol last summer. You might recall Eifert winning an IBF eliminator way back in March 2023, so three full years ago, beating a faded Jean Pascal quite clearly on the road in Quebec.
At this point, the 28-year-old Eifert has had an even longer layoff than Bivol, as he hasn’t fought since August 2024, when he took a low-level tune-up fight to try staying at least a little bit active while awaiting his ordered title fight. He’s protected his IBF position since then by simply staying on the sidelines and waiting it out.
RCC Boxing will promote the card, though Matchroom’s logo is also listed on the early fight poster. No word yet whether the fight will stream on DAZN or elsewhere.
