Dmitry Bivol will spend the rest of 2025 recovering after undergoing surgery for a long-standing back injury - and he’s asking the IBF for a medical exception to keep his title while he heals. The lineal, WBA, IBF, and WBO light-heavyweight champion revealed the procedure on Friday, noting a 6–8 week recovery before he can resume training. The announcement came more than a week after the deadline lapsed to finalize his IBF-ordered defense against mandatory challenger Michael Eifert.
Bivol said the injury had worsened with each camp over the past decade, prompting the operation. His team has filed for an IBF exemption to delay the overdue Eifert fight; the sanctioning body will now decide both on Bivol’s request and whether to authorize an interim title in the meantime. Eifert has waited since March 2023, when he upset former lineal champion Jean Pascal to become the IBF’s No. 1 contender.
The development freezes, at least for now, any immediate plans for a trilogy with Artur Beterbiev. Their rivalry sits at 1–1 after a pair of majority decisions in Riyadh - Beterbiev edged the first meeting on October 12, 2024; Bivol returned the favor on February 22, 2025. Bivol later vacated his WBC belt rather than proceed to a title consolidation with David Benavidez, anticipating a rubber match that never got over the line.
With Bivol sidelined, Beterbiev has moved on to a stay-busy bout versus Deon Nicholson on November 22 in Riyadh. Bivol, for his part, insists he’ll be back “stronger than ever” in 2026, though he’s offered no hint at a first opponent once he’s cleared. The IBF’s ruling on his medical exception will shape the division’s next moves.
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