The WBA has officially confirmed that, despite protests, it will sanction the fight for the world light heavyweight title between Saul Alvarez (51-1-2, 39 KOs) and Dmitry Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs). The fight will be the main event of the evening organized on May 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The leadership of the World Boxing Association gave its answer to numerous critical statements on this subject, which were expressed, in particular, by Wladimir Klitschko. Representatives of the Federation stated that Bivol does not support Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. In addition, in battle he will not perform under the Russian flag, and the anthem of his country will not be played.
“It would be unfair if both fighters could not make this fight. Bivol does not support a military invasion and has been an exemplary champion throughout his long journey as a WBA champion both in and out of the ring. Canelo made a major career decision before the war even started, moving up to light heavyweight. It would be unfair to ruin all their efforts,” said Gilberto Mendoza, WBA president.
According to a recently signed deal with the DAZN platform, Canelo should earn more than $40 million for his performance in May. This will be the first DAZN event to be shown in the US and Canada on pay-per-view.
