Malik Zinad will replace Artur Beterbiev in a fight against WBA champion Dmitrii Bivol on June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Beterbiev, holder of the WBC, IBF, and WBO belts, pulled out due to a knee injury sustained during training.
Artur Beterbiev suffered a meniscus tear while preparing for his highly anticipated match with Bivol. He is 39 years old. John Scully, Beterbiev’s assistant trainer, shared details of the incident.
“The mood in the gym has been the same as always. He was looking good in sparring and getting stronger as he always does. But he’s also the type who doesn’t complain. It just happened in a freak accident while working out… just the normal wear and tear of his hard training,” Scully said.
Bivol now faces unbeaten Malik Zinad. Zinad boasts a record of 22-0 with 16 knockouts. He recently fought Jerome Pampellone on April 24, winning a match that earned him the IBF’s No. 2 spot.
Beterbiev and Bivol were set to meet in what would have been a light heavyweight unification clash. With this change, organizers hope to reschedule their match later in the year.
The event will occur alongside other matches as part of a boxing night featuring five undercard fights: Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang, Craig Richards vs Willy Hutchinson, Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball, Filip Hrgovic vs Daniel Dubois, and Hamzah Sheeraz vs Austin 'Ammo' Williams.
