Dmitry Bivol and David Benavidez won't fight for the light heavyweight titles. The match fell apart because they couldn't agree on how to split the money.
The WBC told Bivol he had to defend his titles against Benavidez. They set April 8 as the deadline for both sides to agree. At first, the WBC said Bivol should get 75% of the money and Benavidez 25%. They later changed it to 60-40 for Bivol.
Benavidez, known as the "Mexican Monster," just moved up to the 175-pound division. He wanted a 55-45 split in Bivol's favor. But that didn't work out.
Turki Alalshikh says Bivol doesn't want to fight Benavidez right now. Instead, Bivol wants to complete a trilogy with Artur Beterbiev. Eddie Hearn, Bivol's promoter, backed this up.
"We want to keep all the belts,"Hearn said, talking about Bivol's titles.
Dan Rafael, a boxing journalist, shared his thoughts on the situation. He said Bivol has other options and doesn't have to fight Benavidez just because the WBC ordered it.
If Bivol gives up his WBC belt, Benavidez could end up fighting for it. As the interim champion, he might even be named the undisputed champion at 175 pounds.
Bivol recently won his rematch against Beterbiev, making him the undisputed light heavyweight champion. Benavidez wants those titles, but for now, it looks like he'll have to wait.
