Dmitry Bivol ‘looking forward’ to facing Jean Pascal

With Dmitry Bivol set to defend his WBA light heavyweight title against Jean Pascal on HBO on November 24, the 27-year-old Russian titleholder says he’s ready to go against the veteran and former legitimate champion of the division.

“It’s very important for me. It’s every boxer’s dream to be the champion, the unified champion,” Bivol said. “It’s a big step to dream about. Like Oleksandr Usyk.”

Bivol (14-0, 11 KO) is actually the WBA’s secondary champion, the “world” champion, but it means nothing less to him as a defending titleholder.

“Not too long ago, Pascal fought for three world titles and I watched on TV. Now he wants to take my title away, and I am very happy to accept this challenge and look forward to my next title defense on HBO.”

Bivol has been terrific as a professional, and has become a rising star in the dying days of HBO boxing. He’s 2-0 this year, beating Sullivan Barrera and Isaac Chilemba quite handily.