In this video interview with Fight Hub TV, boxing manager Vadim Kornilov runs down a number of recent and upcoming fights and talks about what the latest plans are for light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. Check it out...
Vadim Kornilov on what’s next for Dmitry Bivol:
“He’ll be the co-main event in Chicago, October 12th, on the Usyk card, live on DAZN. [We’re] finalizing an opponent now, there’s a couple options, and in the next couple of days I think we should have a final. I just talked to Eddie [Hearn] about it.”
On what he made of the Jean Pascal-Marcus Browne fight:
“We were waiting for Marcus Browne to win and we were supposed to fight him, and we were hoping he’d be the next fight and he’s been the interim champion, basically the mandatory for Dmitry’s belt for about a year. And then they take this fight and they lose, it was disappointing to us, to be honest with you. Now we’re stuck and actually it’s been really tough to find a real good, sturdy opponent for Bivol.”
On Canelo moving up to 175 to challenge Sergey Kovalev:
“He won’t stay at 175. I doubt he’ll fight the other guys. Kovalev still a big, big test for him in my opinion. If Sergey trains 100% for this fight, this is not gonna be an easy fight in my opinion.”
On if he sees Kovalev as slipping:
“Listen, he’s using a lot of his character to win these fights. We understand how many fights he’s had in the amateurs and the pros, he’s an older guy. These guys, the fighters, don’t last forever and many of them just begin to diminish a little bit and Sergey’s definitely experiencing a little bit of that. But he’s a warrior, he can come out of anything, that’s what he’s proven in the last fights. But at the end of the day, that’s the only negative for that fight, that’s why Canelo wants to fight him at 175, even being the much smaller guy. They’re hoping that Sergey is getting older, which will definitely play a factor.”
On the Gvozdyk-Beterbiev fight:
“Very excited about that, you know. I have a lot of respect for both guys and my respect has grown even more that they’re fighting each other, ‘cause that’s a huge 50/50, you know? Both are punchers. It will be very interesting.”
On who Bivol most wants to fight:
“He wanted Sergey Kovalev because he’s the biggest name, and now, again, with all that’s happening, it will probably be less and less meaningful to do that fight. But with the way things are going and the way things are playing out, in the next year or two there’s probably gonna be Bivol fighting somebody for all the belts. That’s what it’s kinda going toward, ‘cause we’ll have a Beterbiev-Gvozdyk winner, we’ll have a Kovalev-Canelo winner, and then probably somebody will fight somebody and then there will be a fight for a unified champion, for undisputed championship.”
On if he talked to Bivol about potentially fighting Canelo:
“We were trying to get that fight. We were interested now but Bivol’s just not the right type of opponent to go to 175 and fight, you know? It’s a big risk for him in my opinion.”
On if he thinks Canelo is stretching himself too far at 175:
“Definitely. But with Kovalev, I think they’re a smart team and I think they’re minimizing their risks. I mean he’s legendary, he wants to make history by getting another belt in another division, but he has a good chance with Kovalev.”
On how he thinks Oleksandr Usyk will fare at heavyweight:
“He’s just a great boxer. He’s so good he can really go in any division and stay very good. It’s like one of those pound-for-pound fighters that are able to move down and up and do well everywhere — kinda like Pacquiao. He can be compared to those fighters. He’s great and I like his fighting style.”
On Vasiliy Lomachenko’s latest performance:
“I was there in London, we had Povektin fighting. Listen, Lomachenko, some people are beginning to say that he’s slowing down, he should’ve looked better, but to me every time I see him fight it’s amazing. Him and his father, I give a lot of credit to his father...”