Dmitry Yuriyevich Bivol vs. his next available highest ranked contender

Here is the WBA's top 15 contenders at light heavyweight, as of the newest edition of rankings published in February:

1. Sullivan Barrera - N/A (just got dominated, shut out, and knocked out)
2. Badou Jack - N/A (about to challenge WBC champ Adonis Stevenson)
   
3. Eléider Álvarez - N/A (playing the perennial mandatory game, collecting step-side money to let Stevenson milk the WBC and fighting on his undercards, next vs. TBA)
   
4. Karo Murat - N/A (knocked out in his prime by Cleverly and more recently Barrera, soon to contend for the IBO title)
   
5. Marcus Browne - okay, he's a candidate. I guess.
   
6. Shefat Isufi - okay, he's a candidate. I guess.
   
7. Joe Smith, Jr. - okay, he's a candidate. I guess. (even though he lost to Barrera nearly a year ago...does this guy even still box?)
   
8. Jürgen Brähmer - N/A (presuming the injury prompting his WBSS exit wasn't faked)
   
9. Jean Pascal - N/A (retired, weird that he's still ranked but of course the WBA is known for ranking Ali Raymi for months after he died)
   
10. Felix Valera - okay, he's a candidate. I guess. Bivol already comprehensively beat him leaving no question as to who the better man was, as did Barrera.
11. Joe Fournier - who the hell even is this????
12. Mike Lee - okay, he's a candidate. I guess. lol: ...better stick with the Subway commercials, bruh...)
13. Blake Caparello - N/A (has a date lined up with fellow Kovalev victim Isaac Chilemba in a couple of weeks and seems content after losing a couple of times in the US to be a big fish in the little Aussie pond)
    
14. Jake Ball - okay, he's a candidate. I guess. Even though...FFS, look at his record. Him and the other British random, Fournier, did they literally buy these rankings?
    
15. Egor Mekhontsev - okay, he's a candidate. I guess.

So we have Browne, Isufi, Smith Jr., Valera II, Fournier, Lee, Ball, or Mekhontsev. What a murderer's row!

Bivol could probably thrash all eight of those guys on consecutive weekends over a 2-month period, with a couple days' worth of training camp for each.

So then, his best choices are probably to angle for unification or bide his time with a voluntary defense, because there's nothing here for him that would cause him to break a sweat nor learn a damn thing (and not one boosts his résumé or brings in $$$)

 

I suppose with Browne at least you have an undefeated Olympian with a superficially impressive KO record, whose face is familiar enough to US audiences from appearing on so many televised PBC undercards. Beating the holy hell out of him would help brighten Bivol's star, in America anyway...

 

Yeah, going to say Browne and Mekhontsev are the least-worst wastes of time for Bivol (preferable to sitting on the shelf), culled from the WBA top 15 rankings. Weird that they bookend them, though- how is Mekhontsev that low??? Behind freaking Mike Lee and the pair of UK palookas?

 

I would like to see him dismantle Browne, just because I want to see Browne being dismantled again.

 

THIRTEEN consecutive threads on the monopolized subject of Deontay freaking Wilder above this atop the first page of the General Forum?

No sir, I'm not having it.

 

Yes, those are the only worthwhile fights, Joe Smith Jr might be OK as well.

I'd like to see a unification next though. After thrashing Barrera more convincingly than Ward he's definitely ready to fight the best in the division now.

 

Oh **** that's right ... I was about to say I can't even remember a single Marcus Browne fight , that's how dull an impression he leaves, but yeah, forgot about that HORRIBLE robbery against Hot Rod, after Browne just hugged all night and got ...yesx dismantled.

And poor Hot Rod has only fought once since, and that was in 2016.

 

Ideally the winner of Stevenson vs Badou Jack, followed by unification against Kovalev. Could do a voluntary defense, while waiting...

 

Joe Smith JR and Browne would be perfect. What about having a volunteer defence? That is not a bad idea too at all. Fonfara or Rodriguez would be perfectly fine. If it's made in June or July and then having a top fight against someone among Stevenson, Jack, Alvarez, Kovalev, Beterbiev, Gvozdyk.

 

I'd love to see him fight Gvozdyk. They're both in their physical prime right now.

 

Joe Fournier is a multi millionaire who has bought his way into the rankings he would literally be put in a coma by bivol.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Fournier

 

Browne or Joe Smith Jr.
There is a rumor of Browne facing Beterbiev soon though? Now that he's signed with TR.

Fonfara has moved up to cw. I think Joe Smith Jr. would be the easiest to get on HBO.

 

..."honestly"...?

 

Wilder is the cog that keeps ESB going!!! He is the hero that we all need, but do not deserve!