Dmitry Bivol made a commanding return to the ring after a 15-month absence, comfortably defeating Germany’s Michael Eifert to retain his unified light-heavyweight titles in front of home fans in Russia.
The 35-year-old Russian star defended his IBF and WBA belts with a one-sided performance, as all three judges scored the fight 118-107 in his favour after 12 rounds.
Bivol wasted little time asserting control, flooring Eifert with a powerful left hook in the opening round. Although the German challenger recovered and managed to last the full distance, he struggled to trouble one of boxing’s most respected champions throughout the contest.
The victory marked Bivol’s first appearance since February 2025, when he avenged his only professional defeat by beating fellow Russian Artur Beterbiev in their highly anticipated rematch. Following that win, Bivol underwent back surgery and spent more than a year away from competition.
Widely regarded as one of boxing’s elite pound-for-pound fighters, Bivol has also earned major wins over former undisputed super-middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and former world champion Gilberto Ramirez.
Attention is now turning to what could come next for the Russian champion. With both Bivol and Beterbiev holding a win over each other, talks of a trilogy showdown are already gathering momentum.
At the same time, WBA (Super) and WBO cruiserweight champion David Benavidez has also expressed interest in a future clash with Bivol after recently moving up from the light-heavyweight division.