An expected third fight between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev is on hold indefinitely after it was announced Tuesday that Beterbiev will return Nov. 22 against Deon Nicholson.
The fight will be on the undercard of the Ring IV "Night of Champions" event headlined by David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde.
Beterbiev, the former undisputed light heavyweight champion, is coming off a majority decision loss to Bivol in February, the first defeat of his professional career. He defeated Bivol by majority decision to become undisputed champion in their first meeting last October.
Instead of sticking with Riyadh Season as their promotional outfit, Beterbiev and Bivol lobbied for their trilogy fight to take place in Russia with different organizers. Saudi Arabia's chairman of General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh, gave his blessing for the Russian fighters to move forward, but Beterbiev will opt for another opponent instead.
Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs), 40, will face a relative unknown in Nicholson (22-1, 18 KOs) and is expected to be a heavy betting favorite. Fighting out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Nicholson, 34, has taken on relatively low-level opposition in his pro career, which began in 2016. Beterbiev will represent a massive step up in competition for Nicholson, whose only loss was by knockout to Efetobor Apochi in 2021.
After their February rematch, Beterbiev and Bivol were unable to come to terms for a third fight, and Beterbiev voiced his frustrations on social media. Bivol, who relinquished the WBC title rather than face Benavidez, was ordered by the IBF to face Michael Eifert in a mandatory title defense. Though Beterbiev has decided to move on to another opponent, it is not known whether Bivol will agree to defend the title against Eifert.