Among the nominees for the title of "Fighter of the Year," besides Bivol, are Americans Terence Crawford and Jesse Rodriguez, Japanese Naoya Inoue, and Briton Fabio Wardley. Bivol is 35 years old and holds titles from the IBF, WBO, and WBA. He has 24 wins (12 by knockout) and one loss in his professional career. In 2022, he was already awarded the title of Fighter of the Year by The Ring. In amateur boxing, Bivol won the title of champion at the World Martial Arts Games (2013), was a silver medalist at the Universiade (2013), became a two-time champion of Russia (2012, 2014), and won a bronze medal at the Youth World Championship (2008).
In the spring of 2022, the World Boxing Council (WBC) stripped Bivol of his title for refusing to defend against David Benavidez, who subsequently became the new world champion according to this organization. However, the WBO, WBA, and IBF, titles of which belong to Bivol, confirmed that they do not intend to strip him of his championship belt, emphasizing the importance of title defenses.
In February 2025, Bivol became the WBC world champion in the light heavyweight division, defeating Artur Beterbiev in a rematch held at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight ended with a majority decision from the judges after 12 rounds (114-114, 116-112, 115-113). In this bout, Bivol also took the IBF and WBO titles from Beterbiev and regained the WBA belt that he previously held.
The bout between Beterbiev and Bivol was nominated for the title of "Fight of the Year" by The Ring. The official website of the magazine also published nominations in other categories, such as "Fighter of the Year" among women, "Knockout of the Year," "Round of the Year," "Upset of the Year," "Trainer of the Year," and "Prospect of the Year." The awards ceremony will take place on January 30 in New York, preceding The Ring 6 boxing evening scheduled for January 31 at the famous Madison Square Garden.
