Boxer Dmitry Bivol. Biography

On May 30, Russian boxer Dmitry Bivol defeated German athlete Michael Eifert in a fight for the World Boxing Association (WBA Super) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) light heavyweight titles in Yekaterinburg. About the life and sports career of the champion — in the material of Izvestia.

Childhood and lifestyle

The future boxer was born on December 18, 1990 in Tokmak, Kyrgyz SSR (now Kyrgyzstan), into a Moldovan-Korean family. He lived in Kyrgyzstan until he was 11 years old, and in 2002 he moved with his family to St. Petersburg.

He graduated from the P. F. Lesgaft National State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Health in St. Petersburg. He also has a higher legal education, having received a diploma from the I. T. Trublin Kuban State Agrarian University.

Passion for boxing

He started boxing at the age of six. The first coach is Vyacheslav Sharapov, Honored Coach of the Kyrgyz Republic. After moving to St. Petersburg, he trained under the guidance of the honored coach of the RSFSR Nikolai Isaev. He is currently training under the guidance of Alexei Kurenkov, a senior boxing coach, and Gennady Mashyanov, an honored trainer of the RSFSR.

In the under-17 age category, Bivol became a two-time world cadet champion and a two-time European cadet and youth champion. In September 2007, in Baku, he won gold at the World Cadet Championships in the weight class up to 80 kg. In November 2008, he won the bronze medal at the World Youth Championships in Guadalajara. In July 2012, he was awarded the title of Master of Sports of Russia of international class.

At the adult level, Bivol is a two—time Russian champion in the weight class up to 81 kg (2012, 2014). In July 2013, he won silver at the Summer Universiade in Kazan. In February 2023, Bivol was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of Russia. In October of the same year, he became the winner of the World Martial Arts Games in St. Petersburg.

Professional debut

He made his professional boxing debut on November 28, 2014, winning by technical knockout. He won the US WBC-USNBC and WBA International titles. On May 21, 2016, he became the interim WBA Light heavyweight World Champion, defeating Dominican Felix Valera by unanimous decision.

On October 12, 2024, in Riyadh, he lost to Artur Beterbiev in a fight for the title of absolute world champion. On February 22, 2025, in a rematch, Bivol won by decision of the judges.

Personal life

He currently lives in St. Petersburg. He was married to Ekaterina Bivol, but in 2023 it became known about the divorce. In that relationship, Beterbiev had two sons.