How much does Dmitry Bivol make? Exploring previous payouts of the Russian (disclosed or estimated)
Dmitry Bivol is set to make his much-awaited return to the ring, as he faces Malik Zinad. The matchup will have Bivol's WBA (Super) and IBO light heavyweight titles at stake. The Bivol-Zinad showdown will transpire at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, June 1, 2024.
Russia's Bivol was scheduled to fight fellow light heavyweight titlist Artur Beterbiev at the event on June 1. The Russian-Canadian Beterbiev holds the WBC, WBO, and IBF light heavyweight titles. With the big four titles (WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF) on the line, the Bivol-Beterbiev fight would've crowned boxing's new undisputed light heavyweight champion.
However, Artur Beterbiev suffered a ruptured meniscus in May 2024, leading to his withdrawal from the fight. Malik Zinad was then roped in as the replacement to face Dmitry Bivol.
How much does Dmitry Bivol make?
The belief is that Dmitry Bivol's profile has significantly risen in his past three boxing matches. The 33-year-old faced boxing megastar Saul Canelo Alvarez, Gilberto Ramirez, and Lyndon Arthur.
Bivol's victory over Canelo Alvarez is credited by many for considerably boosting his brand value. He put his WBA (Super) light heavyweight title on the line against Alvarez in May 2022. Bivol dominantly defeated Alvarez via unanimous decision. In May 2022, a post-fight report by The Mirror suggested that Bivol had agreed to a purse of $5 million for the match.
Bivol was reportedly yet to receive the amount due to the sanctions against Russia in light of the Russia-Ukraine war. Moreover, a report by Sportico (via Yahoo Sports) indicated that for the Alvarez fight, Bivol had agreed to a $2 million purse in addition to millions more from pay-per-view (PPV) points.
As is the case with the vast majority of professional combat sports contests, the exact payout a given fighter receives is generally higher than the disclosed amount. That said, the aforementioned reports imply that Bivol likely bagged millions of dollars for his high-profile fight against the Mexican boxing great.
Furthermore, as reported by Marca, Dmitry Bivol is believed to have secured a guaranteed purse of $5 million for the Canelo Alvarez matchup. The undefeated pugilist has since picked up unanimous decision victories over Gilberto Ramirez (Nov. 2022) and Lyndon Arthur (Dec. 2023). He defended his WBA (Super) belt in all three aforesaid fights and won the IBO light heavyweight championship against Arthur.
The Marca report noted that Bivol received a payout of $2.5 million for the Ramirez fight and was expected to walk away with a guaranteed purse of $1.9 million for the Arthur fight. One ought to note that all these figures are estimates and haven't been officially confirmed.
Presently, Dmitry Bivol is scheduled to defend his WBA (Super) and IBO light heavyweight titles against Libya-born combatant Malik Zinad at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 1, 2024. The consensus is that Bivol's likely to beat Zinad and then face Beterbiev for the undisputed light heavyweight title later this year.