Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol are parting ways, for now.
When the pair first met in October, Beterbiev became the undisputed light heavyweight champion and sparked a rivalry with Bivol, as he handed the latter his first defeat.
Then around four months later, Bivol returned the favour as he defeated his foe by majority decision.
While the pair were expected to face-off for a third time, the IBF’s order for Bivol to defend his titles against Michael Eifert have put the trilogy on hold.
It’s now been confirmed by The Ring that Beterbiev will be facing a new opponent next time we see him in the ring, instead of his old rival.
On November 22, in Riyadh, he will be going head-to-head with Deon Nicholson.
Nicholson’s last outing saw him stop Devonte Williams in the fourth round, when he featured on the undercard for his stablemate Deontay Wilder‘s victory over Tyrrell Herndon in June.
The 34-year-old is now stepping up to face a former champion, for the first time in his professional career.
Meanwhile for Beterbiev, this will mark the first time in over eight years that he will be in the ring without a major title on the line.
Their bout is part of the stacked Ring IV that features David Benavidez and Anthony Yarde as the main event.
Benavidez will be defending his WBC 175lbs title for the first time, against one of Beterbiev’s old foes.
Yarde lost to the Russian via knockout in the eighth round of their own bout in 2023.
What has Artur Beterbiev achieved in his professional career?
Beterbiev concluded his decorated amateur career with a loss to Oleksandr Usyk in 2012, as their trilogy ended 2-1 to the Ukrainian.
He then relocated to Montreal, Canada, to train under Marc Ramsay and their partnership has remained strong for over 11 years.
It was in November 2017 that Beterbiev captured his first world title, after defeating Enrico Koelling to win the IBF light heavyweight belt.
After defeating Oleksandr Gvozdyk in 2019, he added the WBC belt to his name.
Having successfully defending both titles while in his possession, in 2022 he claimed a third when he went up against Joe Smith Jr for the WBO world light heavyweight belt.
It was during his first bout with Bivol that saw Beterbiev unify all four belts in the division, making him the undisputed champion.
Albeit only for a few months, as Bivol then avenged his previous loss and claimed titles.
For now his rivalry with Bivol will be placed on the back burner.
But is expected the fan-favourite competition will continue between the pair in 2026.