Badou Jack ordered to defend WBA title against Dmitry Bivol
Friday 15 September 2017 14:36, UK
Badou Jack has been ordered to make the first defence of his WBA light-heavyweight title against Dmitry Bivol.
The Sweden-born fighter claimed the WBA 'regular' belt with a ruthless fifth-round stoppage win over Nathan Cleverly on the recent Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor undercard.
Cleverly was granted a special permit to defend against Jack instead of mandatory challenger Bivol, but the WBA have now informed the new champion that he must face the Russian in his next fight.
A WBA statement read: "The WBA Championships Committee had ordered negotiations between British Nathan Cleverly, former WBA Light Heavyweight Champion, and Bivol on July 27.
"However, on August 12, Cleverly was granted a special permit to face Jack on the condition that the winner would have to fight the Russian boxer. Thus, the WBA complies with its issued resolutions by calling Jack and Bivol to purse bids."
Bivol extended his unbeaten record to 11 victories with a fourth round stoppage of Cedric Agnew on the Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev undercard in June.
