Will Aussie boxer Bilal Akkawy accept brutal test against Bivol?
AUSTRALIA’S heaviest hitter Bilal Akkawy has been offered a fight he can’t refuse but it comes with a one brutal catch.
Boxing/MMA
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AUSTRALIA’S heaviest hitter Bilal Akkawy has been offered a fight he can’t refuse but it comes with a one brutal catch.
Dmitry Bivol.
The man who is the current WBA Light Heavyweight world champion and on course to becoming boxing’s next big thing.
Akkawy has been on the radar of a US based promoter, and after his impressive win over former world champion Giovanni De Carolis in Sydney earlier this year, he was offered a title shot against Bivol.
The fight would require Akkawy to step up a division from Super Middleweight.
Like Akkawy, Bivol is one of the hardest hitters at his weight and has a 13-0 record with 11 knockouts.
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One of those KO’s came against Australian Trent Broadhurst, who only survived one round after being knocked out in the first by the Russian in November last year.
Since then Bivol has gone on to defend his title against Cuban Sullivan Barrera, who he out punched and dropped in the 12th round in a dominant performance at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Bivol would undoubtedly be Akkawy’s toughest test to date and while his camp has expressed interest in taking up the title shot the finer details are still being negotiated.
The bout would give the Peakhurst local unprecedented international exposure with the fight to be shown on HBO is the United States and on pay per view into several other countries including Australia.
Bilal’s manager, Ahmed Akkawy, says taking on Bivol would be ‘risky’ and are currently negotiating better conditions.
“This would be the first time Bilal will fight for a title at light heavyweight and although this would be a tough and risky fight, we’ve has expressed interest but we want a better contract,” his manager said.
“I’m not really sure where that will end but if it doesn’t come off I’m sure there will be other opportunities in for Bilal in his regular weight division at super middleweight, we just have to be patient”
But regardless of the outcome of the Bivol negotiations, Akkawy is still on course to make his U.S. debut before the end of the year.
Two other American based promoters are keen to link-up with the 25-year old and a fight is anticipated in either September or October.
Akkawy’s impressive win against De Carolis in February also caught the eye of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez’s camp.
It was later postponed after Canelo tested positive to trace levels of clenbuterol but a new date for September 15 has tentatively been set.
If the fight is confirmed, Canelo will again invite Akkawy to join him as his sparring partner.
“Bilal is a hard hitter as is GGG and Bilal’s spars are always high intensity and with a busy work rate.
Canelo has requested for Bilal join Canelo’s sparring camp once again. This may happen sometimes in August 2018,” Akkawy’s manager said.