Dmitry Bivol returned from a 15-month absence from the ring and successfully defended his WBA and IBF light heavyweight titles with a lopsided unanimous decision win against an overmatched Michael Eifert on Saturday in Ekaterinburg, Russia.
Bivol (25-1, 12 KOs) got off to a fast start, knocking down Eifert with a left hook halfway through the first round. But that was the biggest highlight the Russian provided the crowd in his first fight in his home country since 2021. He controlled every minute of every round but took few risks in a fight where he was a massive betting favorite, with some sportsbooks not even setting odds.
Bivol finally turned up his aggression in Round 11, after a body shot put Eifert on retreat. He stayed in pursuit consistently until the bout's final bell and connected with some combinations, but he couldn't land a finishing shot.
All three judges saw the fight as one-sided, turning in 120-107 scorecards.
Returning from a long layoff, the 35-year-old Bivol put in good work. So did Eifert, who remained aggressive despite being floored early. Bivol was simply too slick defensively for his challenger to land his winging punches.
Eifert (13-2, 5 KOs), a 28-year-old German, came in having won seven fights in a row but had not faced anyone on the level of Bivol.
Bivol had last fought in a rematch with Artur Beterbiev in February 2025, when he won the undisputed championship. There was talk of a trilogy fight, but the WBC ordered Bivol to face David Benavidez. Bivol instead vacated the WBC belt to pursue the third fight with Beterbiev, but when that didn't come together by last summer, the IBF ordered Bivol to face mandatory challenger Eifert. In August, however, Bivol underwent back surgery. This was his first fight since then.
The bout was for Bivol's IBF and WBA titles. His WBO belt was not on the line because that organization is not sanctioning championship bouts in Russia while the Russia-Ukraine war is ongoing.