Dmitry Bivol's next bout announced!

After weeks of waiting to see who WBA Light Heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (16-0, 11) [дмитрий бивол] would be defending his belt against on October 12th, we finally saw the waiting end today.

Just moments ago was revealed that the unbeaten Kyrgyzstan born Russian will be up against Dominican foe Lenin Castillo (20-2-1, 15).

The talented Bivol has been on an impressive run in recent years, beating the likes of Sullivan Barrera, Isaac Chilemba, Jean Pascal and Joe Smith Jr, but hasn't been able to get one of the division's other top fighters in the ring with him. This has seen him miss out on potential fights against the likes of Sergey Kovalev, Artur Beterbiev and Oleksandr Gvozdyk, which would enhance his reputation and standing.

On paper Castillo isn't a great opponent. His profile is less than that of Bivol's recent competition and he's not got any sort of name value. He does however pose a relatively difficult for Bivol, The 31 year has never been stopped, and dropped Marcus Browne  just over a year ago, before Browne won, and lost, the WBC title. He failed to get the win over Browne, but did give Browne some worries. His only other loss was a close decision to the then 10-0 Joseph Williams. Interestingly Castillo does appear to be a fighter who has developed his power since stepping up in competition, with his last 8 wins coming inside the distance.

This might not be the big profile bout Bivol and his fans want, but is another solid test for Bivol as he continues to pursue a career defining fight.