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On Saturday in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), the undefeated Russian Dmitry Bivol will hold his 23rd a professional fight against the undefeated Malik Zidane from Libya. The Sport correspondent tells how the holder of the World Boxing Association (WBA) and the International Boxing Organization (IBO) belts in the light heavyweight category, thanks to his family history and sports career, became a “man of the world.”
In the description of his profile on Instagram* (the activities of Meta (social networks Facebook and Instagram) are prohibited in Russia as extremist) Bivol put emoji with the flags of four countries, making it clear that they mean a lot to him.
- RUSSIA. The country under whose flag the boxer began his professional career and which he represents to this day. He currently lives in St. Petersburg, where he moved with his family when he was still a child;
- KYRGYZSTAN. Dmitry was born there — the future champion was born on December 18, 1990 in the city of Tokmak (Chui region), located 57 kilometers from the capital, Bishkek. Bivol often visits his homeland: for example, the athlete holds training camps on Lake Issyk-Kul;
- MOLDAVIA. The homeland of his father, to whom Bivol owes his entry into boxing;
- SOUTH KOREA. Bivol's mother, although originally from Kazakhstan, was born into a Korean family.
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"Since childhood, I have had a question — to whom do I belong more? Born in Kyrgyzstan, Korean-Moldovan blood, I speak only Russian and have lived in St. Petersburg since I was 11 years old. In the end, I realized that I am a clear example of a person from the Soviet Union, when all the republics were together. I belong to everyone: to Kyrgyzstan, and to Russia, and to Moldova, and to Korea, although I have never been there,» Bivol said.
Let us note that the first in the list of flags could not be our tricolor, but the symbol of Kazakhstan. The fact is that the young, noticeably progressing athlete needed to change location. In Kyrgyzstan, schoolboy Bivol has reached the ceiling. The choice was between Russia and its northern neighbor, where, according to Dmitry’s father, it would be difficult for a non-Kazakh to get to the top. So, dad’s warm memories of his youth in St. Petersburg also played a role…
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In general, in 2002, Yuri Bivol with his wife and three children (in addition to the boxer son, two daughters were growing up in the family) moved to Russia.
The difficulties that befell the family upon arrival in St. Petersburg (life in my uncle’s two-room apartment, my father’s exhausting work as a minibus driver) were worth it. Dmitry managed to realize his potential in amateur boxing: he won the Russian Championship twice, took a medal at the Youth World Championships in Mexico, and left Kazan with silver, where the Universiade was held in 2013. The record speaks for itself: 268 victories with 16 defeats.
You yourself know very well what happened in the pros. Zero in the “defeat” column (22-0), a sensational victory in May 2022 over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, at that time the best regardless of weight categories (P4P), and a couple of steps to the main peak in boxing: in If he defeats Zidane, Bivola will have to wait at the end of the year for a rescheduled fight against compatriot Artur Beterbiev for the title of absolute world champion.
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"Could I have achieved the same if my parents haven't decided to move to Russia? 99.9% that this would not have happened. I think I would coach in Kyrgyzstan now. Maybe he sold and bought cars… Or maybe he worked in the market (laughs). In Russia, my father took me to the boxing section, and there I was able to realize my potential thanks to the support of Russian sports, thanks to the state. I got into the St. Petersburg national team, where they paid for my travel and fees… Then I got into the Russian national team. />
Dmitry Bivol
on the YouTube channel KTRK SPORT