Dmitry Bivol claimed an interim light heavyweight world title in 2016, defended it twice, was elevated to a full titlist last year and retained it by crushing first-round knockout of massive underdog Trent Broadhurst.
Though Bivol had had only 12 professional fights, he has been moved quickly as a professional because he was 285-15 as an elite amateur, and ready to be tested early on as a pro. But despite his success -- and the expectation from many that he someday will stamp himself as the world's No. 1 light heavyweight and crash the pound-for-pound rankings -- there is a difference from having potential and accomplishment.
Bivol's opposition has been solid, certainly for a guy with so few pro bouts, but he has yet to face a truly serious opponent despite having a world title.
But that is about to change in a big way when Bivol makes title defense No. 2 against highly regarded and vastly experienced mandatory challenger Sullivan Barrera on Saturday (HBO, 10:05 p.m. ET/PT) at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Bivol-Barrera is the co-feature on the card headlined by big favorite Sergey Kovalev (31-2-1, 27 KOs), 34, a Russian fighting out of Los Angeles who will defend his version of the light heavyweight title for the first time in his second title reign against unknown countryman Igor Mikhalkin (21-1, 9 KOs), 32, who fights out of Germany.
Should Kovalev win, as expected, he said he would like to fight the winner of Bivol-Barrera in a unification fight, which would be quite possible given that all three are with promoter Main Events.
"I have been waiting my whole life for the title fight, so that's the day finally here. Very important fight for me, so I'm very happy for that." Sullivan Barrera
Bivol (12-0, 10 KOs), 27, who was born in Kyrgyzstan and calls St. Petersburg, Russia home, knows that Barrera represents a better level of opponent than he has faced so far in a pro career that began in November 2014.
"I am definitely aware that Barrera is probably one of the best fighters that I've ever faced, probably the best fighter," Bivol said. "But to me, every fight is important, and every fight, everything's on the line, so I need to go out and do my best and make sure that I show my best qualities and do my best fighting.
"Of course, I know that Sullivan has lots of experience and lots of fights behind him, but I know that I also have a lot of experience. Might not as much as Barrera, but still lots of experience, good quality fights. I believe that I've got good qualities that I can trust. I can trust in myself to win this fight."
Barrera (21-1, 14 KOs), 35, of Miami, Florida, also was a standout amateur on the Cuban national team before defecting and turning pro in 2009. He was won four fights in a row since suffering his only loss, a lopsided decision to the now-retired former pound-for-pound king Andre Ward, who called it quits after his second win in a row against Kovalev last summer.
Barrera, who owns wins against opponents such as Vyacheslav Shabranskyy, Karo Murat and Joe Smith Jr., was offered the opportunity to challenge Kovalev for his belt in the main event but decided to take less money to face Bivol instead, essentially betting on himself that he would win and earn a much bigger offer to face Kovalev in a unification fight later in the year.
Bivol took no offense at Barrera's decision.
"At this point, it doesn't matter why he decided to [take the fight] because now the only thing that's left is the fight itself. At first, I might have thought that maybe Barrera decided to fight me because I'm a weaker opponent between the two. But, as Barrera stated, he accepted the fight over Kovalev specifically because of the money. So now, I know that that is why that fight was arranged.
"At the end, though, I am very happy that Barrera decided to fight me and I have no reason not to trust Barrera that he picked me specifically because of the money. So that is why I'm happy that we get to fight."
"I am definitely aware that Barrera is probably one of the best fighters that I've ever faced, probably the best fighter. But to me, every fight is important, and every fight, everything's on the line, so I need to go out and do my best and make sure that I show my best qualities and do my best fighting." Dmitry Bivol
Whether Barrera, who has been knocked down in the first round of his past two fights, was going to challenge Kovalev or Bivol, he is just overjoyed to be fighting for a world title.
"I have been waiting my whole life for the title fight, so that's the day finally here," he said. "Very important fight for me, so I'm very happy for that."
As for his decision to fight Bivol instead of Kovalev, Barrera said it was indeed about the money and had nothing to do with a belief that one opponent would be easier than the other.
"I respect all fighters. Bivol is a young, talented fighter. I respect anyone that gets in the ring," Barrera said. "At the end of the day, when he steps into the ring, he's going to have to prove everything that all the writers are saying about him. The importance here is that it's a title fight and I am going in there knowing that it's a title fight. I am preparing like this is the most important fight. I understand that Bivol is a younger guy and I'm used to that.
"I think in the past he hasn't fought anyone with the experience that I have had and it should be a very competitive fight. The biggest difference is the experience. I feel that I've fought a lot more experienced fighters and I believe, strongly, that that will be the biggest difference come [Saturday]. Once I am a champion, of course, I'll be a champion and the offers do get much better."