Bivol Makes Third Title Defence On August 4

WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Dmitry Bivol (13-0, 11 KOs) of St. Petersburg, Russia will make his third title defense against Isaac "Golden Boy" Chilemba (25-5-2, 10 KOs) of Blantyre, Malawi as the co-main event on the Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev vs. Eleider "Storm" Alvarez card at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on Saturday, August 4.

When asked about his upcoming bout with Chilemba, Bivol said, "I am glad that my next opponent will be a tough and well-known boxer in Chilemba! I will do my best to put on another exciting performance for all my fans!"

Bivol’s promoter, Andrei Ryabinskiy, of World of Boxing added, "Looking forward to another great event with Main Events! I believe Dmitry Bivol is a star in the making; he is very impressive!"

According to Bivol’s manager, Vadim Kornilov, "We are glad another great event will take place on the East Coast featuring two great Russian champions on one card. We had to go through many different opponents and finally were in a tough position trying to find an opponent that would fight Bivol. Happily, Chilemba is a good opponent who has proven to be tough in his previous fights. I’m looking forward to another great event!"

Chilemba said, "Firstly, I thank God for always watching over me. I thank my manager for never giving up on me, Roy Jones Jr. for all his knowledge and support and I thank Main Events for this opportunity. 2017 was a bad year for me, recovering from surgery and thinking that my career was over, but I’m a fighter; I couldn’t give up and I won’t give up. I’m going to take this opportunity and give it everything I have. A big thanks to the rest of my team and all my supporters."

Chilemba trainer, former world titleholder Roy Jones, Jr., said, "So happy to have this fight for Isaac. It’s a great opportunity at a great time. I look forward to a great night for Isaac."

The doubleheader will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.