NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Shortly after beating Artur Beterbiev in a rematch on Saturday, newly crowned light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol offered clues into how he plans to continue his career.

“Cruiserweight I will think about,” Bivol said after landing a majority decision win against Beterbiev. “I have [all the] belts here. I have to check cruiserweight, why not?"

Bivol has been linked for a long time to face The Ring and IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia. It’s a fight Turki Alalshikh, head of Riyadh Season and chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, has also been keen on greenlighting.

If a trilogy fight against Beterbiev, a mandatory title defense against David Benavidez, or Opetaia is not next for Bivol, another deserving opponent for a potential cruiserweight run is a clash against former rival Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, the current WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion.

Bivol beat Ramirez as a light heavyweight via unanimous decision during his 2022 Fighter of the Year award-winning campaign. Bivol won comfortably on the scorecards during their meeting, outlanding Ramirez 131 to 107.

But Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs), now a confident and more comfortable cruiserweight, believes he can avenge the lone loss of his career and even the score in a sequel, just like Bivol did versus Beterbiev.

“I would love to fight Bivol again at cruiserweight,” Ramirez told The Ring during a training session at the Brickhouse Boxing Club with trainer Julian Chua as he prepares for a springtime title defense against WBA mandatory challenger Yuniel Dorticos.

“The rematch against Bivol would be better. It was hard for me to make 175 pounds. I don't take anything away from him, but I was not 100 percent against him that night. But it happened, and I have moved forward. I'm stronger and faster at cruiserweight. My weight is good because I am not draining myself. It will be different for me on fight night against Bivol.”

Ramirez also emphasized that he’s been impressed with Bivol during the Beterbiev bouts.

“I knew Bivol could beat Beterbiev,” said Bivol. “I think they robbed him in the first fight. He clearly won both fights. He has a lot of talent. He's a good guy. He deserved to win the fight and become the undisputed champion. He was confident and really smart in the ring. He did everything perfectly, and that's what he needed to do … Beterbiev is a strong guy who comes forward, throws a lot of punches, and tries to knock out everyone. But Bivol was more talented and smarter.”