Before long, Dmitry Bivol will be down another belt. The IBF has mandated that he take on longtime mandatory opponent Michael Eifert after he forfeited the WBC title due to a fight with interim champion David Benavidez. After winning a trinket in 2022, Eifert (13-1, 5 KO) upset a completely shattered Jean Pascal the following year. His championship chance was put on hold until October of last year due to the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol controversy, but the governing body permitted a rematch. Now, as a possible rubber bout between the two pound-for-pound mainstays draws near, the IBF is making a statement. On the one hand, Eifert is a rubbish required challenger, which is the most significant. The fact that he is ranked higher than individuals like Imam Khataev and Albert Ramirez is absurd. However, the IBF has been unusually forgiving of Beterbiev in this case. Beterbiev last faced an IBF mandatory, Steve Deines, who was also German, more than four years ago. Since Bivol has no chance of winning this fight, the odds are in favor of Eifert challenging Conor Wallace (16-1, 11 KO) for the unclaimed title. Last August, Wallace defeated Jerome Pampellone by split decision in an eliminator of his own.