MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. Respected American boxing publication Ring Magazine has named Russia’s WBA (the World Boxing Association) Light Heavyweight Champion Dmitry Bivol as the fighter of the year, according to a statement from the magazine.

"At this time last year, Dmitry Bivol faced an uncertain future," the report from the Ring reads. "While undoubtedly a respected world titleholder, he was a relative unknown to the general public."

The publication added that Russia’s Bivol became "The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year for 2022."

Late last month, Bivol was named the WBA’s Boxer of the Year and he was also awarded the Boxer of the Year prize at the WBA Congress in Orlando, which was held between December 11 and 14, 2022.

In early November 2022, Bivol defended his championship belt against Mexico’s Gilberto Ramirez in a 12-round bout in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. All three judges, who were present at the fight, favored Russia’s Bivol, with final scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111.

The 31-year-old Russian boxer holds an unblemished record of 21 wins, including 11 by KO, in his professional career.

The WBA announced early in 2022 that it would exclude Russian boxers from all ratings lists and also bar them from title bouts. However, Bivol turned out to be an exception. In line with the WBA’s regulations, the Russian fighter appeared before a bout in early November 2022 without the national flag of Russia, while the country’s national anthem was not played as well.

Russia’s sports ban from world tournaments

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the grounds for the move.

Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.