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On 19 February 2021, it was revealed that Bivol would make the second defense of his WBA (Super) title against the #8 ranked WBA light heavyweight contender Craig Richards. The bout was scheduled for the undercard of the Dereck Chisora and Joseph Parker heavyweight clash, which took place on 1 May 2021, at the Manchester Arena. Bivol came into his first title defense as a significant -3300 favorite, while most odds-makers had Richards as a 1400 underdog. He justified his role as the betting favorite, winning the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 118–110, 115–113 and 115–114. Bivol appeared to take the first eight rounds, while Richard managed to edge out the last four rounds of the fight.[62] Bivol called out his fellow light heavyweight champions for a title unification bout in the post-fight interview, stating: “It doesn’t matter who wants to fight me, I’m open for everyone from the light heavyweight division“
