By Kenneth Friedman: Dmitry Bivol says he’s hoping Saul Canelo Alvarez stays at 175 after his WBO champion Sergey Kovalev last Saturday. WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (17-0, 11 KOs) wants to face Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KOs) in a unification fight, and he believes he’d beat him.
Canelo looked good in scoring an 11th round knockout over Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KOs) last Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Alvarez walked Kovalev down, and decked him with a right to the head. The power that Canelo showed was as good as anyone in the light heavyweight division, and his hand speed is second to none.
Bivol believes he’ll beat Canelo
If Canelo stays at 175, he can strengthen his legacy by facing Bivol and IBF/WBC champion Artur Beterbiev in a unification. Those fighters aren’t as popular as Kovalev, but they’re fighting on a higher level than him right now. They’re well respected fighters among the hardcore boxing community. Unfortunately, the casual fans in the U.S aren’t familiar with Beterbiev and Bivol, but they’re still great options for Canelo.
Moving back down to 160 will be a difficult thing for Canelo to do because he’ll need to lose so much muscle weight. It would be better for Canelo to either stay at 175 or move back down to 168.
Last days I have to answer the question: Would I fight Canelo? Of course, he has a title in my weight, he just won a big fight, he is one of the biggest names in boxing. I respect him. I hope he will stay at 175 or we can fight in 168. Do I believe I can win? Yes I do. pic.twitter.com/ZqqI2GbMg4
— Dmitry Bivol (@bivol_d) November 5, 2019
Dmitry Bivol willing to fight Canelo at 168
Bivol, 6’0″, is the same height as Kovalev, but he doesn’t gain as much weight back after he rehydrates following his weigh-ins at 175. Further, Bivol doesn’t possess a lot of power. He’s not a big puncher like Kovalev, Artur Beterbiev or Oleksandr Gvozdyk. Bivol is better suited to fighting at 168 than he is in competing at 175.
Fighting Canelo at 168, 175 or cruiserweight isn’t a problem for Bivol. He’s ready to do it.
“It’s the best fight for me,” said Bivol to Fighthype about Canelo. “He has a belt, and he has a name. I would like to fight him at 168 too or 175 or cruiserweight.”
Canelo hasn’t yet said which direction he’ll go in for his next bout. He’s become the modern day Henry Armstrong in holding titles in three different weight classes. Canelo currently holds world titles at 160, 168 and 175. For him to keep the belt at 168, he’ll need to defend it soon. At 160, it’s less of an issue due to the World Boxing Council giving Canelo their Franchise tag. That’s a title that he can keep without having to defend it.
