By Sean Jones: Canelo Alvarez vs. Dmitry Bivol could occur in Dubai in the Middle East on May 7th. ESPN MX reports that Dubai is a potential option to stage this vital fight between superstar Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) and WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs).
Staging the Canelo vs. Bivol fight in Dubai could make them the most money, as the country is wealthy, and they would be paid top dollar. Previously, it was mentioned that the fight would take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Sources have revealed to ESPN KNOCKOUT that Dubai is a solid option,” said Salvador Rodriguez to ESPN MX on the location for the Canelo vs. Bivol fight on May 7th.
That’s a venue that Canelo has fought at frequently in the last five years, most notably in his two fights with Gennady Golovkin.
Unfortunately, both Canelo-Golovkin fights were highly controversial, with many boxing fans believing that Golovkin was robbed of victory twice. For that reason, it would be a good idea to stage Canelo vs. Bivol in a neutral venue, be it Dubai or England.
Golovkin was originally from Eastern Europe. Given the history of the Mexican star’s two fights with GGG, one can understand why it would be a horrible idea to stage the Canelo vs. Bivol fight in the U.S.
Taking the fight out of the United States altogether would be a good idea because you don’t want it controversy should Bivol suffer a decision loss.
For those who don’t know, Bivol, 31, is from Russia, and that country is currently involved in an unpopular war in Ukraine after they invaded their land recently.
Suppose the Canelo-Bivol fight went to a decision. In that case, there could be a lot of unhappiness on Bivol’s side and his Russian boxing fans should he be on the receiving end up a similar controversial decision defeat as we’ve seen from Golovkin, who is from Kazakhstan.
You can argue that staging Canelo vs. Bivol fight in Las Vegas in the U.S would be a double whammy with Dmitry up against it, trying to win a decision against an almost unbeatable fighter while competing in that city also given what’s going on between Russia and Ukraine.
At least if the fight is staged in Dubai, it would be viewed as neutral territory, so if Canelo wins a decision, he wouldn’t be seen as given favoritism by the judges.
It would appear that this idea is being explored by Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, as some of his famous fighters have competed in the Middle East.
