By Dan Ambrose: Dmitry Bivol is looking in excellent shape training for his expected fight against Canelo Alvarez on DAZN on May 7th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) will be defending his WBA light heavyweight title against the former four-division world champion Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs).
Although the Canelo-Bivol fight still isn’t official, ESPN reported that Canelo is likely to take the two-fight deal from Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn for him to face Bivol 31, on May 7th, and Gennadiy Golovkin on September 17th.
Due to his size and youth, Bivol might prove to be the more challenging fight for Canelo of the two. Golovkin will be 40-years-old by the time Canelo faces him in September, and he’s only fought three times in the last four years.
Some boxers fight three times in one year, and it took Golovkin three years to get to that title. That tells you something about his motivation right now.
Bivol = the most dangerous for Canelo
“I would save the Bivol and Golovkin because I think there’s unfinished business with GGG and Canelo,” said Vergil Ortiz Jr. to Fight Hub TV when asked which two-fight deal Alvarez should take next.
“I don’t think Canelo needs it, but the fans want it. So Canelo is like, ‘F*** it, this will be a fan service,'” Vergil said. “I feel like Canelo really gets him [Golovkin] this time.
“The Bivol fight is the most dangerous of all of those. It’s a hard fight,” said Vergil.
“I believe it’s the best decision, and I believe Bivol has a title at 175. So he has something else to offer Canelo besides just money and a fight. I feel like he should go the DAZN route.
“In my opinion, yes. I believe so,” said Vergil when asked if Canelo beats Bivol and Golovkin. “I don’t think anyone upsets him.
“Canelo is on the top of his game right now, and no one beats him,” Ortiz Jr said when asked if David Benavidez beats Canelo.
It wouldn’t be surprising at all if Bivol were to beat Canelo, especially if he puts in the kind of performance he did in his win over Joe Smith Jr. That version of Bivol beats Canelo no matter how prepared the Mexican star is on the night.
Canelo didn’t look good in his only fight at 175 against Sergey Kovalev in 2019. Alvarez looked slow due to the weight he’d put on and small compared to Kovalev.
Bivol won’t treat the fight like a sparring match the way Kovalev seemed to do. The Canelo-Kovalev fight looked similar to the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. exhibition match.
It’s unfeasible to imagine Bivol coasting for 12 rounds like Kovalev appeared to do, and that’s why there’s an excellent possibility he beats Canelo. With that being said, you can’t rule out a controversial decision.
After all, the T-Mobile is the same venue where both of Canelo’s fights with GGG and his match against Erislandy Lara took place. Those were all controversial contests, with Canelo struggling and getting lucky with the scoring.
De La Hoya picks Canelo over Bivol & GGG
“Canelo,” said Oscar De La Hoya to Fight Hub TV when asked who wins in Canelo Alvarez’s fights with Bivol and Gennadiy Golovkin this year. “I think GGG has seen his best days.
“Bivol, I don’t think he has enough movement in his legs to do damage to Canelo. So Canelo hands down with both guys,” said De La Hoya.
Bivol has better mobility than Canelo. It’s unclear what De La Hoya is talking about with his comments about Bivol not having “enough movement in his legs.”
Bivol doesn’t have excellent hand speed or power, and he looked timid against Craig Richard last year.