By Huck Allan: Canelo Alvarez says he’s totally dialed in “100%” for his fight against WBA 175-lb champion Dmitry Bivol in a little over two weeks from now on May 7th from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In Canelo’s hectic scheduled, he’ll be fighting Bivol at 175, and then coming back down to 168 for a tough battle against Gennadiy Golovkin in September, and then possibly John Ryder in December.
For now, the popular Mexican warrior Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) has his entire focus on his battle against unbeaten WBA 175lb champion Bivol on DAZN PPV on May 7th. The fight event goes for $60 for subscribers to DAZN and $80 for nonsubscribers.
Despite Canelo going up in weight seven pounds, he’ll have the power advantage over Bivol, and that might be enough for him to get the victory. Still, it doesn’t figure to be an easy fight for Canelo because he’s giving away height, and reach to Bivol.
It’s fair to say that Bivol moves better and is the far superior combination puncher than Canelo. Those are two areas that Canelo has never been good at.
As a counter puncher with a short compact frame, Canelo isn’t designed to throw a lot of shots, so he’s got to make his punches count against Bivol and hope that he can wear him down like he did his last two opponents, Caleb Plant and Billy Joe Saunders.
Canelo says Bivol a Dangerous fighter
“Big fights like this make me feel motivated,” said Canelo Alvarez to The Volume with Chris Mannix about his fight against Dmitry Bivol on May 7th.
“He’s a good fighter, and a difficult fighter too,” said Canelo when asked about Bivol. “He’s a fighter that fights at a good distance, has a good distance, good moves, and he’s fast for the division. He’s strong, and a solid champion at 175. He’s a dangerous fighter, but I like it.
“Be patient and try to find a way to go inside,” said Canelo when asked how he deals with fighters that jab a lot like Bivol is expected to do.
“No, maybe if I’m 38-years-old or 37, but you never know,” said Canelo when asked if he ever thought of fighting an MMA fighter in a boxing match. “Even more easy money.
“Do you feel anybody can beat you right now?” asked Chris Mannix.
“It’s boxing but I feel like nobody can beat me in my prime. No disrespect to other fighters. There are great fighters, but I feel like I’m in my prime, I feel strong and in my best.
“Always, we always try to do something different. We always do something different in the gym. Don’t do the same mistakes I did in my last fight. So, I always working on something.
“It depends on the fighter. Sometimes with the fighter, I need to do something different, and with other fighters, I don’t do too many things. It depends on the fighter,” said Canelo.
Alvarez doesn’t care about Golovkin
“No, I didn’t watch the Golovkin fight,” Canelo said about IBF middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin’s recent knockout win over WBA champion Ryota Murata on April 9th in Saitama, Japan. “I watched highlights and I saw the same thing.
“Golovkin did what he was supposed to do. I always say he’s going to KO Murata, and he did. I watched the highlights, I don’t know,” said Canelo when asked if he thought Golovkin looked good against Murata.
“I need to watch the entire fight to see, but he looks good, he looks strong like always. I don’t know what rounds. I don’t care,” said Canelo when asked if he’s happy that Golovkin beat Murata.
“I’m 100% focused on my fight, so I don’t care about him. He won already, but I’m 100% focused on my fight,” said Canelo about him focusing on his upcoming May 7th fight against WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol rather than on Golovkin.
“I have a really dangerous fight,” said Canelo.
“There’s no question about that,” said Chris Mannix. “Bivol is undefeated and he’s excellent.
“Maybe more [motivated than ten years ago]. I’m here where I want to be. I still want to be here with the best fighters, so maybe more motivated now.
“An okay fighter, I don’t feel is a big challenge for me. That’s why I keep fighting these kinds of fighters for me to make myself think it’s a big challenge for myself.
“I don’t see myself out of boxing. I want to fight for many years, but this is a sport that has a time. I always say six or seven years more, but maybe less, maybe more, we don’t know,” said Canelo.
“Not 100%, but I feel good,” said Canelo about him being on a vegan diet.
Atlas says Canelo needs to stay at 175
“Bivol will control the outside, get the environment he wants, get on the outside, not on the in close where Canelo can use his power, his superior power,” said Teddy Atlas to The Fight Game.
“Yeah, this is a guy that started at junior welterweight and he’s moved all the way up, junior middle, middle, light heavyweight back to middle, and I can’t see him [Canelo] going back from light heavyweight because he’s no longer close to that man anymore.
“Whether it’s natural or unnatural things, listen, I don’t know if it’s from eating those burgers from that Mexican shop over there or maybe the whoppers over there that have the special sauce on them.
“I don’t know and people get made me, but there’s some truth in there. We know he tested positive for that stuff that you’re not supposed to put in your veins and punch somebody.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s a good weight program of lifting weights that he’s on. Maybe that’s all it is. Maybe. Whatever it is, he’s not the smaller guy anymore.
“Stop with this, ‘He moved up to light heavyweight and he beat a light heavyweight,'” said Atlas about Canelo. “He’s a light heavyweight. He’s bigger than light heavyweights now, legitimately, and he’s stronger, thicker, just look at him.
“So, he’s the bigger and stronger guy with the naturally bigger guy [Bivol], who was born to be bigger. So if he’s going to win, Canelo, he’s going to have to get in the range where he can engage Bivol enough to where he can use these advantages,” said Atlas.
