By John Tornay: Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn showed off some updated photos of the huge bulked-up Canelo Alvarez on Thursday in his preparation to challenge WBA 175 – lb champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The 31-year-old former four-division world champion Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) looks considerably bigger than he did in his previous fight against IBF super-middleweight champion Caleb Plant on November 6th.
Canelo appears to have added at least ten lbs of pure muscle in the four months since his victory over Plant. It’s unclear whether Canelo is planning to add additional weight to his 5’8″ frame, but it would be a good idea to ease off right now because he’s looking slower.
The bulked-up version of Canelo that beat the arguably washed-up WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev in November 2019 might be too slow-moving for him to compete with Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs).
Canelo has never been fast on his feet, but he’s gotten away with poor mobility due to most of his opposition being stationary fighters. The guys that Canelo has fought that were mobile, Erislandy Lara and Floyd Mayweather Jr, got the better of him. Plant gave Canelo a lot of trouble until he gassed out after the sixth round.
🔜 May 7 💪 @Canelo | #CaneloBivol pic.twitter.com/YFTNuujrTp
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) March 31, 2022
ＫＩＮＧ 👑 @Canelo #CaneloBivol pic.twitter.com/yMgentNFXq
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) March 31, 2022
It’s risky for Canelo to be going up to 175 to fight Bivol because he’s a lot better fighter than the guys the Mexican star has fought in the last four years.
In some ways, Bivol is even superior to Gennadiy Golovkin, a fighter that gave Canelo nightmares in their two fights.
Bivol is a more mobile fighter than Golovkin, has faster hands, and is a better combination puncher. He checks all the boxes to possess the tools that Canelo has had problems with during his career.
Hopefully, Canelo knows what he’s getting himself into with his decision to go up to 175 to fight Bivol. If Canelo thinks Bivol is another Kovalev, he could be in for a rude awakening on May 7th.
Kovalev had already been falling apart before Canelo got to him, losing Eleider Alvarez, Andre Ward x 2, and coming close to getting stopped by the raw novice Anthony Yarde.
“Canelo has taken it to a whole another level. I’ve enjoyed him, and my son was a fan from the jump,” said Ray ‘Boom Boom’ Mancini to Pro Boxing Fans about Canelo. “This was years ago when he first started out.
“He said, ‘No, he’s great, pop, you’ll see.’ Then little by little, he’s a great fighter. He’s challenging greatness, and no one is doing what he’s doing. He’s fighting four to five times a year. Nobody is doing that again.
“He’s a real throwback, and I admire that he’s taking on these challenges. I think [Dmitry] Bivol is going to be a real headache for him. I think Bivol can really fight.
“I said that about [Sergey] Kovalev too. Kovalev was doing okay. But Kovalev had too many fights. He got hit on the chin [by Canelo] and he fell like a sack of rice. When you fall like that, it’s usually an accumulation over the years. It’s not one or two fights.
“Bivol is the younger, stronger guy who can fight. I’m picking Bivol just because of his youth and his strength. He’s just a natural light heavyweight where Canelo is not.
“But if he gets through Bivol, and that would be a heck of an accomplishment. I think the fight for him that I think he’s avoiding and if he’s smart, he would is David Benavidez,” Mancini said about Canelo.
“David Benavidez is the best between 68 and 75, for me. Besides Bivol, Benavidez. Bivol has got fast hands, and he punches like a son of a gun and a big, strong, tall guy,” said Mancini.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVzwKFEcMl8