By Dan Ambrose: Eddie Hearn is voicing concerns about what Canelo Alvarez is about to face next week when he moves up to 175 to challenge WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7th.
Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) and his trainer/manager Eddy Reynoso feel they know what they’re getting into by choosing Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) as his next opponent.
If they’re wrong, though, Canelo could be walking into a firefight that will be a disaster. Canelo didn’t have to take this matchup against the 31-year-old well-seasoned Bivol, as he could have stayed at 168 and defended his four belts.
Some boxing fans believe Canelo was trapped between a rock and a hard and a hard place at 168.
If the Mexican star had stayed at super middleweight, he would be in the unenviable position of needing to face the winner of the May 21st fight between David Benavidez and David Lemieux next.
It’s widely believed Canelo wants no part of Benavidez because he’s too big, too young, and too powerful. Also, Benavidez’s punch output is too high for Canelo.
By Canelo moving up to 175 to fight Bivol, he doesn’t have to worry about getting hurt.
“Obviously, the Gennadiy Golovkin trilogy is there, a potential undisputed fight at 175 pounds. The guy can literally do what he wants, but he has to win next week,” Eddie Hearn said to Fight Hub TV about Canelo Alvarez’s options if he gets past Dmitry Bivol next week on May 7th.
“I’ll tell you this Bivol fight is a very, very tough fight,” Hearn continued about Canelo’s next opponent. “Dmitry Bivol is fresh, he’s young, he’s big, he punches hard, he has tremendous feet. This is a really good match-up between two elite fighters, but Canelo is so difficult to beat.
“I really believe we’re going to get a thriller next week in Vegas,” Hearn said of the Canelo vs. Bivol fight.
Golovkin will be next for Canelo at 168
“I thought it was a good performance,” said Hearn about Golovkin’s return fight against WBA middleweight champion Ryota Murata on April 9th.
“Gennadiy always starts slow, but also remember two things. Number one, he hasn’t boxed for over four hundred days. Number two, he went to the guy’s backyard to fight him. He had a slow start, he got beat up a little bit, and he went through the gears and knocked the guy out and unified the division.
“Is Gennadiy as fresh as he used to be? Maybe not, but he’s very dangerous. I think he’s going to be very well suited to move up to 168 pounds because he’s been making 160 for a huge part of his life.
“I think it’s going to be really interesting if Canelo Alvarez can beat Bivol next week to make the trilogy fight at 168. Yeah,” said Hearn when asked if the Canelo vs. Golovkin III fight will take place at 168.
“If that fight happens, and I think it will, we’ll see him [Golovkin] up at 168,” said Hearn.
