By Sean Jones: Jermall Charlo is picking Canelo Alvarez by a knockout over WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in their fight in less than a month on DAZN PPV on May 7th.
Jermall is predicting that the 6’0″ Bivol will run into one of the 5’8″ Canelo’s shots when the two go at it in the main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It’s unclear whether Charlo’s prediction is wishful thinking on his part, as it would catastrophic if Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) were to lose to Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) because he’s expected to be the first fight for the Mexican star out of the gate in 2023.
Canelo looking to Bivol, particularly if it’s by a knockout, will likely foil Jermall’s chances of getting a fight against the Mexican star, at least for the first half of next year.
Jermall (32-0, 22 KOs) has taken a lot of criticism from boxing fans for his weak opposition since moving up to middleweight in 2018, and him not agreeing to face Demetrius Andrade or David Benavaivez.
Many fans believe Charlo is just focused on milking his WBC 160-lb title against fodder while looking for the Canelo payday/cash-out fight.
Jermall will be defending his WBC middleweight title next against Maciej Sulecki on June 18th on Showtime Championship Boxing in Houston, Texas. Sulecki was beaten recently by Andrade in a one-sided 12-round decision defeat.
“Canelo by knockout, eighth round or something like that,” said Jermall Charlo to Fighthype in picking Canelo Alvarez to stop Dmitry Bivol on May 7th.
“Bivol is going to run into some shots, and then Canelo is going to finish him off. Business, it’s always business,” said Charlo on why Canelo chose not to agree to PBC’s two-fight deal.
The chances of Canelo knocking out Bivol are slim & none, as he’s been in with bigger punchers than him in fights against Joe Smith Jr, Jean Pascal, Craig Richards, and Sullivan Barrera, and none of those guys could stop him.
It’s fair to say that the winner of the Bivol vs. Canelo fight will be the one with the better boxing skills, jab and mobility. Sean Jones sees Bivol winning that fight by a country mile.
Canelo never was a good mover, and his ability to throw combinations is gone completely since moving up to 168.
“I have Canelo winning the fight, but I don’t know how it’s going to play out. It’s a bigger division, a bigger guy, bigger weight class, so it’s hard to say,” said WBA ‘regular’ super middleweight champion David Morrell Jr. to Fighthype in analyzing the Canelo vs. Bivol fight.
“I would trust myself, my boxing skills, and whatever my corner has with their game plan, it’s going to be enough to execute the win against Canelo,” said Morrell when asked who would win in a fight between him and Canelo.
