By Jack Tiernan: Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero believes Canelo Alvarez can bounce back from his loss and beat Dmitry Bivol in their rematch in September.
Canelo came up a little short, losing by a close 12-round unanimous decision against what many boxing fans believe is the #1 fighter in the 175-lb division in WBA champion Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs).
The scores reflected the closeness of the fight with all three judges scoring it 115-113, 115-113, and 115-113. If Canelo had won the 12th round, he would have gotten a draw. He came close, but Bivol pulled out the win by landing some combos in the final round.
Putting on weight to bulk up to 175 may have taken something out of Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KOs), resulting in the Mexican star’s less than spectacular performance last Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Rolly feels that Canelo should move back down to the 168-lb division, where he’s the king. If Canelo does choose to stay at 175, his rematch with Bivol is expected to take place on September 17th.
As much as some boxing fans would like to see Canelo take a long break and rest after his loss to Bivol, he’s under a contract for three fights with Matchroom & DAZN in 2022. As a result, Canelo must return to the ring in September, then December.
The question now is whether he should Canelo take the fight with Bivol or go ahead with the original plan of fighting Gennadiy Golovkin in September.
It would be good for Canelo to face Golovkin next and let Bivol take on the winner of the June 18th fight between IBF/WBC 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev and WBO champion Joe Smith Jr.
Whoever is the last man standing after Bivol takes on the Beterbiev-Smith winner, Canelo should fight that champion in May 2023 for the undisputed championship at 175.
Canelo’s loss shocked fans
“I don’t think anybody in boxing expected that,” said Rolly Romero to Fight Hub TV about Dmitry Bivol’s upset win over Canelo Alvarez. “I thought Bivol won.
“I thought Canelo won some of the early rounds. When he did win, it was in the early rounds. I think Bivol won more rounds than that,” Rolly said when asked about his thoughts on the 115-113 scores handed down by all three Nevada judges for the fight.
“Putting on weight is hard on the body. I think Canelo should stay at 168. He’s the king over there. He has all four belts, literally. Canelo is a legendary fighter, and nothing can be taken away from him.
“Just because he lost to a dude that was bigger than him takes nothing from him. I’m sure he can. It’s just that he gassed out,” said Rolly.
Losing is part of boxing
“When you take those kinds of challenges when you’re fighting bigger guys when you’re fighting top quality guys, it’s part of boxing. You’re going to win some and lose some,” said Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Robert Diaz to Fight Hub TV about Canelo losing to Bivol.
“All credit to Canelo; he put on a hell of a fight. Let’s go back a few years. Would we have ever thought that he’d be fighting guys this big? giving so much advantage?
“All props to Bivol too. He fought a smart fight, an intelligent fight, used his distance, and kept the jab in his face. Props to both of them. They gave us a beautiful fight tonight.
“That’s the problem,” said Diaz when asked if Canelo should have taken a step up at 175 before challenging Bivol for his WBA light heavyweight crown.
“Before the fight, we thought it was one way. After the fight, we think, ‘Was it a wrong fight?’ No, that’s what happens when you fight the best. You’re going to win some, and you’re going to lose some.
“That’s the beauty of boxing, and that’s what we should push. Everybody fights the best, and some of these guys are going to lose. You know what? Great fight, and that’s what we got to keep supporting.
“Take a vacation, take a rest. He deserves it,” said Diaz when asked what Canelo should do next. “Nobody has fought like Canelo against the top-quality opponents like Canelo [has been doing] fight after fight after fight like Canelo. He deserves a break and enjoys a rest,” said Diaz.
Canelo will be back
“Knowing Canelo, he’s going to go back in and train and want the rematch,” Diaz continued. “No, Canelo carries the weight fine. Saul is physically strong,” said Diaz when asked if Canelo was tired because of the weight that he’d put on to bulk up to 175 to challenge Bivol,” said Diaz.
What tired Canelo out wasn’t the weight he put on for the fight with Bivol because it wasn’t much more than a few pounds. What tired Canelo out was the fast pace of the battle that Bivol set.
Canelo would have faded even if the fight had taken place at 168 or 160. Bivol was a lot more aggressive than anyone Canelo has fought in the last nine years, including Golovkin.
What made Bivol harder for Canelo to fight is that he was willing to get in the trenches and fight him, whereas, with GGG, he chose to stay on the outside and jab.
Bivol was willing to take risks to force Canelo to fight and use energy. Golovkin didn’t want to do that, so he failed to get the win in his two fights with Canelo.
“Look at Bivol’s arm. He started hitting him and hurting him,” said Diaz about Bivol’s left arm being swollen from Canelo’s punches that he’d targeted his arm with.
“But Bivol fought smart; he moved a lot. He used the distance, kept him outside. He didn’t want to engage toe-to-toe because that could have cost him the fight,” said Diaz.
Bivol did engage with Canelo in a toe-to-toe battle quite frequently and got the better of him in most cases.
“Look, Canelo naturally should have stayed at 147, 154. He’s gone beyond those limits because Canelo has always been a guy of challenges. He could have stayed at 160 and played it safe for ten years,” said Diaz.
There was no way that Canelo could have stayed at 147 or 154 because he’s continued to put on weight naturally as he’s gotten older.
