By Dan Ambrose: Eddie Hearn says he’s already in talks with Canelo Alvarez for a rematch with Dmitry Bivol in 2023, as long as the unbeaten WBA light heavyweight champion successfully defends against Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez on November 5th in Abu Dhabi.
For the fans that don’t understand why Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) wants a rematch with Bivol (21-0, 10 KOs), because if he doesn’t face him, he’s going to have huge pressure to defend against his WBC mandatory David Benavidez at 168.
With the way Benavidez (26-0, 23 KOs) fights, there’s an excellent chance that he forces a stoppage of Canelo in the second half after he gasses out. Taking a rematch with Bivol is infinitely better for Canelo than fighting Benavidez, and it gives him an excuse to continue to swerve the 25-year-old.
The worst that could have for Canelo in a rematch with Bivol is he loses a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision and is made to look silly by the WBA 175-lb champion. If Canelo is lucky, he’ll get the type of scoring for his previous fight with Bivol in which all three judges oddly scored the contest 115-113 x 3.
The fight looked more one-sided than that, and you’d be really making a stretch by saying Canelo won two rounds because he was getting his head boxed off by Bivol the entire fight. The punches that Canelo threw were picked off on the arms & gloves of Bivol, and it was only a rare shot that got through.
“Yeah, absolutely,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social when asked if Canelo Alvarez would re-sign with Matchroom. “We’re already talking about the Dmitry Bivol fight. See if he wins in Abu Dhabi [against Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez], but we’ve got a great relationship,” said Hearn.
It’s unclear why it would matter whether Bivol defeats Ramirez or not when it comes to the Canelo rematch. Does Canelo want to avenge his loss to Bivol or not? It seems to me that Canelo is looking for a way out of the Bivol fight. If Canelo does that, like I said, he’s going to have massive pressure on him to fight Benavidez.
Canelo will likely take an easy fight next against John Ryder in the UK rather than risk his hide fighting Bivol.
“We’ve done five fights with Canelo Alvarez. So, hopefully, we will continue for the rest of his career,” said Hearn.
