By Brian Webber: Dmitry Bivol says he’s still interested in fighting Canelo Alvarez for his four 168-lb titles when they meet for a rematch next September.
After soundly beating Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) in a one-sided defense of his WBA light heavyweight title last May, champion Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) doesn’t see it as interesting to fight the Mexican star at 175 for a second time.
At least by going down to 168 to fight Canelo for his undisputed championship at super middleweight, Bivol has something to gain in terms of belts rather than making another defense of his WBA 175-lb strap.
Canelo still has a tune-up that he needs to deal with next May against possibly John Ryder. As for Bivol, he hasn’t said who he wants to fight next, but he’s already been asked for a fight at 168 by Jermall Charlo.
That’s not an interesting fight for Bivol because Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) doesn’t have a world title at super middleweight.
If Bivol doesn’t take that fight, his promoter Eddie Hearn will likely encourage him to defend against #1 WBA Joshua Buatsi next. Buatsi isn’t as popular as Charlo, but he’s his #1 ranked contender for the WBA belt.
Bivol wants Canelo’s 168-lb belts
“I heard about it. People give me credit. ‘You should be fighter [of the year,'” said Dmitry Bivol to ESNEWS when asked if he believes he should be ‘Fighter of the Year’ for 2022 due to his wins over Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and Canelo Alvarez.
“I like the sound of it, but I can’t say about this object because I didn’t see all the other fights. I thought about only my career. I don’t know about all boxing. It’s hard.
“Of course,” said Bivol when asked if he’d be willing to fight Canelo Alvarez at 168 for the rematch next September. “My weight right now is 185. Maximum, 190.”
“It would give the advantage to Canelo, no doubt because that’s his weight class,’ said manager Vadim Kornilov about Bivol being willing to come down to 168 to fight Canelo.
“At least it would be a challenge for Dmitry and a motivation because if you did it again at 175, would it be interesting anymore?”
“Yeah, it’s interesting to fight for belts. To fight at 168 for belts, it’s good. 175, he [Canelo] said, ‘It’s not my weight class,’ is the first thing I heard. Okay, it’s not your weight class. If you want a rematch, let’s talk about 168.
Another option for Dmitry
“He asked me, ‘Do you want to fight me?'” said Bivol about WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo asking him if he wanted to fight. “I couldn’t imagine before that I would fight Charlo.
“He’s from a different weight class from 160. It’s not my weight class. I can’t move down. If he moves up, why not, yeah, at 168? I’m not sure that he has a belt. What’s the reason to fight him at 168?” said Bivol about there being no point in fighting Charlo.
“There will be ten other guys at 168. Do you want to fight me?” said Vadim Kornilov about other fighters that will call Bivol out at super middleweight. “There should be some kind of reason.”
“I want to fight for a reason or for a big name or for a belt. If he has a belt at 168, let’s fight,” said Bivol. “If he doesn’t have a belt and I don’t have an opponent, we can talk.”
“There’s no offer for that fight. It looks like a PR thing [public relations move] for now,” said Kornilov about Charlo asking Bivol for a fight. “We’re all connected and all together. Somebody can make an offer. There’s no offer. The guy’s [Jermall] saying. How does it work? Who makes the fight?
“I’m very proud,” said Kornilov about Bivol.
“Where are we going to fight?” said Bivol. “People talk about me that I’m the best fighter of the year. I want to give him [Kornilov] an award. He’s the best manager.
“We’re all a team. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be here,” said Kornilov. “In this team sport, it’s really about the boxer. If the boxer can’t beat all the guys and win every single round like this guy, then what are we going to do?”