By Sean Jones: Canelo Alvarez’s continued avoidance of the rematch with Dmitry Bivol since being whipped by him last May has some people believing that the Mexican star will continue swerving his conqueror in 2023. Canelo will likely fight John Ryder next May in another tune-up-level fight in the UK.
For Canelo to pass on the Bivol rematch for the third time, he will need to face a credible opponent to avoid the backlash from the knowledgeable boxing public that will realize that he’s swerving him yet again. The only guys Canelo can fight that will give him a pass are these fighters:
- Demetrius Andrade
- David Benavidez
- David Morrell
A predictable opponent that Canelo could choose to fight next September is Jermall Charlo, who hasn’t fought in almost two years and seems to have lost his hunger for the sport.
Bivol appears to have already mentally given up on a second fight with Canelo happening, as he’s focused on fighting the winner of the January 28th fight between IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and Anthony Yarde.
Fighting the winner will allow Bivol to become the undisputed champion at light heavyweight.
“I don’t care to be honest,” WBA 175-lb champion Dmitry Bivol said to IFL TV about a rematch with Canelo Alvarez. “I don’t want to depend on his decisions for who he wants to fight.
“I just want to fight; I want to fight for four belts; if I don’t get this fight, then give me another fight, and I will be patient.”
The fact that Canelo has already chosen not to take the rematch with Bivol thus far is a vital sign that he will keep putting it off until fans forget the two.
We saw that happen after Canelo’s controversial 12 round decision over Gennadiy Golovkin in 2018.
Instead of facing GGG to clear up his tainted win, Canelo waited four years until Golovkin was an old 40 with thinning hair before he finally agreed to fight him. By that point, boxing fans had forgotten about the rivalry, and the newer fanatics had no clue that they had ever fought before.
Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) seems fed up with Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) and appears to have lost the high regard he once had for the former four-division.
Dmitry is saying he’s interested in winning titles, and there’s not Canelo can do in that area unless he agrees to fight him with all four of his 168-lb belts on the line for the rematch.
Canelo reportedly doesn’t want to put his precious belts at stake against Bivol because those straps give him cover from the fact that he’s beginning to fade.