By Brian Webber: Canelo Alvarez has come out and laid it on the line, saying that he WILL fight Dmitry Bivol at 175 pounds for his WBA light heavyweight title in their tentative rematch in September.
Canelo seems to understand that he’ll get raked over the coals by boxing fans if he uses his A-side muscle to force Bivol to drain his large frame to get down to 168 to fight him in the rematch.
The backlash Canelo would receive from people would be out of this galaxy, and he would he never stop hearing about it, mainly if he were to beat Bivol.
“Yes [Canelo wants Bivol rematch at 175]. It will be the same terms because I feel like I need to do it in those terms,” said Canelo Alvarez to Fight Hub TV.
Canelo was schooled by Bivol last May, losing by a 12 round unanimous decision in a fight in which he appeared to win only two rounds, although the three judges on duty that night scored it an identical 115-113 score, which fans disagreed with.
There’s no chance in the world that former four-division world champion Canelo would receive even a shred of credit from fans for a victory over Bivol if the rematch occurred at 168 rather than 175.
Canelo & his trainer/manager Eddy Reynoso have thought this thing through, visualizing the aftermath of a win over Bivol and receiving nonstop scorn from fans instead of the praise that he would be hoping to get.
Canelo only focused on Bivol next
Interestingly, Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) isn’t 100% guaranteeing the rematch with Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) will take place for him next after his tune-up against the Eddie Hearn-promoted Matchroom Boxing stable fighter John Ryder on May 6th, but he maintains that’s the guy he wants.
“My goal now is Bivol, and then we’ll see what happens,” Canelo said when questioned whether he’ll take on the winner of David Benavidez vs. Caleb Plant.
“If the fight with Bivol doesn’t happen, then we look at other things. I think he’s [Benavidez] more strong and has good qualities. That’s why,” Canelo on why he believes Benavidez will emerge victorious in his fight against Caleb Plant next Saturday night, March 25th, on Showtime PPV.
Bivol plans on taking a fight before he faces Canelo in the rematch. Hearn attempted to enlist #1 ranked WBA contender Joshua Buatsi for the job as Bivol’s opponent, but he turned down a million+ offer for the fight.
Hearn hasn’t given any hints about other contenders he’ll try next. Unfortunately, Bivol may have scared away the best 175-lb contenders after dominating Canelo and his recent opponent Gilberto Ramirez.
