By Dan Ambrose: Canelo Alvarez has confirmed that when he faces Dmitry Bivol in their rematch in September, it’ll be at 175 because he doesn’t want to hear any excuses after he beats him.
While Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) acknowledges that it would be better for him to take the rematch at 168 against Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs), he knows that the boxing public won’t give him credit for the win and there would be a backlash.
Canelo notes that he’s the one that was at a disadvantage by fighting Bivol outside of his natural weight class last May, but the fans didn’t say anything about that. But if he were to drag Bivol down to 168, he would never hear the end, as would bring the critics out in force.
If Canelo successfully beats Bivol at 175, he says he won’t stay at the weight, as he just wants to mess him up and return to his natural weight class at 168.
If Canelo were to stay at light heavyweight, he would have few options for exciting fights, aside from a trilogy match against Bivol and an undisputed clash with IBF, WBC & WBO 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev.
Canelo should think seriously about staying at 175 long enough for him to fight Beterbiev if he successfully defeats Bivol because a fight between the two would be huge, and it would be for the undisputed championship.
“At the same weight, so there isn’t any excuses. At 175 lbs,” said Canelo Alvarez to the media when asked if he’ll make the rematch with Dmitry Bivol at 168 in September.
“Yes, but everyone will start f***king talking,” said Canelo on whether it would be advantageous for him to take the rematch at 168 against Bivol.
“Everyone is going to start f***ing start saying, ‘Oh, he brought him down [in weight]. That’s why he lost.’ But they didn’t say anything when I went up in weight, but it’s the same thing.
“No, I just want to f**k him up,” said Canelo when asked if he’ll stay up at 175 if he beats Bivol.
“We already knew that. We had a lot of respect for Zurdo Ramirez. We had him on Canelo Promotions at the beginning of his career and that helped him a lot to get signed with Top Rank. In the end, he just talked a lot and did very little. That’s the truth,” Canelo said about Gilberto Ramirez.
“We already knew the reality of that. He’s too slow for a fighter like Bivol,” Canelo said about Zurdo Ramirez. “Apart from that, he has no heart. That’s Zurdo.”