By Sean Jones: Dmitry Bivol’s manager Vadim Kornilov is skeptical about the management of Canelo Alvarez being serious about wanting a rematch in September.
Contrary to what Canelo and his promoter Eddie Hearn have said about wanting a rematch with WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol for September, Kornilov says there have been no discussions from the Mexican star to put the wheels in motion for a second fight.
Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) is interested in fighting Canelo at 168 for his four belts, but Kornikov sees the rematch as pointless if it takes place at 175 because it’ll be just like their first fight last May. Canelo was blown out by Bivol, getting schooled for twelve one-sided rounds.
As Kornilov points out, Canelo fighting outside his weight class of 168 to face Bivol at 175 again won’t “cover up the loss” if he gets beaten again.
If that’s Canelo’s angle in wanting the rematch at 175, it’s not going to disguise another one-sided defeat. He’ll still have gotten beaten against by Bivol.
If Canelo is serious about wanting to fight Bivol again, it could be because it gives him a reason to continue to swerve David Benavidez and David Morrell at 168.
Those two lions have been chasing Canelo, and he has shown no interest in fighting either of them. By taking on Bivol at 175, Canelo can tell his fans, ‘See, I’m not afraid to fight the elite fighters.‘ What it might be really about is Canelo using Bivol as someone to give him a handy excuse for why he’s ducking Beterbiev and Morrell from his weight class.
Is Canelo vs. Bivol rematch happening in September?
“Munguia is still in the talks. Hopefully, we can make that workout and happen in June. Dmitry has never backed out of a fight. He’ll fight anybody,” said Vadim Kornilov to iD Boxing, giving an update on Dmitry Bivol. “Right now, that seems to be the only fight that makes sense.
“If it doesn’t work out, there’s a couple of backup options. There are thoughts about going straight into a September bout, whether it’s going to be Beterbiev or Canelo. Dmitry is calling me, telling me that he wants the big unification fights. Right now, it’s either Beterbiev or Canelo. I think we’re going to get the bottom line by the end of this week, to be honest with you.
“I’m just hoping that with what Canelo is saying, that’s one option. I’m just hoping there’s seriousness in that. I believe he himself has the character, and he’s proven that himself during his career. He doesn’t want that loss to remain on his record and on his consciousness,” Kornilov said.
Bivol’s manager skeptical bout Canelo rematch
“So, I believe he wants it, but I’m really skeptical that the rest of his team wants the fight because I don’t see why they would. Why would they want to fight Bivol again?” said Kornilov.
“There’s a lot of talk in the press, but there’s no discussion. There’s nothing serious,” Kornilov said when asked why he believes Canelo Alvareez’s team isn’t serious about making the rematch with Bivol.
“If I was on Canelo’s team, I’d probably be saying the same thing. Why would you want to fight him? Now, he’s going to the press saying he wants to fight him at 175. That’s basically a rerun of last time in my opinion because Dmitry is ready to fight him at 168. He’s motivated to do that because of the titles he [Canelo] has at 168.
“At the same time, it gives Canelo a chance to do something new and have a weight advantage or not have a disadvantage because last time he said that, he didn’t feel it was his weight class. So if there’s that excuse, why go and do it again at 175? I think it would make more sense to go do it in his [Canelo] weight class.
“Obviously, the finances. That has to work out as well because, from what I’m hearing, he wants to make the same or more as in the first fight [with Bivol]. Usually, when you lose the fight, you’ve got to be more generous with the opponent that is going to come back and fight you again.
“The sport has changed. Now it’s a little bit different. Now you can lose and still remain on the pound-for-pound list. There are no excuses for the sport. If you go in a different weight class and you lose, it doesn’t cover up the loss. You still lost.
“If the pound-for-pound list is based on popularity or how much money you bring in, then why don’t we bring in Youtube guys for the pound-for-pound lists? Other popular Youtubers should be on there as well.
“I still think the pound-for-pound list means being the best pound-for-pound in boxing. Not the most popular or the biggest ticket seller or the biggest rating driver. I think it’s about being in the sport. Right now, there are a couple of guys on there that haven’t been proving that.
Bivol leaning towards taking Beterbiev
“The motivation to go fight for the titles,” said Kornilov about Bivol being interested in fighting for Canelo’s undisputed super middleweight championship. “That’s the undisputed fight. That makes that fight that much more enticing. Otherwise, we have the Beterbiev option. He might have to fight [Callum] Smith.
“Whoever wins that fight, that option is available. That fight is undisputed. So why would Bivol want to take a chance at 175 against Canelo? Canelo is a serious fighter. He could take one shot and land one shot and knock somebody out. That can happen with anybody and can happen with Dmitry as well.
“So why would he risk that when he can go fight Beterbiev and put himself in the history books again by being undisputed? So we kind of have to weigh that out and see what option is better, and I think that right now, from what I’m hearing from Bivol, he’s leaning towards going for Beterbiev because he’s already done Canelo.
“That’s kind of behind us and kind of past us. That’s something that Canelo really needs, in my opinion,” said Kornilov.
