By Sean Jones: Eddie Hearn says Canelo Alvarez wants the rematch with Dmitry Bivol in September on the “same terms” as their previous fight last year, with it taking place at 175 rather than 168, which is what he’s asking for.
Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) feels it’s too easy to fight Canelo a second time at 175 because, with his extreme stamina and energy, it will be another one-sided affair.
All three judges scored it 115-113 last May, but the boxing public had Bivol winning 11-1 or 10-2. Canelo looked old & feeble against Bivol.
There’s no way he won five rounds like the judges scored it at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which is the same venue as Alvarez’s first two controversial fights with Gennadiy Golovkin took place.
The highly talented Bivol was on another level than Canelo in every department, and that will not change in the rematch if it takes place at 175 again.
Undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) still needs to win his fight this Saturday night against his WBO mandatory John Ryder before there can be any serious talks about a rematch with Bivol.
While the oddsmakers and boxing public aren’t giving Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) a chance, he’s got the style, engine, and hunger to upset Canelo and further delay his rematch plans against Bivol.
Hearn states that Canelo doesn’t want the rematch at 168 because fans will say that he boiled Bivol down in weight and won’t give him credit if he wins.
However, some believe the real reason Canelo doesn’t wish to have the rematch at 168 is that it takes away the handy excuse of him blaming another loss on the weight like he did last time he was beaten by Bivol at 175.
“Canelo is saying, ‘I don’t want to boil you down to 168, beat you at 168,‘ and everyone says, ‘Oh, well, you didn’t fight him at 175.’ I get it,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social on whether the Canelo Alvarez vs. Dmitry Bivol rematch will take place at 168 or 175.
“I also get Bivol saying, ‘I could become undisputed at 168,’ but Canelo has made it pretty clear. ‘I want the same terms that I got beat at,’ so everyone can say, ‘Wow, he’s avenged the defeat,’ and I agree with that.
“You know as well that boxing fans, Twitter or whatever if he makes Bivol come down to 168, ‘He’s drained, he’s not the same fighter. He wouldn’t fight him at 175.’ It’s a massive disadvantage for Canelo to fight him at 175, but he wants the same terms. So we’ll have to see what happens.
“They’ve [Team Canelo] have made it clear to me that’s the fight [against Bivol] that they want me to make. So we’ll see what happens on Saturday,” said Hearn.
