By Sean Jones: Dmitry Bivol says Canelo Alvarez was never seriously interested in a rematch with him, which is why he said the fight would need to be under the same terms as their first clash a year ago.
In other words, Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) offered Bivol a deal that he knew he would never accept, but he would use his refusal to weasel out of the fight.
It was 100% clear that Canelo didn’t want the rematch with Bivol when he announced after his fight with John Ryder that he would need to accept the same terms as their first fight last year, which the Mexican star lost.
When Canelo said that, it was essentially him admitting that he didn’t want to face Bivol again and was looking for a way out.
Canelo is now considering fighting 39-year-old WBC cruiserweight champion Badou Jack or Jermall Charlo in his next fight. His chances of beating those two are far better than if he were to face Bivol.
For DAZN, Canelo fighting Badou will likely be a pure disaster because it’s a match-up on the level of John Ryder, as boxing fans will not be interested in paying to see this dud of a fight, and they won’t subscribe in large numbers to the network.
It’s obvious to the boxing world champion Canelo wanted no part of fighting the talented WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (21-0,11 KOs) again after the schooling that he got last year, being humiliated for twelve rounds, and being exposed as far less talented fighter.
Looking at it from Canelo’s perspective. It would be career suicide to take a rematch with Bivol because he would have likely been beaten far worse, given the visible deterioration in the Mexican superstar’s game that he’s shown in his last two fights against British fighter John Ryder & 41-year-old Gennadiy Golovkin.
To be sure, Canelo would have shown more class if he just admitted that he didn’t want the rematch with Bivol because he didn’t think he could win. No fighter does that, unfortunately, so it’s not a surprise that Canelo put Bivol in a position where he was seen as the one refusing the fight.
Canelo never wanted rematch
“I think it’s not it’s not disrespectful for me. It’s just some way for him to say that he didn’t agree to this fight,” said Dmitry Bivol to Secondsout when asked about his thoughts on Canelo Alvarez, offering him the same exact terms as the first fight despite losing to him.
“It’s some excuses for him [Canelo. It’s it’s funny. He just wants to find some excuses for him. Of course, nobody says that I wanted the same terms for the rematch.
“He just doesn’t want it. If he wants to say, ‘I want the same terms,'” Bivol continued about Canelo feigning internet in the rematch.
“Yeah, or I could say that you know I want to fight with Joshua and Fury, but I want to fight on Mars. Let’s do it. ‘Do you agree to fight with me on Mars,'” said Bivol.
Obviously, Canelo never wanted the rematch with Bivol because if he wanted it, he would have fought him right away in his next fight last year instead of facing Gennadiy Golovkin in a clash that fans were no longer interested in seeing.
Bivol’s life has changed after win
“Yeah, of course, many things changed around me,” said Bivol about how his life has changed afteer his win over Canelo. “People look at me from different angles, but I try to be the same person I was before Canelo [fight]. I have to be the same guy.
“I’m really glad that I won that fight, and I beat [Gilberto] Ramirez, and I got this award. I’m in a different position now than I was before Canelo, and I got more attention. Everything is better [after the win over Canelo],” said Bivol.
