By Sean Jones: Dmitry Bivol says he’ll move down to challenge Jermell Charlo for the four 168-lb belts if he’s victorious over undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on September 30th. Dmitry would fight Canelo if he wins, but Alvarez has shown that he doesn’t wish to face him again.
Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) has already come up to a dead end, with Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) rejecting a rematch with Dmitry for his four 168-lb titles, saying that it would lead to him being criticized by fans for dragging him down in weight.
Risks for Bivol fighting Jermell at 168
- Loss of power due to weight drain
- Size advantage won’t be there for Bivol
- Will the money be worth it?
Would Jermell agree to fight Bivol?
If Jermell beats Canelo, it’s unlikely that he’ll agree to fight Bivol because he can make more money in a rematch or move back down to 154 to face Terrence Crawford.
It would be courageous of Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) to fight Bivol because that would show that he’s willing to take on a guy who was levels better than Canelo and would also likely school Crawford as well.
Crawford is a good fighter, but even he has his limitations. Bivol would likely batter Crawford and make him look bad.
“Yeah, if [Jermell] Charlo wins [against Canelo Alvarez], I would like to fight him,” said Dmitry Bivol to Fight Hub TV. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, I want to fight against someone at 168.’ No, I prefer to fight in my weight class [light heavyweight].
“If someone wants and we have a good offer to move down for [super middleweight] belt, I will do it, but I prefer to fight in my weight class.
“I see that he [Canelo] will move forward and try to finish him with one or two punches. Charlo will try to keep him on the distance and try to move,” said Bivol.
It’s easy for Bivol to predict how Canelo will fight Jermell because the Mexican star hasn’t changed his fighting style since 2018, and he’s become a broken record. Canelo is totally set in his ways and only focuses on throwing kill shots with each punch.
Bivol is coming off a victory over Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez last November. Following that win, Bivol had planned on fighting IBF, WBC, & WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed championship. But the WBC won’t sanction the fight due to the war that is going on in Russia.
Canelo moved up to 175 to challenge Bivol for his WBA light heavyweight belt and was easily beaten in a twelve round unanimous decision in May 2022. After the fight, Canelo blamed his loss on fighting out of his natural weight class and having a left hand injury.
