Dmitry Bivol says he’d be interested in coming down to 168 for big fights and an opportunity to fight for a world title. He says a rematch with Canelo Alvarez would be one that he would be up for.
Bivol would have to cut some weight, as he rehydrates to around 185 lbs for his fights at light heavyweight. If David Benavidez can drain down to 168, Bivol can too.
Dmitry’s management is looking for an opponent for him to fight in December or January. Two of the names they mentioned are Radivoje ‘Hot Rod’ Kalajdzic & Ronald Gavril. Neither of those fighters will interest the boxing public, as they’ve been around for a while.
The 175-lb division will be dead soon
For the time being, WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) wants to face IBF/WBC/WBO champ Artur Beterbiev if he successfully defeats Callum Smith on January 13th. If Bivol wins the undisputed clash, he will entertain the idea of coming down to 168.
Bivol might have to come down in weight to have the opportunity to the big money fights because the 175-lb division will be an empty shell once Dmitry faces Beterbiev.
Staying at light heavyweight beyond the fight with Beterbiev would be a losing proposition for Bivol because there would be no one to fight, and he’d spend the rest of his career facing opposition that is under the radar of the average fan.
Bivol could move down to 168
“It’s easier for Dmitry to go to 168, and I’ll let him speak for that. There are some bigger fights out there for him at 168,” said Vadim Kornilov to Fight Hub TV about Dmitry Bivol considering a move down to 168 to broaden his horizons to have options available to him.
“I think it’s easier for me to move down to 168 than it is to move up [to cruiserweight] for me.”
If Bivol is going to come down to 168, it would have to be for fights against these types of fighters:
- David Benavidez
- Caleb Plant
- David Morrell Jr.
- Demetrius Andrade
Canelo has not shown any interest, and it’s pointless for Bivol to move down to 168 if he’s hoping he’ll get a rematch. If Canelo wanted to face him again, he’d have done it by now.
“I think on the Showtime feed, one of the commentators said that Charlo was exactly the same size and weight as Bivol on fight night,” said Kornilov. “If I didn’t miss-hear, maybe it was just size; they said they were exactly alike on fight night.”
Jermell Charlo looked about the same size as Bivol on the night of his fight with Canelo, but his technical skills, and game plan was faulty. Also, he wasn’t all courageous and willing to take risks the way Bivol did against Canelo.
“In my fights, my weight is 185 lbs maximum. In normal life, my weight is around 190 lbs, and to make 175, it’s easy,” said Bivol. “I’m just starting my training camp, and my weight goes down.
Bivol could easily make 168 if he’s rehydrating to 185 for his fights at light heavyweight. If he starts training camp with the goal of coming in a little lighter, he can get down to around 178 and then dehydrate 10 lbs to make 168 on the night of the fight.
“I know a lot of fighters that are fighting at 147, and they’re losing more weight than me,” said Bivol. “I feel like I’m not dying when I do 175.
“I feel like I can cut more, but I don’t want to do it. I remember doing this during my amateurs. I was thinking only about food and drink. I didn’t think about my fight.
“Of course, if there’s a big reason to be at 168 and if there’s a belt there, I will push myself. I will do 168, but for a good reason,” said Bivol.
Rematch with Canelo interests Bivol
“It’s still an interesting fight. It’s still a big challenge for me,” said Bivol about a rematch with Canelo.
It’s useless for Bivol to talk about fighting Canelo because he’s now on another network with Showtime through 2024, and if he does return to DAZN in 2025, he probably won’t be to fight him.
“We don’t need to get a rematch [with Canelo],” said Vadim Kornilov. “The focus is to get a fight in December or January and then focus on Beterbiev. “If Bivol is the winner of that fight and is the undisputed world champion at 175, we’ll probably talk super middleweight.
“For a rematch with Canelo, what needs to happen is Canelo is basically in the corner, and he has to have no other choice but to fight Bivol because I don’t think he’ll ever do it unless he has no choice. I think Bivol is the very last boxer that he would want to fight against or fight overall,” said Vadim.
Canelo can’t be backed into a corner because he’s too wealthy and popular to be put in a position where he’s forced to fight a guy like Bivol or anyone. Again, it would be better for Kornilov & Bivol to forget about Canelo permanently.
“Nobody asked me about it, nobody,” said Bivol when told that it’s believed that he wanted too much money for a rematch with Canelo.
“There were no conversations. There were some talks, but it was like a two or three-minute conversation. Nothing serious. No specific date or numbers or anything like that” said Kornilov about rematch discussions for a second fight with Canelo.
“Maybe his team didn’t tell him all the information because he was so confident when he told it, yeah?” said Bivol. “Maybe his team didn’t tell him the truth that they didn’t talk to us about.”
“I think he had to change networks in order for him to avoid this rematch,” said Kornilov about Canelo. “That’s just my personal opinion. That’s not Dmitry saying. We could have discussed doing this fight on any network. That wasn’t discussed either.
“On top of that, when he went to sign over with PBC and Showtime, do you think Bivol was being offered anything from that side? I doubt it. If it was being discussed, it was on the DAZN side at that point. PBC & Showtime had their own plan for who Canelo would fight.
“Bivol wasn’t one of the fighters on that roster. I heard somebody saying from that side [Leonard Ellerbe] saying that Bivol wasn’t an elite fighter. Those were the things that you understand there was no offer. There was nothing specific. It was all just talking to the press,” said Vadim.
