Canelo Alvarez says he’d be willing to go up to heavyweight to challenge IBF/WBA/WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk, but he still has thought fights ahead of him, starting with WBA 175-lb champion Dmitry Bivol before he can get to that stage.
Promoter Eddie Hearn revealed this week that Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) told him that he’d like to fight Usyk if he comes down to 201 lbs, and he thinks he’d “beat” him.
Interestingly, it didn’t take long for Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas to respond, saying they’d be up for that fight. When Canelo was asked whether it was true or not about him wanting to fight Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) at 201 pounds, he looked a little sheepish, saying this:
“As a fighter, I don’t care; I fight whoever, anybody. But first is first, I have this [Dmitry Bivol] fight, but I really don’t care. Why not, maybe?” Canelo Alvarez said to the media when asked if he’d be willing to challenge Oleksandr Usyk.
That’s not exactly the type of response that you’d like to hear from Canelo if you’re a promoter, as he seems less than motivated with his wishy-washy response of, “I really don’t care.”
If Canelo doesn’t get past Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) on Saturday, it’s pointless for him to be thinking about fighting Usyk. Bivol is a test that Canelo will need to pass for him to be thinking of fighting Usyk and the winner of the June 18th unification clash between IBF/WBC 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev and WBO champion Joe Smith Jr.
Canelo says he thinks Bivol is the #1 fighter in the 175-lb division, which is an interesting comment because Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs) is viewed by many boxing fans as the top guy in the division. However, it’s possible that Canelo saying that Bivol is the best at 175 is a move to make sure he gets more credit should he beat him on Saturday.
When Canelo fought the washed Sergey Kovalev in 2019, we heard the same thing about how he was supposedly the #1 fighter in the 175-lb division despite the fact that he’d been knocked out three times recently in losses to Andre Ward [x 2] and Eleider Alvarez.
“It could be, in boxing, anything can happen,” said Canelo when asked if he’ll stop Dmitry Bivol on Saturday. “He has everything, he has a really good jab and good footwork. He’s a smart fighter too.
“I just do what I need to do,” said Canelo when told that he’s no longer moving around like he used to in his fights and is focusing more on coming forward. “That worked for me in the last fights, so one day I need to move a little bit, I can do it. But that’s worked for me in the last fight.
“Like I say, he’s a really good fighter. For me, it’s a really good challenge because for me, he’s the best 175, and he’s a solid champion.
“He’s a really good boxer, and he’s a challenge for me,” Canelo said when asked where Bivol ranks in the fighters he’s faced during his 17-year career.
