Canelo Alvarez’s May 7th fight against WBO light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on DAZN will be taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The location for the Canelo vs. Bivol fight was revealed on Wednesday during the kickoff press conference between the two fighters in San Diego, California.
Despite Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) appearing to be wearing elevator shoes during today’s press conference, the light heavyweight champion Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) towered over him during their face-off.
The size difference between the unbeaten Russian Bivol and Canelo was even more pronounced than when the Mexican star fought the 6’2″ Sergey Kovalev in 2019.
Perhaps one reason for that is because Bivol is stockier than Kovalev, but still tall at 6’0″ compared to the 5’8″ Canelo.
“I love to work with Eddie Hearn and I’m glad to be back with him. I really enjoy it,” said Canelo to MMAHour on why he returned to working with Hearn.
It was an easy decision for the 31-year-old Canelo to return to Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, as the three-fight $160 million deal that he offered him to fight on DAZN this year was too good to pass up.
If Canelo beats Bivol on May 7th, he’ll face Gennadiy Golovkin on September 17th, and then either John Ryder or Ilunga Makabu in December.
The third fight for Canelo in December is basically just a gimme for the Mexican star rather than a risky opponent like Artur Beterbiev, Demetrius Andrade, David Benavidez or Joe Smith Jr.
“Eddy [Reynoso], my manager, wanted me to fight at 175 against Dmitry Bivol, so I just do it,” Canelo said when asked why he chose to fight at 175 rather than at cruiserweight.
It’s interesting that Reynoso chose the two-fight deal from Matchroom rather than the reportedly bigger two-fight deal offered by PBC for him to face Jermall Charlo and David Benavidez.
For Canelo, it would have been better for him to face those two this year. Delaying the fights against Charlo and Benavidez is a bad idea for Canelo because those guys are in their prime and dangerous punchers.
“Of course,” Canelo said when asked if he would have fought at heavyweight if Reynoso asked him to move up to that weight class.
“Not really,” said Canelo on him not having a problem moving between weight classes without hurting himself by winding up drained like Roy Jones Jr. “I can fight at 168, 175, 200, I don’t care.
“I can’t tell because Eddy Reynoso says fight at 175 and this time at cruiserweight. So I don’t really care. I fight in any division. 168,” Canelo said when asked what his favorite weight class is.
Canelo hasn’t fought anyone in their prime at 175, so he has no idea what it’ll be like when he shares the ring with Bivol on May 7th or IBF/WBC champion Artur Beterbiev.
It appears that Canelo is going to wait until 2024 to fight Beterbiev, who will be 39-years-old by that point. Canelo won’t fight Beterbiev in 2022 or 2023 because he’s going to be tied down with fights. In 2023, Canelo will take the two-fight deal from PBC to face Charlo and Benavidez.
By the time Canelo gets around to fight Beterbiev in 2024, the Russian fighter might be too old to be a threat to him.
“Dmitry Bivol is a very good fighter, he’s a champion at 175,” said Canelo. “He’s the second in the division, and I really love challenges, so that’s why [Bivol was picked].
“Not really, I’m fighting the fights I want right now,” said Canelo when asked if there’s anyone in boxing that he especially wants to face before retiring. “That’s the goal [retiring at 37], but we don’t know.
“I want to win by knockout for sure,” said Canelo when asked how he wants to beat Bivol. “You never know. I’m going to put all my best in the ring and give a great fight for the people,” said Canelo.
