Eddie Hearn says Canelo Alvarez turned down a catchweight and a rehydration clause when offered for his May 7th fight against WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.
According to Hearn, all Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) would have had to do was ask Bivol, and the answer would have been, ‘Yes.’ Bivol would have agreed to a 171-lb catchweight and a rehydration clause, no problem.
Canelo didn’t even want to go there, and he rejected both of those handicaps when Hearn asked if he’d like to include them in the contract for the Bivol fight.
Hearn isn’t ruling out the possibility of Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) winning the fight on May 7th, as he’s got a natural size, jab, mobility, and combination punching advantage.
Canelo doesn’t throw combinations the way Bivol does at this point in his career, which could be a problem for him.
If Bivol shows the same form he had in his fights against Sullivan Barrera, Joe Smith Jr., and Jean Pascal, Canelo is going to need a knockout to win.
That version of Bivol would be too much for Canelo, and the rounds would be too one-sided for the judges to foul up the scoring.
“Do not sleep on Dmitry Bivol. I’ve seen it across social media. Boxing people say, ‘Do you know what? I think this guy has got a chance in this fight,'” said Eddie Hearn to DAZN Boxing Show.
All you need to do is look at the way Bivol is training to know that he means business, and Canelo may have made a big mistake in choosing him.
Right now, Bivol is looking a lot better in his training than Canelo, and don’t think the Mexican star is ready for the style of the Eastern European fighter. Bivol is a more mobile better-skilled version of Gennadiy Golovkin.
“The other thing I think Saul needs so much credit for. When you fight Canelo Alvarez all these guys are dying for the opportunity,” said Hearn. “It’s the legacy fight, the big money fight. Canelo could have had a catchweight fight for this fight real easy.
“Dmitry Bivol is not a massive 175. He would have accepted anything from 171 and we had these conversations with Eddy Reynoso. Canelo Alvarez and Eddy said, ‘no catchweight.’
“If this is for the 175-lb world title that’s the way it’s going to be, and the rehydration clause doesn’t exist. They could have put the rehydration clause in this contract so easily, and they said, ‘Why rehydration clause?’
“I’m like, ‘You’re coming up a division, you’re not a light heavyweight. This guy could come into the ring at 185 lbs.’ ‘No.’ He [Canelo] doesn’t feel like that’s what greats do.
“I know I’m a massive Canelo Alvarez fan, but he has the ability in any of these negotiations to turn a screw on anybody else. It’s the same with the Billy Joe Saunders situation with the ring. Remember with the ring size? ‘No problem.’
“So, he’s [Canelo] giving up advantages that he could have because he feels like it would diminish the achievements and the accomplishments in moving up and fighting a real bigger man. But he wants to fight the bigger man, he wants to be the underdog in the fight.
“Taking those things away, it’s very difficult to ever see him as an underdog in a fight. But taking those things away gives so many advantages to Dmitry Bivol in this fight.
“That’s why you have to respect the man and this is a real fight. If you ask for them [catchweights and dehydration clauses], but what I’m saying is respect the guy that said, ‘Nah, I’m not interested, it doesn’t matter.’
“It was all you had to do is ask and the answer would have been, ‘Yes,'” said Hearn.
