Dmitry Bivol wants to make sure when he beats Canelo Alvarez in their rematch in 2023 that, he doesn’t use his weight as an excuse for why he lost.
To prevent Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) from saying he lost because he was fighting out of his best weight class of 168, Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) is willing to fight him there next September or whenever the Mexican superstar wants to face him.
Unfortunately, Canelo is ruling out the rematch with Bivol at 168, saying he wants it to take place at 175 again. Canelo doesn’t want boxing fans to criticize his victory and say that Bivol was drained by coming down to 168 to fight him.
Even if Bivol were drained and weakened by a considerable percentage by coming down to 168, he’s still likely to beat Canelo by an easy 12-round decision.
Canelo lacks the boxing ability to beat Bivol, apart from a controversial decision. Bivol almost lost to Canelo last May despite appearing to win 11-1. All three judges scored it 115-113, which was strange because it was such a one-sided fight.
“Why not at 168 lbs? If it’s 168 lbs, it’s no excuses anymore. He had some excuses, yeah. He said it was not his weight class. Then he said he didn’t get a good camp. Then he said it was a problem with the arm. 168 lbs, no excuses,” said Dmitry Bivol, per Michael Benson.
It’s debatable whether Canelo even wants the rematch with Bivol because his decision to take a tune-up next May is the second time he’s chosen to swerve a second fight against him.
From Bivol’s standpoint, it’s better to take the risk of being weakened by fighting Canelo at 168 because not only would that take away his ability to make excuses, but it also allows him to become undisputed at super middleweight.
Apart from the money that Bivol will get from the rematch with Canelo, he’s not gaining anything because the Mexican star doesn’t hold a belt at 175.
So really, the only thing Bivol gains by defending his WBA light heavyweight title against Canelo a second time is the money, and that’s not his goal in the sport.
If Bivol doesn’t want to hear excuses from Canelo, he should wash his hands of the whole affair and move on and defend his WBA title against Joshua Buatsi next, and then face IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed.