Dmitry Bivol says he wants to not only retain his WBA light heavyweight title this Saturday but also use his fight against the superstar Canelo Alvarez to test his skills to see how he measures up against one of the best in the sport.
A menacing-looking Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) and the much smaller 5’7 1/2 ” Canelo met for their final press conference on Thursday to talk about their match this Saturday, May 7th, on DAZN PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
This is a big test for the 31-year-old Canelo as well, as he’s not faced a high-caliber opponent since his rematch with Gennadiy Golovkin in 2018, and there are question marks about whether he had the talent to beat an elite 175-lb fighter like Bivol.
We’ve seen Canelo beat the faded old toothless lion Sergey Kovalev in 2019 when he went up to 175 to rip his WBO title away from him, but that was against a fighter that was nowhere near the level that Bivol is fighting at now.
Canelo was trailing going into the 11th round and was fortunate to get the knockout. Bivol is a much better fighter than anyone Canelo has fought in ages, and he may learn a bitter lesson about overshooting what his body is capable of achieving.
Every fighter has a ceiling and Canelo may have found his in the form of Bivol.
“Every time I step into the ring, I believe in my victory,” said Dmitry Bivol during Thursday’s final press conference. “I believe in my victory. I’ve been in boxing since I remember myself since I was 5-years-old.
“When I was 16, I was a two-time world champion for amateur, and it means a lot,” Bivol said. “Now, I have a belt, 19 fights, I’m a world champion, why not?”
“You have to use your great amateur pedigree, but do you have to use your size in there?” said Eddie Hearn to Bivol. “We know you have great size, we know you have great feet, and we know you have power as well.
“The one thing about Saul is he”s not a 175-pounder, he’s not a light heavyweight. Do you have to use that size to your advantage this weekend?” said Hearn.
“In a fight like this on May 7th, you have to use all your advantages, and use all your mistakes of your opponents,” said Bivol.
“Finally, we know it’s Canelo Alvarez, of course, but you are the champion,” said Hearn. “He’s challenging for your world title, he’s coming to take the belt from you will defend that belt with everything you have this weekend.”
“Yes, of course, I want to keep my belt, and I want to win,” said Bivol. “I respect him, he’s a great champion. This is much more of a challenge for me to not just keep my belt, but to check my skills against one of the best fighters,” said Bivol.
