Eddie Hearn says he wants Dmitry Bivol to drop down to 168 for the rematch with Canelo Alvarez in September so that he could fight for the undisputed championship in that weight class and then return to the 175-lb division to attempt to repeat the feat against three-belt champ Artur Beterbiev.
Hearn isn’t sure whether Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) will agree to defend his four titles against Bivol in the super middleweight division, however.
For the rematch to happen at 168, Hearn must persuade Canelo because he’s reportedly interested in the fight at 175 again. If it’s at that weight, Canelo has a chance to win the WBA light heavyweight belt from Bivol while at the same time giving him cover in case he loses again.
If Canelo gets beaten again, he can always blae it on the weight being too high for him to compete. Fighting at 168 doesn’t allow Canelo to use an excuse if things to badly for him against Bivol again.
“When you’re talking about chasing greatness, about legacy – Dmitry Bivol is a fighter who is all about that. He has a chance to rematch Canelo Alvarez for undisputed at 168lbs, and then move and fight Artur Beterbiev for undisputed at 175lbs,” said Eddie Hearn to the DAZN Boxing Show.
The Mexican star Canelo losing his four belts at 168 would reduce him to just a typical contender and put him on the same level as other fighters in the super middleweight division.
The drawback of Bivol fighting Canelo at 168 is the double-whammy effect of draining weight and then dealing with a likely rehydration clause that would almost certainly be added to the contract to keep him from rehydrating to the natural weight that he competes at for his fights at 175.
Depending on how strict the rehydration clause is, Bivol could be a walking skeleton during the fight and would be too weak to perform the same masterclass performance he did last time when he schooled Canelo in 12 one-sided rounds on May 7th last year.
“I feel that Canelo against Bivol at 168 would enable Dmitry Bivol to try and become undisputed at 168 lbs,” Hearn continued.
“I think Canelo Alvarez would almost prefer that fight at 175, but I know that Dmitry Bivol is about belts, is about legacy. He’s made it clear to us that he can make 168 lbs.
At best, Canelo deserved to win one round if you’re being honest, but surprisingly the judges scored it 115-113 x 3 all across the board.
“The discussions are does that take place at 175 or 168. Canelo doesn’t want to lose his belts at 16,” said Hearn.