Dmitry Bivol doesn’t think too much of Canelo Alvarez choosing to take a tune-up fight in May rather than facing him in a rematch.
Bivol (21-0,10 KOs) reminds the fans that Canelo was originally talking about wanting to rematch him last September, but instead, he chose to fight Gennadiy Golovkin.
Then they were supposed to rematch in May 2023, but now Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) is choosing to take a tune-up before facing him next September.
Bivol’s manager Vadim Kornilov adds that Canelo said the 175-lb weight class wasn’t correct for him. Kornilov says they’re now looking to get their own fight.
Whether the Canelo vs. Bivol rematch takes place next year remains to be seen. But given that Canelo has now twice delayed it, it suggests that it might not happen in September.
“It doesn’t matter what he talks about. He talked about Golovkin,” said Dmitry Bivol to ESNEWS when told that Canelo Alvarez said he’ll fight a rematch with him in September after his May tune-up fight.
“First, he said he wanted to fight in May [against Bivol], and then he said he wanted to get a tune-up,” said Bivol’s manager Vadim Kornilov about Canelo changing his mind about fighting Dmitry next.
“I think you heard this already. He said the weight class wasn’t correct, and he wanted to fight at 168 and then 175. We started planning our own fight,” Kornilov said about Canelo’s excuses. There are not that many in the division that are left.
“How many guys are 175 that we can fight? We fight the biggest opportunity.”
“He’s a hard puncher,” said Bivol about Artur Beterbiev. “Everyone can get me, to be honest. I could [beat him]. Of course, I could.”
“Dmitriy has the edge [against Beterbiev] because he doesn’t get hit and he wins every round,” said Kornilov. “Beterbiev is a good fighter, but it would be hard for him to land the punches that he lands against other guys.”
“I think I could win against everyone in the light heavyweight division, but not just win. I have to have good training camp,” said Bivol. “I have to be clean mentally, I have to be ready because I have enough skills to beat everyone.
“Sometimes in training camp, s**t can happen. You can break your arm or some accident.
“I think Benavidez. I like his style,” said Bivol when asked who wins between David Benavidez and Caleb Plant. “I sparred him, and I think he should win.
“Of course, it’s a good fight. He’s a known person,” said Bivol when asked if it was a good fight for him against Benavidez. “Why not?”