Canelo Alvarez might be making a mistake in choosing to take on the highly technical WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol next on May 7th as part of his newly announced two-fight deal with DAZN and Matchroom Boxing.
Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) is the type of fighter that Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) has struggled against during his long seventeen professional career, thanks to his boxing skills and power.
The 5’8″ Canelo will be at a size disadvantage in returning to the 175-lb division to face the 31-year-old Bivol, who is in the zenith in his career, and firing on all eight cylinders.
It’s believed that Canelo chose the two-fight deal offered by Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn & DAZN because he believes that Bivol and Gennadiy Golovkin are easier fights for him than the PBC two-fight deal with Jermall Charlo and David Benavidez.
Bivol could make Canelo regret his decision to face him on May 7th, mainly if he fights the way he did with his best career wins over Joe Smith Jr. and Jean Pascal. That version of Bivol could prove to be a nightmare for Canelo.
Bivol a threat to Canelo
“He’s a threat. I’d probably put him at the six or eight range as far as Canelo’s toughest test,” said Chris Mannix to DAZN on where Dmitry Bivol ranks as far as the best fighters Canelo Alvarez has faced during his career. “You’ve got Mayweather right at the top.”
“I put him [Bivol] in the mix between Daniel Jacobs and Caleb Plant,” said Sergio Mora in rating the talent of Bivol in comparison to past Canelo opponents.
“That’s who I think Bivol is because he has the youth, the jab, and the ring generalship, and he carries the power and the discipline,” said Mora.
“The size-thing. Jacobs and Bivol are the same size basically,” said Mannix. “No, he’s not,” said Mannix when told that Bivol will blow up to cruiserweight the night of the fight with Canelo.
“Bivol talks about going to 168 all the time. He’s not going to come in as a cruiserweight. He’s probably going to come in at probably the same weight as Canelo. He’s not going to blow up to cruiserweight, that’s for sure. Jacobs walks around pretty heavy.”
If Bivol fights aggressively, like he did against Joe Smith Jr, Jean Pascal, and Sullivan Barrera, Canelo will have a lot of problems.
Canelo struggles against technical fighters
“You guys are too focused on size. That’s not what gives Canelo issues,” said Mora. “It’s not power, it’s not size, and it’s not how scary you are. Floyd Mayweather, jab and ring generalship. Erislandy Lara, jab, and ring generalship. That’s what Bivol is going to bring. Ring generalship, discipline, and a jab,” said Mora.
“It pains me to say it but Sergio is right,” said Mannix. “Canelo has had, I’m not going to say, problems because he wins, but Gennadiy Golovkin hammered him with his jab during the course of their two fights.
“Kovalev was in that fight right there until the end because [trainer] Buddy McGirt had him throwing nine million jabs in that fight [in 2019 with Canelo]. If Bivol can have an effective point-scoring jab in this fight, I agree with Sergio; that’s the difference.
“Kovalev hit him [Canelo] with a lot [of jabs], Kovalev hit him with a ton. I think I need to stand next to Dmitry Bivol again because I don’t see him as a big guy. Bivol is six-feet, Jacobs was six-feet too, and Kovalev was six-foot-three. These aren’t small guys.”
Canelo has always struggled against technical fighters, and some believe that he should have a lot more losses from those fights than just one.
The technical fighters Canelo has fought:
- Gennadiy Golovkin x 2
- Austin Trout
- Erislandy Lara
- Floyd Mayweather Jr
- Caleb Plant
Of that bunch, Canelo’s only clear victory was against Plant, who gassed out after giving him problems in the first half of the contest last November.
Bivol tougher fight for Canelo than Beterbiev
“I wonder about that Joe Smith punch that he [Bivol] took late in the fight,” said Mannix. “What kind of impact, lasting impact] because we have not seen since that fight the same version of Dmitry Bivol that we saw in previous fights. That took some of his aggressiveness [away].
“Oleksandr Gvozdyk, a former light heavyweight champion, lost a few years ago to Artur Beterbiev, says Bivol is a tougher fight for Canelo at 175 than Beterbiev would be. Do you agree with that?” said Mannix.
“I’m going to have to agree with it because Gvozdyk has been in there with a beast like Beterbiev, and he’s felt that power,” said Mora. “Gvzodyk was a technical fighter, but he carried power, but he was more of a technician just like Bivol is.
“Bivol hasn’t knocked out anybody in the last couple of years in his last five fights. Before that, he was crushing everybody. So he’s a little bit of a power puncher, but a technician. So, I agree. Gvozdyk is right. Canelo doesn’t fear size or power.
“He fears discipline and someone that is going to carry a game plan all the way to the end, a jab and the fact that Bivol has a little bit of everything,” said Mora.
Beterbiev would be a really tough fight for Canelo because he wouldn’t back off and be wary of his counter shots the way Golovkin did in their two fights.
What we would see with Beterbiev is him being willing to take Canelo’s counter shots to work his body, and force him to fight at a pace that his short fire hydrant physique isn’t capable of maintaining.
The body shots that Beterbiev would throw might prove to be too much for Canelo to take.
Beterbiev = dangerous for Alvarez
“Have we watched Beterbiev in the last couple of years?” said Mannix. “Beterbiev crushed Callum Johnson, and Beterbiev retired Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
“Flash knockdown,” said Mannix when reminded that Callum Johnson dropped Beterbiev. “He got back up and destroyed Callum Johnson immediately.
“Gvozdyk, who is a highly-skilled guy, was having success against Beterbiev, but he just couldn’t keep him off of him for 12 rounds, and that’s the thing.
“I don’t think Canelo is going to be coming forward against Beterbiev in the same way he did against other guys because no one that Canelo has faced has had the punching power of Beterbiev,” said Mannix.
