Trainer Robert Garcia says he expects WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol to be a “difficult” fight for Canelo Alvarez next Saturday night, May 7th in their pay-per-view match on DAZN.
Garcia has some fighters that are sparring with the unbeaten Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) and he says he’s a handful for them.
He believes that the 6’0″ Bivol will give Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) similar problems as Gennadiy Golovkin did in his two fights with the Mexican star.
With that said, Robert thinks Canelo will find his way to the inside and chop Bivol down in the later rounds to score a knockout.
What if Canelo can’t get inside on Bivol?
Of course, if Canelo fails to get on the inside often enough to get a knockout, he could be in serious trouble and would go down in defeat for the second time in his career.
Due to Canelo’s limited reach, he’s helpless when facing taller fighters with an excellent jab. He lucked out against Gennadiy Golovkin due to the judges not giving any weight to jabs from the Kazakhstan fighter.
There are many unknowns in this fight for Canelo because he hasn’t fought a prime light heavyweight before like Bivol.
Yes, Canelo was successful when he moved up to 175 to tale on a faded 36-year-old Sergey Kovalev for his WBO light heavyweight title in 2019, but that fight was arguably an opportunistic move by the Mexican star and his trainer/manager Eddy Reynoso, picking Kovalev after he’d been beaten three times and was at the end of his prime.
Instead of Canelo fighting Artur Beterbiev, the #1 guy at 175 in 2019, he picked Kovalev. In other words, Canelo went on the path of least resistance to ensure he won without problems.
Canelo’s wins over super middleweights in the last two years have been another example of him choosing carefully, opting not to fight David Benavidez, the #1 guy in the weight class.
Garcia picks Canelo to beat Bivol
“I think he does, definitely,” said Robert Garcia to Fighthype when asked if Canelo’s fight with Bivol will be a difficult one for him. “Bivol is a very strong guy, very big, tall and he uses his reach really well.
“I still pick Canelo to win. He’s just too strong right now, and for that division [175], I don’t think there’s anybody can beat him. He’s in a difficult fight. Bivol, I got some of my guys sparring with him, and he’s doing really good.
“He’s great, tall, and used his reach. He’s very strong and he’s motivated to win. It’s possible, plus this guy is much bigger and taller. It’s not going to be an easy fight,” said Garcia when asked if the Bivol match will be similar to Canelo’s two fights with Gennadiy Golovkin.
“Canelo has good defense, good guard, and he’ll block most of those punches. He’ll find his way in, Canelo is good at that, and he’ll work the body and I think he’ll finish him in the later rounds,” said Robert, predicting a knockout win for Alvarez over Bivol.
“I’m a big Canelo fan, and I believe he has too much speed and ring generalship,” said Shane Mosley to Fighthype, picking Canelo Alvarez over Dmitry Bivol next Saturday night on May 7th.
“Bivol is a good fighter too, but it’s going to be too hard for him,” said Mosley.
