Sergio Mora believes Canelo Alvarez should return to the 175-lb division to try once again to defeat Dmitry Bivol in an effort to capture his WBA light heavyweight title next September.
Mora says Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KOs) has already “cleaned out” the 168-lb division by becoming the undisputed champion in 2021, making it pointless for him to return to that division at this point.
If Canelo stays at 175 and defeats Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs), using the right game plan, he can make history by possibly becoming the undisputed champion.
For Canelo to get redemption, he’ll need to work on his conditioning, drop some muscle mass, and figure out how to fight harder.
Canelo’s tendency to throw single punches isn’t going to work against Bivol or the other champions at 175, Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr.
Those guys can’t be beaten by pot-shot fighters, and Canelo lacks the power to give them anything to think about.
Should Canelo stay at 175?
“Canelo Alvarez lost for the first time since 2013, and now he has a decision to make. He can fight Dmitry Bivol in a rematch, or he can go back to 168 and defend his titles. What do you think he should do?” said Chris Mannix to DAZN Jabs.
“Stay at 175. He lost to a better fighter, but make some changes,” said Sergio Mora about what Canelo Alvarez should do after losing to Dmitry Bivol.
If Canelo moves back down to 168, he’s got three excellent fights available to him against these three:
- Gennadiy Golovkin
- Jermall Charlo
- David Benavidez
It’s not worth it for Canelo to waste his time with Matchroom fighter John Ryder, as he’s cut from the same cookie-cutter mold as the fighters he’s beaten already at 168 in Billy Joe Saunders, Callum Smith, and Rocky Fielding.
“Canelo had the right game plan, but he just needed to bang away at the arms a little bit more just like he did against Callum Smith. Stay at 175, and try and get the [WBA light heavyweight] title.
“It’s not as if he bit off more than he can chew. He already cleaned out 168. Why is he going to go back there for? Stay at 175 and let this fight [Bivol] right back around,” said Mora about his belief that Canelo should give it another shot against Bivol.
“You say, ‘It’s not like he bit off more than he can chew.’ Why do you believe that because this is only his second fight at 175,” said Mannix about Canelo?
“His first fight at 175 back in 2019 against a long faded Sergey Kovalev, you can’t say that was a real 175-lb test. This was a real 175-pound test against an in his prime light heavyweight with a piston-rod left jab who showed no fear of the power of Canelo Alvarez.
Bivol could beat Canelo just as bad
“My concern is that we will get a carbon copy of what we saw on Saturday night,” said Mannix in expressing fear that Canelo could lose again to Bivol.
“He might, but what’s the choice? Go back to 168 and fight who?” said Mora about Canelo’s options. “Who, David Benavidez?”
“There are lots of options. There’s David Benavidez, Jermall Charlo, and there’s still the possibility of facing Gennadiy Golovkin. Look, the Gennadiy Golovkin fight lost a lot of its sizzle [with Canelo losing to Bivol].
“If Canelo had won, that would have led to the natural progression of Gennadiy Golovkin in September, which is still one of the biggest fights in all of boxing.
“Maybe if you’re Canelo, you go back to 168 and take something of a lighter test. Maybe you got to the UK and fight someone like John Ryder in a fight like that.
“I think going to 168 and staying there would be the most prudent move. We may have seen the end of the weight jump for Canelo Alvarez on Saturday,” said Mannix.
“You have the gall; you have the ignorance to say this man [Canelo] at 5’8″, can go to heavyweight and face Oleksandr Usyk,” said Mora. “You have the ignorance to say that he can fight at cruiserweight. No, he can’t,” said Mora about Canelo.
“There are limits in boxing. There are weight divisions, and you finally saw it, and you finally agree. No, he should either go back to 168 or get this rematch,” said Mora.
“You got to pick one. Go back to 168 or stay at 175,” said Mannix.
“175 is for Bivol, not for [Artur] Beterbiev, and certainly not for Joe Smith Jr,” said Mora about what Canelo should limit himself to if he does return to light heavyweight.
“Do you think that, at the very least that Canelo Alvarez should not mess with Artur Beterbiev?” said Mannix.
“That’s it, no Beterbiev. Even a 37-year-old Beterbiev, and stay away from a Joe Smith as well. They punch too hard, your power isn’t going to be enough, your size is not going to be enough,” said Mora, warning Canelo against the wacky idea of him challenging the winner of the June 18th fight between light heavyweight champions Beterbiev and Smith.
“Bivol is probably going to do the exact same thing in the rematch, but at least we all way to see it again,” said Mora.
Alvarez didn’t look the same
“What do you think Canelo looked in the fight?” said Mannix. “Bivol did some great things, but that didn’t look like the same Canelo Alvarez we’ve seen in the last few years.”
“No, it wasn’t. Maybe it was a little bit of overconfidence, and maybe it was because his strategy didn’t work out,” said Mora about why Canelo didn’t look like the same fighter he used to be.
“He thought he was going to punch and get to Bivol a lot quicker. That wasn’t the case. Bivol maintained his distance. He has that jab and knows how to move side to side and not let Canelo plant his feet.
“Everything you need to do as a boxer, he did to beat a pound-for-pound champion,” said Mora on what Bivol did to defeat Canelo
“Do you think that Bivol is the best at 175?” said Mannix.
“That’s a tough one because Beterbiev will be bigger and stronger than a Canelo, and he will probably learn off this fight [on how to defeat Bivol],” said Mora.
“I think it’s going to be something that Canelo has to think long and hard about,” said Mannix on Canelo needing to consider taking the rematch with Bivol or not.
“In the immediate aftermath, your competitive fire says, ‘I want that rematch. I got the rematch clause; I want the rematch.’ The judge’s scorecards were close, a little bit too close for my tastes, but close.
“He’s probably thinking to himself, at that moment, that he can beat him the second time around,” said Mannix about Canelo. “But you saw a full-fledged 175-pounder, a guy that spent his entire career at 175, and Canelo had a lot of problems with him. I think he’s going to have a lot of problems with him again in a rematch,” said Mannix.
“I don’t think he’ll have a problem making this decision. Canelo has too much pride,” said Mora. “He has too much of that bravado. He came up short, and he admitted it in the ring. No excuses. Hey, I think he’ll do it again,” said Mora about his view that Canelo will activate the rematch clause to fight Bivol again.
“Canelo took a loss, Dmitry Bivol got the win, and a star was born at light heavyweight,” said Mannix.
