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Dmitry Bivol could put himself in position for a lucrative rematch with Canelo Alvarez if he defeats undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev in their rematch on February 22 in Riyadh.
Beterbiev stands in the way
Fight boss Eddie Hearn says if Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) beats Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) next month, Canelo can reach 175 and challenge him for the undisputed championship.
The way Beterbiev finished strong, chasing scared and tired looking Buffalo around the ring, likely to win the rematch on February 22nd. Canelo has said nothing about wanting to fight Beterbiev if he wins the second fight against Buffalo. The only one who has a chance to fight the popular Mexican star is Bivol for obvious reasons. He is a fine fighter.
The original hope was that Bivol would defeat Beterbiev in their October 12 clash and then face Canelo for all the gold. Unfortunately for Dmitri and Hearn, Beterbiev won the majority of the 12 rounds to spoil things.
“I’m not sure what Canelo will do. What are the other fights for him? Crawford, I don’t see that happening. “(David) Benavidez is now at 175. I don’t think he’ll ever go back to 168, and he has a great fight against (David) Morel,” Eddie Hearn said. The Stomping Ground YouTube channel, talks about Canelo Alvarez’s options.
“If Bivol beats Beterbie in the rematch, Canelo can rematch Bivol for the undisputed championship at 175. That’s a big carrot.” It’s a tough fight,” Hearn said.
It’s understandable why Hearn would be interested in a Canelo-Bivol rematch; will bring a lot of money and his fighter Bivol would be a big favorite to win. It’s not like a bout where Bivol would be at huge risk of losing, like he moved up to cruiserweight to challenge IBF champion Jay Opetai. That would be a nightmare for Buffalo.
Canelo hasn’t mentioned lately that he wants a rematch with Bivola, and it’s questionable if he would, unless the money is huge. He has options at 168 against Terence Crawford and several other fighters. Buffalo was too big for Canelo in their fight three years ago, and a rematch would seem pointless.
The first Canelo-Bivol fight
Three years ago on May 7, 2022, Biwall defeated Canelo via a 12-round unanimous decision at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The scores were 115-113 x 3, but the fight looked much more one-sided than that. Canelo later said that he had been struggling with injuries and had not been training well. At first he wanted a rematch, but then changed his mind and never changed his mind.
