Undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez will have to agree to fight Dmitry Bivol at 168, not 175 if he wants the rematch with him in September.
Bivol’s manager Vadim Kornilov revealed one of the primary terms for the rematch with Canelo taking place, saying that it must be at 168 because Dmitry sees it as pointless to fight at 175 after the way he easily beat Alvarez last May in Las Vegas.
Kornilov says he’s skeptical that Canelo’s management is serious about wanting the rematch because why would they after the way he was beaten last year by Bivol.
The only chance Canelo would have of winning the rematch would be to have it take place at 168. If Bivol and his manager stick to their guns by insisting on the second fight happening at 168, they’ll be doing Canelo a favor because he’ll have an excuse to tell the fans why the rematch is not taking place.
Vadim questions how serious Canelo is about fighting Bivol this September because his management has had zero discussions about making that happen.
Likewise, Canelo could have fought the rematch with Bivol last September or this May, but he’s chosen to fight Gennadiy Golovkin and John Ryder. In other words, what’s to keep Canelo from moving the rematch with Bivol into the future until the fans forget about it?
“Bivol already beat him, so he’s not really motivated. So they have to meet certain terms that we’re asking for,” said Vadim Kornilov to Little Giant Boxing about Dmitry Bivol not being motivated to fight Canelo Alvarez again after trouncing him last May.
“One of those terms is Bivol wants to fight him at 168. It’s enticing for him to put all his titles on the line, and he doesn’t want any more excuses. Bivol wants it to be a fight where there are no more excuses.
“Canelo said after the last fight, he went up in weight, but he’s done that before. Saying, ‘I made a mistake’ in the time that you lose, it doesn’t sound right because it wasn’t a mistake when you won and beat [WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey] Kovalev. So why is it now not your weight class?
“If all the terms come together, then I believe in it. Then we can make the fight happen, but right now, everyone [Team Canelo] is saying, ‘I want the rematch. I want the rematch,’ but I don’t see any action or any steps that are being taken to realize that,” said Kornilov.
