WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) and Canelo Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs) have finalized a deal to meet on May 7th on DAZN pay-per-view at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The event is expected to be announced shortly by DAZN and Matchroom Boxing. Predictably, some fans will jump ship when discovering that they’ll need to pay $80 to watch the Canelo vs. Bivol fight on DAZN for the non-subscribers and $60 for the subscribers of the service, but it can’t be helped.
To get the bigger fights involving the superstar Canelo, fans will need to pay a little bit more to see him in action.
Additionally, these are risky fights compared to the last seven matches for Canelo, so it makes sense for fans needing to pay extra to watch him in contests that he might lose.
ESPN revealed the news of the two-fight deal being finalized for the mega-star Canelo to face WBA 175lb champion Bivol on May 7th, followed by the long-awaited trilogy match against Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) on September 17th
For Canelo to challenge the 31-year-old Bivol for his WBA light heavyweight title, he’ll need to bulk up to 175.
Three years ago, Canelo bulked up to face WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev in November 2019 and had little trouble defeating him by an eleventh round knockout to become a four-division world champion. That was a back and forth contest until Canelo finished Kovalev in the 11th.
This time, Canelo, 31, will be moving up to 175 to put himself in a position to become the undisputed champion in that weight class. If Canelo defeats Bivol, he’ll be one fight away from becoming the four-belt champion at light heavyweight.
This June, IBF/WBC 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev will be facing WBO champion Joe Smith Jr. in a three-belt unification fight. As long as Canelo beats Bivol on May 7th and Golovkin on September 17th, he’ll meet the Beterbiev vs. Smith Jr. winner, if not in December, then in early 2023.
It’s not a forgone conclusion that Canelo will defeat Bivol on May 7th, however, because he’ll have the natural size advantage to go along with his superb technical boxing skills.
For Canelo to meet Golovkin on September 17th for their trilogy match, both fighters must win their next contests. IBF middleweight champion Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) will be facing WBA 160lb champion Ryota Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) in early April in Japan.
If he wins that fight against Murata, he’ll move forward to await the results of Canelo’s May 7th title challenge of WBA 175-lb champion Bivol. Canelo would then need to beat Bivol to face Golovkin on September 17th.
It will not be easy for Golovkin or Canelo to win their next fights in April and May, and one or both may lose. That would be a pity, but that’s what happens when you’re mixing it up with high-caliber opposition.
Even when Canelo was at his best in his mid-20s, he would have had a lot of difficulties with Bivol’s size and technical ability.
Canelo is an excellent fighter against stationary guys, but not against boxers that can move and don’t stand in one place like his recent opponents at 168.
As we’ve seen in Canelo’s fights against Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs, he gasses out after six rounds and is vulnerable to getting outboxed.
Although Canelo’s stamina problems haven’t hindered his ability to defeat the super middleweight champions Rocky Fielding, Billy Joe Saunders, Callum Smith, and Caleb Plant, those guys weren’t great talents. They were belt holders with glaring flaws in their games.
