Dmitry Bivol’s team issued a press release Wednesday pushing the notion that he would be an ideal candidate to face Canelo Alvarez.
Is Dmitry Bivol the best option to replace Billy Joe Saunders as Canelo Alvarez’s next opponent?
Saunders apparently hasn’t been eliminated as a potential opponent but he was suspended by British authorities for joking about domestic abuse on social media, which could cost him his dream fight.
Bivol, the polished 175-pound titleholder from Russia, would be happy to step in. His team issued a press release Wednesday pushing the notion that he would be an ideal candidate.
“I’ve said now for over a year that I’m ready, willing, and able to move down to super middleweight and fight Canelo,” said Bivol. “I have been training throughout the COVID-19 crisis and have watched on social media that Canelo has as well.”
“I know that my team and Golden Boy Promotions have discussed this option, and we are willing to make the fight on very reasonable financial terms. My team understands that unlike many other opponents, my goal is not the payday but to face the best in boxing today. I know I can beat him, and the real rewards will come after this fight.”
Said manager Vadim Kornilov, “We are willing to work out a much more reasonable deal than what was paid to Canelo’s recent opponents to make this fight. For Dmitry, it’s more about the opportunity to dethrone one of the very best fighters in the world.”
Bivol (17-0, 11 KOs) doesn’t have the name recognition Alvarez and his team would prefer but, as he and Kornilov said, they wouldn’t have to pay him as much as a more recognizable opponent and he would be perceived as a genuine threat to Alvarez, which has to appeal to the Mexican’s competitive instincts.
The highly skilled Russian has dominated one opponent after another, including Sullivan Barrera, Issac Chilemba, Jean Pascal and Joe Smith Jr. in succession in 2018 and last year.
The question is whether Bivol can drop down to 168 pounds – the weight at which they presumably would fight – and be as effective as he has been at 175.
Bivol has never weighed in at less than 173½, his weight for the Smith in March of last year. He would have to shave off 5½ pounds from that figure to make the supper middleweight limit.
If he can’t do it comfortably, he would have difficulty competing with one of the top fighters in the world pound-for-pound. If he can move down without significant problems, he could test Alvarez.
Of course, Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) would have to want the fight.
“I have heard that DAZN and all other parties involved are supportive of this fight, but whenever the name is brought up to Canelo, he says he would never do it,” Kornilov said. “However, I don’t know how much truth there is to this. It would be great to know if he is ready to fight other top champions in his division that are on the same network and are ready to make a simple and appropriate deal as there are not that many of them. I strongly believe that Dmitry Bivol at super middleweight is the toughest test for Canelo.”
Said Andrei Ryabinsky, head of the Russian promotional firm World of Boxing, “Dmitry wants to fight the best, and Canelo is all the way at the top of that list right now. This fight will have to happen sooner or later; the fans want to see a fight where Canelo will really be tested.”
Callum Smith, a 168-pound titleholder, also has been mentioned as a potential opponent for Alvarez.
