Dmitry Bivol admits the prospect of a second fight with Canelo Alvarez is not alluring as the first one.
Bivol, the 31-year-old Russian, WBA light heavyweight titlist, upset the Mexican superstar earlier this spring with a convincing unanimous decision in their 12-round, 175-pound title fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was only Alvarez’s second career loss; the first one occurred nearly eight years ago, at the hands of Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Since the loss, Alvarez, 32, has been adamant about gaining revenge, saying that there is no fight that he wants more. Alvarez eventually decided to take on next his longtime bete noire Gennadiy Golovkin in a trilogy that took place in September; Alvarez won convincingly on points to put a functional end to their rivalry. Alvarez has indicated that he wants to fight Bivol, perhaps next spring, and on the condition that Bivol comes out victorious in his upcoming title defense against Mexico’s Gilberto Ramirez Nov. 5 in Abu Dhabi. (Alvarez became a lighting rod recently after he insisted that he has no desire to face a countryman, like Ramirez, inside the ring).
Bivol made it clear, in a recent interview, that he is willing to oblige Alvarez with a rematch, even if it is not his top priority.
“Every champion wants a rematch,” Bivol told FightHubTV. “It’s ok for him (Alvarez) that he wants a rematch.
“Of course, the better way for me to move forward, up, but we can talk about a rematch. But it’s not interesting for me like it was before.”
Asked if his relative lukewarm interest in the fight was a result of the fact that he defeated Alvarez the first time, Bivol responded, “yes.”
Alvarez remains the undisputed champion at 168 pounds.
Bivol refrained from taking the bait when asked if he thinks he will defeat Alvarez more convincingly in the rematch.
“I don’t know, I don’t know,” Bivol said. “It will be another fight. Everything will be new. We will see.”
