Canelo Alvarez believes solving Dmitry Bivol could be like a Rubik’s Cube – it could take time, but the task will eventually get completed.
The undisputed super middleweight champion will step up a weight class to face the WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on DAZN pay-per-view.
Alvarez (57-2-1, 39 KOs) finds himself facing yet another opponent that is bigger than him, as Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) will have a four-inch height advantage to test his prolific technical skills.
Alvarez is nearly a -350 betting favorite across many sportsbooks, but the pound-for-pound king is not approaching the fight as if he’s holding pocket aces.
“He’s a good fighter. He has good distance in and out. Good footwork. He has a lot of experience in that way. He’s a solid champion at 175. So it’s going to be a difficult fight,” Alvarez told BoxingScene.com in an interview. “The first round to the sixth is going to be even more difficult. But that’s why I am here, training. That’s why I need to figure out how I am going to win.”
As Alvarez has climbed up weight classes his power has carried along with him, but it’s taken him some time to figure out fighters who’ve been larger than his 5 foot 8 build.
Alvarez’s fight against Bivol will be just his second bout at 175 pounds. When he won a light heavyweight belt in 2019 and knocked out Sergey Kovalev in the 11th, he was ahead by a hair and the fight was still up in the air, with scores of 96-94 twice and 95-95.
Alvarez clearly lost rounds during his super middleweight title run as well, as it took him some of the earlier rounds to figure out foes.
When Alvarez broke Billy Joe Saunders' eye, he was in the midst of mounting a comeback after giving away some of the earlier rounds. Alvarez was ahead on all of the cards (78-74 twice and 77-75) when the fight was waved off.
In his most recent fight against Caleb Plant, all three judges had Alvarez losing rounds, as he was up 96-94, 97-93, and 98-92 when he knocked out Plant in the 11th.
Alvarez convincingly beat Callum Smith 119-109 twice and 117-111.
The Mexican superstar said that fluctuating weight doesn’t bother him because he’s at his peak.
“I’m in my prime right now. I feel stronger, more experienced, and more confident,” he said. “I’ve kept my power. When I go down so much in weight, I lose my power by making weight. I’m always around 180 pounds. When I fight at 168 and 175 pounds, I keep my power.”
Should Canelo Alvarez beat Bivol, a trilogy awaits against archrival Gennadiy Golovkin at 168 pounds during Mexican Independence Day weekend later this fall in a fight that is four years in the making.
“[Golovkin is] a good fighter. He’s a strong fighter. He’s kept his power – it is what it is. We can figure him out when we fight in September, right?” said Alvarez. “I’m 100% focused on Bivol. That’s a really hard fight.”
Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn is confident that Alvarez has all of the motivation he needs to continue his historic run.
“He’s one of the greatest fighters of our generation, and when it’s all said and done, he may be the greatest fighter of all time,” Hearn told BoxingScene.com in an interview. “That’s what makes him great. Time and time again, fighters can lose their hunger.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
