Dmitry Bivol wants his hotly anticipated rematch with Canelo Alvarez to be for the Mexican’s super-middleweight titles.
After defending his WBA light-heavyweight title against Canelo, the Russian feels it is just that the rematch be for the Mexican’s titles at 168lbs.
The unbeaten boxer was a heavy underdog against the undisputed super-middleweight champion but produced a compelling and dominant display to inflict only the second loss on Canelo’s boxing resume.
Canelo was widely expected to pursue a trilogy fight against Gennadiy Golovkin back at the super middle after his win but the loss forced him to immediately confirm a rematch which Bivol was keen to accommodate.
But the Russian wants the added caveat of getting a chance to unify the weight division.
With Canelo holding all four belts in the division it would be a chance for Bivol to claim the undisputed title.
“His natural size is for less weight, and mine too. Maybe next fight for four belts in his division,” Bivol said.
Bivol’s trainer, meanwhile, expects an even easier win for his fighter in the rematch.
Joel Diaz was quoted as saying “In the rematch, Dmitry Bivol will do more damage on Canelo because there’s a lot of combination punches that he didn’t do that he could’ve done.”
“The size difference is a big factor,” he added.
“Canelo is a heavy puncher, he hurts, he’s a great fighter but in his division. Moving up to 175 it’s a bigger division, he (Bivol) is a bigger man. In the light-heavyweight division, they’re bigger, they can take more punishment.
“I think in the next one, it’ll be much easier for Dmitry Bivol to beat Canelo because he’s already felt his punch – his hardest punch.”
