BOXING
Bivol wants his second fight with Canelo to be at 168
The Mexican boxer wants to face the undefeated Russian at 175, but Bivol’s team will only accept the fight if it’s at 168 lbs, where Canelo holds the four belts.
A new chapter of the potential Canelo Álvarez vs Dmitry Bivol rematch was unveiled over the last hours.
The Mexican has repeatedly said that after facing John Ryder in Guadalajara in May, his next challenge would be going up to 175 lbs again to face Bivol.
Canelo’s insistence on bulking up to fight at light heavyweight is because he wants to avenge his loss to Bivol at his opponent’s natural weight, which would have an added value.
Also, Álvarez would try to win the belt at light heavyweight again since he did it by defeating Sergey Kovalev.
Bivol team’s demand for the rematch to happen
However, Canelo’s plans might end up being a little different from what he initially expected.
Bivol’s manager, Vadim Kornilov, expressed that one of the most important terms for the rematch to happen is that the fight must be at 168.
He added that Dmitry sees no reason to fight at 175 again after defeating Álvarez comfortably last May in Las Vegas and that the Russian boxer’s motivation to go down in weight would be Canelo’s four belts at super middleweight.
“Bivol already beat him, so he’s not motivated. So they have to meet certain terms that we’re asking for,” said Kornilov to Little Giant Boxing.
“One of those terms is Bivol wants to fight him at 168. It’s enticing for him to put all his titles on the line, and he doesn’t want any more excuses. Bivol wants it to be a fight where there are no more excuses”, he stated.
In any case, this could potentially be another soap opera in boxing between two champions who will likely demand lots of money and favorable conditions to make this fight happen, as there’s a lot at stake for both fighters.