If there is one fighter that knows how to get the better of Canelo Alvarez, it’s former world light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.
The 34-year-old from Russia became only the second man to defeat the Mexican superstar when they clashed in May 2022. In his second appearance at 175lbs, Canelo fell short in a 12-round battle with the former WBA light heavyweight champion, struggling to get the better of the naturally bigger man.
Since then Bivol has gone on to challenge for the undisputed light heavyweight championship against Artur Beterbiev, losing in an extremely close contest last October, before avenging that loss in a rematch last month in Saudi Arabia.
As for Canelo, the 34-year-old is set to face four-weight world champion Terence Crawford later this year, in one of the biggest fights boxing has to offer. Crawford is expected to jump up two weight divisions to challenge for the Mexican’s unified WBC, WBA and WBO titles at 168lbs.
Speaking in an interview after his victory over Canelo, Bivol revealed what he felt was a significant weakness of the Mexican icon, which could play in to the hands of ‘Bud’ ahead of their showdown this year.
“Maybe his mistake is he throws only hard punches. After hard punches he relaxes and he’s tired.”
Canelo and Crawford have reportedly agreed to a mega fight that is expected to take place in Las Vegas this September. Although an official announcement is yet to be made, the general consensus is that both fighters have signed for the bout, which will be one of the biggest in the sports long history.
