Thread: Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez v Dmitry Bivol - 7th May 2022

Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez to face Dmitry Bivol in Las Vegas on 7 May

Undisputed world super-middleweight champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez will step up to light-heavyweight to fight WBA champion Dmitry Bivol on 7 May.

Alvarez, 31, is rated as the world's leading pound-for-pound male boxer.

His most recent bout was November's win over American Caleb Plant, becoming the first man to hold the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO super-middleweight crowns.

On facing Russia's Bivol in Las Vegas, Alvarez said: "It is another great challenge for me and my career."

Bivol, also 31, is undefeated in his 19 professional bouts, with 11 of the victories coming by knockout.

He has held the WBA light-heavyweight title since 2016, defending the belt 10 times.

Now he will face Mexico's Alvarez in the first of a multi-fight deal with Matchroom and DAZN, with the second set for September.

"I always only wanted to fight the best. I believe that the rest of my goals will begin to materialise on 7 May," said Bivol.

Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn said the multi-fight deal with Alvarez was "an absolute honour".

"Canelo transcends boxing and is the biggest star in the sport," said Hearn.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/60536012

the legend continues to grow

Have to admire this guy’s willingness to take on the best. If he can beat Bivol it will be time for me to once again re-evaluate my ATG list. Not saying that win gets him to top 10, but it will get him high on my list. He has beaten consistently tough opposition, and his only loss was to an ATG.

Since Alvarez left golden boy there has been a lot less of the weight shenanigans and he took on all the smw Champions(well and yildirim to he fair) and is off to fight bivol next...Maybe de lo hoya is the one who deserves more of the ire than Alvarez does.

Well... DLH was (over)protecting his cash cow to be sure. That pantyhose he once posed with may have been a little too tight, cutting off oxygen to his brain. 'Cause he sure has done some crazy ass shet ever since (was) retired from boxing.

Canelo needs to continue taking on all comers... WITHOUT the diva demands and catchweights. Without marinating or cherry picking. Without stacking the deck in his favor.

Bivol is a good start.

Big test for Canelo, no complaints here. Just hope we get to see it , with all that’s going on at the moment.

Originally Posted by Primo Carnera

Big test for Canelo, no complaints here. Just hope we get to see it , with all that’s going on at the moment.

Forgot about that! Bivol and Beterbiev are both Russian.

Russian boxer Dmitry Bivol wishes ‘only for peace’ following Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine and believes the likes of Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko must do ‘what they have to do’ in the fight.

WBA light-heavyweight champion Bivol, undefeated in 19 professional fights, will take on pound-for-pound king Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in May with the Mexican moving up in weight class in pursuit of more glory.

Following confirmation of their fight last week, the two came together at a press conference in San Diego on Wednesday with the growing crisis in Ukraine inevitably became a talking point.

Bivol was born in Tokmak, Kyrgyzstan, but has been a long-time resident of St Petersburg and is a Russian citizen. The 31-year-old has not expressed his support for Russian president Vladimir Putin with his immediate concern for friends and family in both Russia and Ukraine.

‘I have a lot of friends in Ukraine,’ Bivol said. ‘I have a lot of friends in Russia. My family is in Russia.’

Bivol added he has ‘a lot of friends everywhere’ and wishes them ‘only peace and only the best.’

‘It’s really sad for me,’ he said. ‘Every day I wake up and read the news and I hope it will stop.’

Heavyweight world champion Usyk and three-weight world champion Lomachenko have both returned to their homeland of Ukraine to take up arms following the invasion.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...d=winp1taskbar

My boxing knowledge is not what it used to be. Nowhere near in fact. Had to Google the guy as never heard of him - hmmm it appears he’s Mexican with only one defeat. Beddum tish.

But on a serious note I can’t see this fight happening. If this war continues we’ve only touched the surface of the restrictions against Russians for the foreseeable.

Originally Posted by Master

Originally Posted by Primo Carnera

Big test for Canelo, no complaints here. Just hope we get to see it , with all that’s going on at the moment.

Forgot about that! Bivol and Beterbiev are both Russian.

I know you plank! But in case you hadn’t heard, Russian athletes have been banned from the paralympics. Who knows if this carries on , other sports might follow suit.

Bivol is also a krygz citizen too so maybe they'd let him skip around any sanctions the organizers would level at the Russians... Or maybe Malibu at cruiserweight is back on the table :S

There's probably an asterisk against anything upcoming to be fair. The participants nationality is the tip of the iceberg. Until they're in the ring and all that.

Good fight, quality fight. I know there will be Charlo/Andrade/Benavidez this and that, but I'm with Canelo on this. Fuck off and do your own thing and I'll beat up who's left when the smoke clears. Whats the saying about hoping or wishing it will happen? Go away and make it happen. It's all getting a bit desperate.

It's actually too bad the reality of the dastardly Russian invasion of Ukraine has totally overshadowed this fight. It's probably one of the precious few times in Canelo's career that I have openly conceded that this is a bonafide opponent, at the height of his powers, with no size advantage that I know of. But overshadow it has... and one has to wonder about Bivol's mindset and training coming into this fight. You have to admit... these are totally new and extenuating circumstances that are difficult to just "blow off."

https://www.boxing247.com/boxing-news/214527/214527

"Dmitry Bivol: ‘I’m Ready For Everything From Canelo’ On May 7th"


The article above has one statement that I sort of disagree with... (which again will be of much dismay to those who view me as just a Canelo hater).

"If Bivol is reluctant to let his hands go, as we saw with the 168-lb champions Billy Joe Saunders, Caleb Plant, Rocky Fielding and Callum Smith all were against Canelo, he’s going to get picked apart."


I actually thought BJS was giving as good as he got up until the time he was injured by that uppercut to the eye socket. To this day some in boxing scratch their heads at how much damage Canelo was able to inflict on a full-blown supermiddle with a single punch... when Canelo himself has come up from light welter. But that's another story for another time, I guess.

The point is that one punch immediately turned the whole fight into a stoppage.

But the rest?? You damn right they were reluctant to let their hands go. Callum Smith IMO turned in the 2nd worst possible performance against Canelo (after Kovalev) as the "bigger man." He fought like Bambi.

Rocky Fielding was garbage... precisely the reason he was targeted for the "trinket-grab."

Caleb Plant fought valiantly... but from outset he was no danger to Canelo... and the entire civilized world knew that. Hardly a suspenseful match.


But yeah. For once we have a credible, dangerous, equal-sized (at least), not-over-the-hill, not-cherry-picked, not-marinated opponent for Canelo..... and then his country up and invades Ukraine.