Promoter Eddie Hearn believes Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez is facing the best boxer in the light heavyweight division, WBA world champion Dmitry Bivol.
Canelo will challenge Bivol on May 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Currently the undisputed world champion at super middleweight, Canelo had fought at 175-pounds back in 2019 – when he moved up and knocked out Sergey Kovalev for the WBO title.
Afterwards, Canelo vacated the WBO strap and dropped down to 168-pounds.
However, there were many observers who viewed Kovalev as a fighter who was beyond his best years.
Unlike Kovalev, Bivol is undefeated and still in the prime of his career.
“This is a true great of modern-day boxing and when you look at the resume off the back of the two fights with GGG, fights against Daniel Jacobs for the middleweight championship, stepping up two divisions to fight Sergei Kovalev for the WBO light heavyweight championship. Within one year becomes undisputed 168 pound champion by beating all three champions in Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant,” Hearn said.
“If that wasn’t enough, now he moves up again another division to fight in my opinion the best light heavyweight in the world in Dmitry Bivol. Dmitry Bivol is undefeated, current WBA champion of the world, we’ve worked with him for a long time, his manager Vadim Kornilov and world of boxing who we have a great relationship with.
“This young man has been looking for an opportunity like this for a long time, this is not a young man who’s reached the end of his career or is past his prime, this is an outstanding champion in his absolute prime ready for the opportunity of his life against the pound-for-pound king of boxing – Saul Canelo Alvarez.”