The ship that is Dmitry Bivol has sailed for Canelo Alvarez.
The undisputed super middleweight champion Alvarez stepped up to 175 pounds for the second time in his career in May 2022 and suffered a unanimous decision defeat to the Russian Bivol, getting outlanded 152 to 84 along the way.
The Mexican star Alvarez was adamant about getting a shot at exacting revenge and fighting Bivol in a rematch, but he would end up fighting Gennadiy Golovkin last fall, John Ryder in May, and has since signed a three-fight deal with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions.
Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) had previously stated that he wanted the rematch to take place at 175 pounds, while the WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) wanted to further punctuate a possible repeat winning performance by moving down to Alvarez’s natural weight class at 168 pounds.
“Look, [Bivol] asked and tried to make the negotiations hard, right, and tried to make his own decision and everything. And I tried my best,” Alvarez told Brian Custer on “The Last Stand.”
Alvarez is next slated to face Jermell Charlo and defend his 168-pound crown on Sept. 30 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Showtime pay-per-view.
Bivol’s manager Vadim Kornilov recently stated that he does not expect a rematch to ever take place.
“Right now I am focused 100% on my fight with Jermell Charlo, and working with PBC right now as is my focus,” said Alvarez. “I’m going to try my best [to stop Charlo]. I will. I always try, and I’m going to try every single round. Any fighter who says they don’t look for the knockout? That’s a lie.”
A significant reason why a Bivol fight is not imminent until at least May 2025 is because the 2022 fighter of the year is currently tied to Matchroom Boxing.
“Look, I’ve done a lot of things. I’ve fought with many fighters. And I think it’s the correct moment to come here and fight in PBC. We sat down with Al Haymon and talked about it. I’m happy to be working with him,” said Alvarez.
“[David Benavidez] is always there. I always try to do the best fights out there. If it’s good for boxing, it’s good for me.”
Kornilov, meanwhile, admitted that it’s been very difficult finding Bivol an opponent to face.
Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn stated last week that Lyndon Arthur could be in play for Bivol’s next foe.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.