Oscar De La Hoya has offered a word of advice to Jermell Charlo ahead of his big bout with Canelo Alvarez.
Take a hard look at the Dmitry Bivol template.
Bivol, the WBA light heavyweight titlist, upset oddsmakers last year, when he unanimously outpointed Alvarez, the current undisputed 168-pound champion, over 12 rounds in their 175-pound title bout. It was only the second loss of Alvarez’s career, and first since dropping a decision to Floyd Mayweather in 2013.
Bivol’s quickness, in-and-out movement, and combinations had Alvarez seemingly befuddled at times.
And it is precisely those qualities, says De La Hoya, that will help Charlo, the undisputed 154-pound champion, unhorse Alvarez in their 168-pound undisputed title bout on Sept. 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“Any style that you give Canelo that is similar to a Bivol, he’s gonna have trouble with,” De La Hoya told FightHubTV. “Anyone that stays on their toes, anyone that flicks a jab in front of his face, anyone that knows how to keep the distance, like Bivol did, Canelo will have trouble.
“That’s the bottom line. Again, he walks on quicksand. That’s what his style is. It worked for him all these years. He has become accustomed to knocking his opponents out, walking them down, with a lot of power. Anyone that tries to box him, and have that same, similar style as Bivol, he’s gonna have trouble with.”
“He can take advantage of it (Alvarez), Charlo, if he knows how to use his distance,” De La Hoya continued. “The distance you get with his feet, the distance you obviously use with your jab, you keep your distance. But if you know how to combine the footwork with your jab or your right hand or your combinations then it’s a perfect combination to win the fight against Canelo.”
De La Hoya, of course, used to promote Alvarez before they had a falling out. Alvarez parted ways with De La Hoya’s Golden Boy in 2020. For the next several years, Alvarez fought mostly under Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, but he pivoted partners earlier this year when he signed a three-fight deal with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions. The fight with Charlo is the first on that contract.
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.