Canelo reveals who he would face if he returns to light-heavyweight.
There was once a time where Canelo Álvarez was seen as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. Though he has slipped somewhat since then, he remains one of the biggest stars in the sport today.
A champion across four divisions, Canelo was at his heaviest on the occasions he ventured up to light-heavyweight. And on the first of these occasions, he took on Sergey Kovalev.
It was 2019, and Canelo was just under six months removed from his middleweight unification victory over Daniel Jacobs. Venturing two divisions up to light-heavyweight, he took on WBO champion Kovalev.
The Russian was in his third reign as champion, coming off his knockout victory over Anthony Yarde. Now 36, Kovalev wasn’t what he once was, and he was ultimately brutally dispatched by Canelo in the 11th round despite posing him some problems earlier on.
Canelo would vacate the belt and move down, where he would go on his historic super-middleweight run. And after becoming undisputed champion by stopping Caleb Plant, he decided to move up again.
This time, Canelo faced another Russian in Dmitry Bivol. Only, Bivol was years younger, far fresher, and way less worn that Kovalev.
And it showed, as Bivol would successfully defend his WBA title in a breakout victory, handing the Mexican his second professional defeat in 61 contests.
Since then, Canelo has made several defences of his undisputed 168-pound crown, which he lost to Terence Crawford in September.
When Crawford retired in December, the belts went their separate ways. Canelo will next be in the ring against Christian Mbilli, the man who gained the WBC belt from that splintering.
Ahead of that challenge later this year, Canelo has told The Ring that he may have another go at light-heavyweight, but only if it’s to fight one man.
“If I go to 175 [pounds], it’s to fight Bivol, or maybe he [can] come down [to 168 pounds]”, stated Canelo.
Since his 2022 win over Canelo, Bivol has engaged in a two-fight rivalry with Artur Beterbiev, which saw Bivol emerge as the undisputed light-heavyweight champion.
Out of the ring for over 15 months, Bivol will be defending his unified championship (he vacated the WBC belt last year) against IBF mandatory Michael Eifert when he makes his return this Saturday.
Should he win (as he is expected to do), the WBO have ruled that he must face Callum Smith next. And if he gets through that, fans will be asking for a trilogy with Beterbiev or a blockbuster bout with David Benavidez.
If Canelo becomes a factor after that, it’s possible that Bivol could face him in what would undoubtedly be a lucrative rematch.
However, he presently has quite a lot on his plate, so it remains to be seen if that will end up materialising.
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