By: Hans Themistode
There was an indelible smile smeared onto the face of Dmitry Bivol. The 31-year-old light heavyweight titlist has been longing for a showdown against boxing’s premier star, Canelo Alvarez.
The wish of the current WBA 175 pound champion was officially granted just a few days ago as he’ll now take on Alvarez on May 7th, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
With the biggest night of his boxing life taking place in just over two months, Bivol took the time to analyze the overall skills of the pound-for-pound star.
“He has good skills and good power,” said Bivol during a recent interview with Fight Hub TV. “This is really interesting for me.”
Alvarez, of course, stormed through the 168-pound division for the better part of the past 12 months. From December of 2020 to November of 2021, Alvarez scored lopsided victories against Callum Smith, Avni Yildirim, Billy Joe Saunders, and Caleb Plant.
As a result, Alvarez snagged every world title at 168 pounds to become the division’s first undisputed champion.
Although Bivol had no idea that a showdown against Alvarez was forthcoming, the Russian star admits to closely observing Alvarez over the years. Now, with Bivol beginning the early stages of his preparation, he believes he has a good grasp on what Alvarez brings to the table and how it compares to his own abilities.
“I think the main difference is he’s more of a brawler,” continued Bivol. “He’s looking for toe to toe, he’s looking for more of an aggressive type of fight. I’m more of a boxer that’s trying to keep the fight cleaner and trying to be more defensive. I think that makes the fight somewhat exciting actually.”
Bivol’s aforementioned boxing skills, have led him to an undefeated record through 19 professional fights, and a world title reign that stretches to the five-year mark. Following wide decision victories over Joe Smith Jr., Lenin Castillo, and most recently, Umar Salamov, Bivol was content with staying in first gear and playing things safe.
Against Alvarez, on the other hand, Bivol knows that he’ll have to take things up a notch if he wants to keep a tight grip on his world title.
“I can’t put everything on just trying to keep distance and trying to box. I have to be ready to fight him head to head or toe to toe if that happens. I believe I have the power and the strength to do that if I need to.”