Battle of the Titans: Why Bivol vs. Alvarez is the main event of the year in Russian boxing

Over the past months, the next fight of Saul Alvarez has remained one of the most discussed topics in world boxing.

There were rumors that the Mexican intended to move to the first heavyweight and try to enter the elite club of athletes who won belts in five different weight categories.

However, Canelo, for one reason or another, decided to postpone it, but agreed to an equally difficult test.

He decided to test himself again in the light heavyweight division and fight WBA champion Dmitry Bivol.

According to BoxingScene, Alvarez has signed a two-fight contract with DAZN.

On May 7, he will fight Bivol in Las Vegas and will try to win the belt.

If successful, the Mexican will return to the ring in September and will face Gennady Golovkin for the third time.

At the same time, it is reported that Canelo’s promoter in the upcoming fights will be the head of Matchroom Boxing Promotions, Eddie Hearn, and the athlete’s fee may reach $ 100 million. Subsequently, the streaming platform confirmed the agreement with the boxer, but did not name the amount of remuneration.

At first glance, the choice of Alvarez can hardly be called logical.

The victory over conditional Ilunga Makabu allowed him to become a champion in five categories and catch up with Floyd Mayweather Jr., Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns in this indicator, further strengthening his legacy.

Success in the battle with Bivol will not be able to provide him with such, because he had previously won the belt in the light heavyweight division.

In November 2019, Saul knocked out Sergey Kovalev and took the WBO title from him, which he never defended afterwards.

Instead, he dropped down to a more convenient second middle division, where he subsequently took trophies in all four prestigious versions.

And there is every reason to believe that this time it will be much more difficult for him to get the belt.

With all due respect to Kovalev, at the time of the meeting with Canelo, he had passed his peak and was already not in the best shape.

He was 36 years old, and in the liabilities there were a total of three defeats from Andre Ward and Eleider Alvarez, and the last two were early.

And in terms of style, the superbly defending and sharply counterattacking Canelo seemed to him an extremely uncomfortable opponent.

As a result, Sergei did not manage to find the keys to Saul's defense, and in the later rounds the age difference, multiplied by the abundance of missed strikes, began to affect.

As a result - a heavy knockout in the 11th three-minute period.

But if the brightly attacking, but at the same time straightforward Kovalev seemed an easy target for Alvarez, then the same cannot be said about Bivol.

Stylistically, Dimitri is one of the most awkward opponents Saul has ever faced.

The WBA champion has excellent footwork, keeps his distance perfectly and practically does not miss.

Until now, the Russian has outboxed all his opponents and has never been on the verge of defeat.

Yes, Bivol has never fought a fighter of Alvarez's caliber in his career.

There were more than enough serious rivals, but there were no such diverse and skillful ones.

Neither current WBO champion Joe Smith nor former WBC belt holder Jean Pascal can be put on a par with Canelo.

Therefore, for Dmitry, the upcoming fight will be the most serious test, and according to its results, he will either stand on a par with the strongest boxers on the planet, or repeat the fate of Kovalev.

Undoubtedly, agreeing to fight with the Mexican, the Russian is taking a big risk.

But in his case, this risk can be considered justified.

On May 7, he will certainly receive the biggest fee in his career, and with a successful outcome, he may go down in history.

Until now, only one person has managed to cope with Alvarez - Floyd Mayweather, who is rightfully considered one of the greatest boxers.

And if Dmitry manages to repeat this achievement, he will receive the status of a superstar and will attract maximum attention both to himself in particular and to the light heavyweight division as a whole.

Yes, beating Alvarez won't get Bivol any closer to his other goal of becoming the undisputed light heavyweight champion.

On the contrary, in case of defeat, he will not only lose his title, but will also be forced to start almost all over again.

At a minimum, he will need to obtain the title of mandatory challenger, which may take some time.

And a Russian is unlikely to want to spend his best years repeating what he has gone through.

In addition, during the fight, Canelo can point out his weaknesses, which future opponents will subsequently try to use.

There is no doubt that the prudent Mexican has already outlined the points he is going to hit.

Otherwise, he simply would not have agreed to this adventure with a return to the division up to 79.3 kg.

It is also interesting how Bivol's potential triumph will be reflected in his collaboration with RCC Boxing Promotions.

In December, the boxer signed a contract for three fights, but so far he has only had one - with Umar Salamov.

The second was postponed due to the duel with Alvarez, and if successful, there is reason to believe that the return to Yekaterinburg will again have to wait.

Foreign promoters will certainly do everything in their power to earn as much as possible from the Russian, and will try to bring him back to the United States.

In the long term, a rematch with Canelo would certainly cause a huge stir in the boxing world and allow for even more money.

Nevertheless, RCC Boxing is confident that nothing threatens their contract with Bivol.

A few days before the official announcement of the fight with Alvarez, the promotion announced that in 2022 they intended to arrange a fight with Dmitry at home.

“As for the fight between Bivol and Alvarez, this issue is practically resolved, and, most likely, it will take place.

We are aware of these negotiations.

Even before the signing of the agreement with Bivol, we discussed all these points ... But our plans are not collapsing, but simply shifting.

I am sure that Dima has every chance of winning, they are definitely more than Alvarez's previous rivals.

It will be very difficult for Canelo... We still have plans for the Bivola fight in Russia this year.

We will have shows in September and December, and Dima can perform at one of them, ”said German Titov, CEO of RCC Boxing Promotions, to Match TV.

The functionary did not rule out that at the end of the year the audience will be able to see the long-awaited unification duel between Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.

According to rumors, in June the latter will try to take the WBC title and Joe Smith and come close to winning the absolute champion status.

“As for the meeting between Bivol and Beterbiev, as you know, negotiations are underway for a meeting between Beterbiev and Joe Smith for June, and in this fight, I think Smith has very little chance.

And if Bivol retains the belt, then their meeting is asking for December, ”added Titov.