Eddie Hearn, who works fight by fight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, says the Mexican star will seek a rematch with WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.
In May, Canelo suffered his first loss since 2013 when Bivol outpointed him in twelve rounds.
Canelo bounced back on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Gennadiy Golovkin in their trilogy clash.
With that victory, Canelo retained his undisputed status at 168 pounds.
According to Hearn, there is always a chance that Bivol will drop in weight to challenge Canelo for his four titles.
However, Bivol has a very tough test in the coming months.
In November, Bivol will make a mandatory defense against undefeated contender Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez. If Bivol suffers the loss, the chances of a rematch with Canelo will be reduced.
Canelo has stated in several interviews that he will not seek a rematch with Bivol if he loses the upcoming fight with Ramirez.
“Dmitry Bivol is the target. Obviously, he will want to avenge that loss, but Bivol has a very tough fight against Zurdo Ramirez on November 5. We will have to see if he gets over that, but I think for Canelo Alvarez, that will always be on his mind to see if he can avenge that loss,” Hearn said.
“I don’t think Canelo Alvarez is looking at 175 as a division that he necessarily wants to come back to and win belts, but he wants Zurdo Ramirez to beat Bivol for Mexico, but he also wants Bivol to win so he can get a chance to rematch him.
“Don’t rule out the possibility of Bivol going down to 168 to fight for the undisputed title because he wants to do that too. We have to see, but November 5 in Abu Dhabi is a very important date for the division’s agenda.
Canelo was expected to fight again in the month of May. That scenario is potentially going to change.
After last weekend’s win, Canelo explained that his left hand was injured and he plans to have surgery, which may delay his comeback until September 2023.
