'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Saul Canelo Alvarez suffered the second defeat of his incredible career on May 7 this year against Dmitry Bivol. After the fight, Canelo Alvarez stated in the ring that he would like a rematch, and this has been confirmed by Eddie Hearn, while speaking to IFL TV.
Many consider the Mexican to be one of the greats of the sport already due to him moving up multiple weight divisions and constantly challenging himself. This must be respected, and the Mexican deserves immense praise. However, a rematch against Bivol is a risky move.
Let’s look at five reasons why he should not take the rematch option.
#5. Canelo Alvarez has many options
In the lead-up to this fight, it was rumored that Canelo Alvarez could have gone down different routes where he could have made more money. However, he chose to pursue all-time greatness by taking this fight. There are many options for him. He could fight the likes of David Benavidez, Jermell Charlo, and, of course, Gennadiy Golovkin.
These are all fights in which Canelo Alvarez will have a better chance of winning, as opposed to a rematch with Bivol. There is nothing to prove by fighting Bivol again, he is just too big and technical for the Mexican at that weight.
#4. Bivol's style causes Canelo Alvarez problems
The style of Bivol caused Canelo Alvarez issues and this made life difficult for the Mexican as he was struggling to land meaningful combinations on his opponent. Bivol has a good jab and we saw him execute and use this weapon to his advantage throughout the fight.
Another argument is that he struggles when his opponents fight at an uncomfortable pace. Bivol possesses the ability to fight at an intense pace and this posed an issue for the 31-year-old that he could not solve.
Bivol is such a tricky opponent because he does not sit heavily on his shots. This allows him to be effective later on in the fight. When he does sit on his shots, he has a strong right hand and can hurt his opponent. It is difficult to see how a victory for Eddy Reynoso's fighter would come in a rematch.
#3. Size difference
It was clear at the weigh-in that there was a huge size difference between the two fighters. This played an important role in the fight as the Mexican struggled to hurt Bivol. Most of his punches hit the gloves of Bivol and his arm.
Bivol often enjoyed success in finding his opponent's chin and his combinations were extremely effective. These scoring shots would have also caught the attention of the judges.
Throughout Canelo Alvarez' career, it has been said that he has struggled with his stamina and he tends to slow down in the later rounds. While the Mexican pugilist has improved on this a lot, this problem was again evident in this fight.
It also affected the power in his shots. This was a consequence of the Mexican gaining all that weight for this fight.
#2. Canelo Alvarez is risking his legacy
As mentioned earlier, the 31-year-old is a great of the sport and the fact that he started off as a welterweight and is now competing at light heavyweight is incredible.
He has taken challenge after challenge and has surprised everyone with how successful he has been in the heavier divisions. However, it felt in the fight against Bivol that he was biting something more than he could chew.
If he does pursue a rematch and fails to win, back-to-back losses would not look good on his resume and could hurt his legacy.
However, it could be argued that if he beats Bivol in a rematch, it would be one of the biggest victories of his career. Eddy Reynoso is also a fantastic trainer and may be thinking about making some adjustments going into a rematch.
Yet, it is a big risk for Canelo Alvarez to go into the ring with Bivol again, it is also a fight that he does not need to take.
#1. Canelo Alvarez Should Fight Golovkin Next
Gennadiy ‘Triple G’ Golovkin made his return to the ring last month after 16 months of absence. While it was not the Golovkin that fans are accustomed to, he finished the job with a TKO win over Ryota Murata.
There is clearly unfinished business between Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez with them being involved in such close fights. Canelo Alvarez won their second encounter, but the decision could have gone either way. The general opinion of the boxing community was that Golovkin won the first fight, which was called a draw.
With the Mexican losing, there is more demand and appetite from the fans to see him go up against Golovkin in a trilogy fight, as opposed to fighting the Russian again.
Eddie Hearn confirmed when speaking to IFL TV that if he had won against Bivol, they would have confirmed the trilogy fight with Golovkin in the ring. The loss to Bivol makes this fight more interesting, as before that, many were of the opinion that the Mexican would clearly beat Golovkin.
