WBA light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol shocked the boxing world when he bullied and bested Canelo Alvarez during a unanimous decision win in May 2022.

On-and-off discussions for a rematch took place for around a year before both parties moved on. 

The career-long 175-pounder Bivol insisted a second fight should take place at 168 pounds, Alvarez’s natural weight class and the division for which he held the undisputed champion title. 

Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) wanted the sequel to be staged around the same terms at 175 pounds. 

The Mexican star ultimately punted on fighting Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs) and said the Russian made negotiations hard. 

“How can I make [negotiations] difficult? We didn't even discuss it, to be honest. Nothing. He had his dates already and then I saw in the news that the problem was me. It was funny. I beat him once. I'm good,” Bivol told BoxingScene.com in an interview. 

“I'm not a big light heavyweight fighter. I can make 168, but only for belts. Canelo has the belts, and that is why I wanted to fight him. But now we have other plans and we will follow our plans, and then we will see. Maybe in the future. I don't know when. But now I am focused on being the undisputed champion in the light heavyweight division. That's more realistic than another fight … I hope I will fight for undisputed in my weight class because the subject with Canelo is now closed.”

Alvarez had only fought once before at 175 pounds, a 2019 11th-round knockout win against Sergey Kovalev. After the Bivol fight, Alvarez scored wins against Gennadiy Golovkin, John Ryder, and Jermell Charlo at 168 pounds. 

Bivol believes his dominant decision win in which he outlanded Alvarez 152 to 84 across 12 rounds forced the four-division champion Alvarez to reconsider another run at 175 pounds. 

“I think at one moment he felt that he should respect this weight class. He respects, I think,” said Bivol. 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.