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NEW YORK–If Canelo Alvarez had it completely his way, he would be fighting Dmitry Bivol again in September.
As it were, the Mexican superstar and current 168-pound undisputed champion will take on his longtime nemesis Gennadiy Golovkin in a trilogy bout on Sept. 17 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The fight will be contested at the 168-pound limit, which means Alvarez’s four belts will be on the line.
In May, Alvarez lost a unanimous decision to Bivol, the Russian light heavyweight titleholder, in a 175-pound title bout in Las Vegas. Bivol won on scorecards that read 115-113.
In a round table held at a press conference in Manhattan Monday afternoon to promote the trilogy, Alvarez indicated that a rematch with Bivol was his preference for a fight in the fall. Alvarez admitted he was crestfallen after the loss to Bivol and was eager to avenge himself.
Alvarez, however, said his promoter, Eddie Hearn, advised him to take the Golovkin fight over the Bivol rematch. To that end, Alvarez said it did not take much time for him to whip up the ‘motivation’ to get ready for Golovkin, even if the Kazakh puncher was not exactly his first choice.
“Of course, nobody likes to lose,” Alvarez said. “I always have motivation for boxing, for every single fight.
“We have this deal with Eddie for these two fights but, I just tell Eddie the next day, I want the rematch the Bivol fight in September. But [Hearn told me], ‘No you have to fight with Golovkin and then we can see.’”
Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs) signed a two-fight deal with Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing earlier this year, the second of which involves Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs). There was some talk leading into the Bivol fight that Alvarez might extend the deal to a third fight in December.
Alvarez indicated that he has every intention of fighting Bivol in a rematch next spring.