After a major upset at the hands of WBA Light Heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, Eddie Hearn says Canelo Alvarez’s rematch with the Russian is targeted for 17th September, but only if the pound for pound king wants to activate the clause.
“Rematch with Bivol or defend your 168 titles?” Hearn says its up to Canelo to decide
Canelo’s much-awaited return to 175 ended in a major anticlimax. The undisputed super middleweight champion suffered his second career defeat after nine years, going down against Bivol via unanimous decision at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada on 7th May.
Soon after the fight, both fighters mutually agreed to a rematch, with Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn even proposing 17th September as the date for Canelo vs. Bivol 2. However, the promoter says its upto Canelo to go forth with the rematch or not, as he believes 175 is a backbreaking work for the 168-pound undisputed champion.
“It’s up to Saul to trigger the rematch if he wants to do it. I said before the fight that Saul is handicapping himself to be in tough fights. It’s quite weird. He has no right to be at 175, but he’s doing it to have tough challenges,” Hearn said in an interview with iFL TV.
While the rematch with Bivol is one path for Canelo, he is also in the talks for a trilogy fight with unified WBA (Super), IBF and IBO middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin with his 168 belts on the line, that too in September. Although it’s up to Canelo to pick the path he wants, Hearn believes he will opt for the Bivol rematch.
“The question is now, do you want to rematch with Dmitry Bivol or move and defend your 168 titles?” Hearn went on, “I think he’s going to want to rematch him because I know how he’s personally like, and it’s a huge fight. We’ll see what happens, and if he wants to activate that rematch clause, we’ll make that happen for September 17th.” [H/T Boxingnews24.com]
Highlights:
- Eddie Hearn is targeting September 17th for the Canelo vs. Bivol rematch
- Canelo is also in the talks about a trilogy fight with Golovkin in September
- Hearn says its up to Canelo to decide between the two fights
Do you think Canelo should go for the Bivol rematch or Golovkin trilogy? Share your thoughts in the comments.
