Dmitry Bivol has opened up on the upcoming fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.
The fight is on course to happen in September during Mexican Independence Weekend. It is expected to be an Undisputed Super Middleweight Clash if Canelo overcomes William Scull in May for the latter’s IBF Title. The fight would see Crawford jumping up two-weight divisions from junior middleweight to try and dethrone Canelo to become a five-weight world champion. Jermell Charlo did this in 2023. Although Charlo made it to the final bell, he was dropped on his way to a decision loss. He also failed to trouble Alvarez, as the extra weight impacted his performance, as his speed was not what it used to be.
Crawford showed that he could be hit more than normal in his last fight against Israil Madrimov at 154 pounds, even if Bud did win to become the WBA champ. Bivol was in the ring with Canelo when the latter moved up from super middleweight to light heavyweight. Bivol had the weight advantage, having been more of an experienced operator at the weight class. Although Canelo knocked out Sergey Kovalev to become the WBO Light Heavyweight Champion, he could not trouble Bivol, who secured a decision win.
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Bivol also knows what it is like to be in the ring with a formidable opponent. He defeated Artur Beterbiev in his last fight to become the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion. He also went the distance in the fight before, where he was on the wrong end of a decision. Canelo has only suffered two defeats, the other of which was against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Alvarez has never been stopped in his career, having had three fights with Triple GGG. Despite the concerns over the difference in weight, Bivol felt that a large part of it would be the mindset coming into the fight. And if Crawford believes that he will come out victorious, Bivol could see it happening.
“He need to get used to the power and pressure of 168 because it’s [different], big difference to be honest. Maybe he will get used to it. And how he will be feeling himself the same say he is fighting, how his training camp will go on — a lot of [questions]. But he is able, he has good skills, he is awkward, he can use two boxing stance. It gives him benefits, of course.
“It’s not only about getting used to the power, it’s also about being mentally ready because when people are not prepared mentally, they like afraid or scared, you become weak, your body become weak…Mentality is very important for this fight. At the same time we saw how Canelo was fighting against other guys like Charlo, maybe Callum Smith and we saw the huge difference. I think it’s not because of weight class, it’s about mentality of the opponents,” Bivol said
