Recently, Canelo Alvarez indicated his desire for a rematch against WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. That said, the 31-year-old superstar has decided to stick to his original plan of facing Gennadiy Golovkin one last time.
Canelo recently spoke to the media to discuss his upcoming plans. Earlier this year, Canelo signed a deal with Matchroom Boxing and DAZN to fight Bivol this past month and Golovkin in September. When Canelo lost against Bivol, he wanted to prove that he could beat him. He decided to reverse course, however. Now, he will defend his undisputed super-middleweight titles against Golovkin.
Per ESPN, Canelo reportedly had 30 days to decide between the two options. Sept. 17 is the rumored date for the fight. Bivol will have to wait until after the Golovkin fight.
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👀 ¡Atención!
🥊 Canelo Álvarez da pistas sobre su futuro y parece que tendremos la tercer pelea contra Gennady Golovkin en septiembre.
👀 Ojo con lo que comentó sobre Bivol.
📹 @ChavaESPN pic.twitter.com/5qbhScAArl
— ESPN.com.mx (@ESPNmx) May 23, 2022
“Surely, yes [about fighting Golovkin next]. We already had that contract, that agreement, so we have to continue what we started, and I think those are the two biggest fights in boxing, the fight with Golovkin and the rematch with Bivol, Canelo stated per ESPN Deportes, via Boxing Scene. “Unfortunately, we lost, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try again. The important thing here is perseverance, and we’re going to do it again.
“What is certain is that we are going to return in September. And in the coming days… today, tomorrow, the day after, we are going to announce the fight, we just have to wait a little bit.”
Canelo attempted to win his second title in the light-heavyweight division against Bivol on May 7. According to CompuBox, Bivol dominated with 152 shots landing compared to 84 for Canelo. Bivol landed 46 jabs and only landed single-digit shots once. Canelo landed double-digit blows just twice.
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The third fight between Canelo and GGG was always in play. The two first fought in 2017, with the bout ending in a controversial split draw. They competed in a rematch in ’18, which was delayed by a few months after Alvarez tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol. Canelo won via majority decision.
Since then, Canelo has gone 7-1 while Golovkin has gone 4-0. Recently, Golovkin beat Ryota Murata in Japan and is now the WBA, IBF and IBO middleweight champion. That was Golovkin’s first fight since 2020 following delays due to COVID-19 and injuries.
Canelo became the undisputed super-middleweight champion in 11 months. He beat Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders, and Caleb Plant to win the WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF, and The Ring titles.
This upcoming fight would be the 40-year-old Golovkin’s debut at super-middleweight.