Canelo signs two fight deal with DAZN

Undisputed super middleweight champion Saul Alvarez will again move up to light heavyweight to face WBA champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7.

Then he will move back down to super middleweight to complete trilogy bout with Gennadiy Golovkin.

The rubber match with GGG is dependent on Alvarez beating Bivol and GGG beating Ryota Murata.

Alvarez turned down PBC’s offer off $50m to fight unbeaten WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo. Alvarez also rejected a September fight with unbeaten two time super middleweight champion David Benavidez

Not sure Bivol has the work rate to take Canelo out of his comfort zone.. Has a decent jab when he uses it..and decent power but he is easy to hit... Will Canelo see anything he didn't see when he beat Kovalev..As past it as he was

As for GGG in six months time he will be further deteriorated and I think Canelo wins comfortably.. Like I said earlier 40 may be okay for Heavies but not at the lower weights against quality fighters..

Pick Spence.. Crawford both to beat a 40 year old Mayweather handily..

When you're the biggest draw in boxing you can pick who you want to fight. Not sure that the Bivol fight is the best plan for him. Although he's as dull as ditchwater, Bivol's a classy boxer and has been wanting this for a while. So I fully expect Bivol to comprehensively outbox Canelo before losing a close SD on the cards, because, you know, money talks. Still, at least Bivol will never have to worry about money I guess...

Not sure on the rubber match with GGG. I don't see the point in it as GGG is not the fighter he was, plus he'll be 40 by the time they fight. A foregone conclusion methinks - an easy UD with potentially GGG retiring on his stool.

A Jermall Charlo or Benavidez fight could have both been interesting. I guess Makabu must be annoyed though, having been touted for the May fight.

Also Hearn has confirmed they are in discussions to negotiate a third fight in December of this year

If they're on the level I prefer these two fights to Charlo and Benavidez, although that could be my dislike of Benavidez clouding my judgement there.

Don't agree about Bivol being easy to hit, Truss. I'd say he probably gets hit flush fewer times than just about any other fighter at world level at the moment. But in fairness he hasn't exactly fought a slew of top offensive fighters to test just how water-tight his defence is against heavy artillery, and there's possibly reason to suspect that his chin, if it can be found, might be a little on the tender side. Smith barely touched him all night, but the one big and meaningful shot he did land clearly hurt Bivol badly, and had it not come right on the bell to finish the round the result might have been very different.

Ultimately Bivol has limited power, no great special effects and no star quality to get the viewers excited, so Canelo probably takes a decision even if he is made to look bad. Can't rule out the stoppage if my suspicions re: Bivol's chin are true, though. He has a relatively safety-first approach but still likes to box in the centre of the ring, so it'll be interesting to see if he can do that against Canelo and avoid ceding ground. But I have my misgivings in these kind of fights with Canelo....

As for Golovkin III, it reminds me a little of the way the third Marquez-Pacquiao fight was instigated - there's even a very similar amount of time elapsed between the second and third fights in both cases, if indeed Golovkin-Canelo III goes ahead as planned.

Just like Golovkin, Marquez was considered my many to be pretty unlucky to only be 0-1-1 in the first two fights, but that had been airbrushed out of the picture somewhat as his rival Pacquiao had gone on to mega stardom and pound for pound supremacy.

Many people - me included - thought that Pacquiao would win the third fight easily, possibly even blast Marquez out in style, because he'd cynically waited until the right moment and had everything in his favour, including the weight which seemed to suit him a lot more than Marquez. Just like Golovkin in the past 3 years, there was a feeling that Marquez was dropping off by 2011 and that Pacquiao was definitely going to get his decisive win over him to draw a line under the rivalry once and for all.

Seems a very similar set up to the proposed third fight with Canelo and Golovkin, to me. In the case of Marquez he surprised a lot of people in that third fight, in fact the wave of sympathy he received for losing that decision probably outdid the first two fights. And of course it led to that stunning fourth encounter.

I wouldn't be surprised if Canelo's gamble backfires here and he similarly finds a better than he thought version of Golovkin facing him in September. Also wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if there's more controversy, ala Marquez-Pacquiao III.

Neither Pacman or Marquez were 40 years old which GGG will be..Though Marquez was pushing it he was up against a mid thirties guy not a prime mover like Alvarez.

Golovkin won't have the energy or legs for 12 at a decent pace with a foe 10 years younger as similarly skilled.

Golovkin has struggled with lesser fighters recently regardless of the aging process that gets exacerbated with every month that goes by..

Perhaps your dislike of Canelo maybe affecting your usual good judgement..

Anyway time for bed..

I thought he was moving up to cruiserweight.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Perhaps your dislike of Canelo maybe affecting your usual good judgement..

Possibly, Truss. But even with Golovkin's age and inactivity I have trouble envisioning Canelo dominating him or taking him apart conclusively, simply based on those first two fights. He may well have slipped enough for Canelo to finally beat him legitimately, but I'd be surprised if it was one-sided.

Take on board your point about Canelo in 2022 (we assume - things can turn quickly) being closer to his prime than Pacquiao in 2011 by the time of the third Marquez fight, though. Manny did look a little bit like he was going through the motions and getting too comfortable in the fights either side of that against Mosley and Bradley.

No name Bertie wrote:I thought he was moving up to cruiserweight.

Alvarez wasn’t getting $50m to fight Makabu

I'll assume Alvarez beats Bivol quite easily. I've seen a few of his fights and he's never impressed me, a lot of b level wins but nothing above that. His best win is probably a faded Pascal.

Not wishing to go all Herman here but I'd be interested to see how the Alvarez chin copes with Beterbiev. He'll outbox him quite easily but if he gets caught clean it could be game over.

175lbs hasn't been awash with top level talent for a long time now.

I reckon Canelo stops a 40 year old GGG at super-middleweight that hasn't fought since 2020.

Interestingly Andre Ward suggested a few months ago that if he was Canelo he would leave both Bivol and Beterbiev alone. He obviously knows what he is talking about. I think it will be closer than some think. Bivol won't win, because, you know, money and marketability plus he is really rather boring...

With all the major belt organisations banning any of the Russian fighters having title fights, it looks like this one's dead in the water. Wonder what will happen now??

I thought the WBA had refused to join the other organizations in refusing to sanction title fights if Russians are involved, Bounce? Instead I believe they are sanctioning fights but with certain conditions (no mention of Russia, fighter not allowed to carry their flag into the ring etc.). I could be wrong though, news (or rumours) changing all the time on that score.

I think it's poor form by the organizations personally and it'll be a shame if this stance becomes official policy and compromises this fight (or Beterbiev-Smith, for instance). They're still good fights in their own right without titles on the line but you have to suspect it could have some bearing on whether or not they go ahead.

Ah, I had obviously misread that bit. Still, I doubt it will go ahead for now. I can't see the WBA sanctioning it if things get worse.

Bivol has multiple nationalities according to what I’ve read.
Kyrgyzstan born.
Moldovan father
Korean mother
Russian by resident

The fight is 100% confirmed.