Boxing’s P4P king Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez returns to action on Saturday night, as he bids to dethrone yet another of the sport’s reigning world champions.
Canelo steps up to light-heavyweight for the second time in his career for an eagerly-awaited showdown with WBA title holder Russian Dmitry Bivol at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The last time Alvarez fought at 175lbs, he knocked out Sergey Kovalev to annex the WBO title in November 2019. He will start a hot favourite on Saturday to once again prove he can rule at the higher weight.
Canelo is a man absolutely at the peak of his powers, but the riches he has now earned have done nothing to dim his desire to take on new challenges.
Canelo vs Usyk at HEAVYWEIGHT?
Before the Bivol fight was announced, a move up to cruiserweight (200lbs) had been mooted, and this week in Vegas the talk was of a potential fight at HEAVYWEIGHT.
Current IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk said he would be willing to come back down to cruiser to meet Canelo. The Mexican’s response? ‘Let’s do it at 201lbs, with the heavyweight title on the line’.
At first that kind of talk sounds like the height of madness. After all, Usyk was 221lbs for his terrific victory over Anthony Joshua last September, while Canelo fought at 168 all of last year.
There is precedent for this though - remember Roy Jones Jr moving up from super-middle to light-heavyweight and then heavyweight to beat John Ruiz to become a world champion in 2003. But Usyk is no Ruiz…
For now, all that talk did was generate more media headlines for a fight week that really didn’t need the added promotion. Canelo is now a bona fide megastar, the master of all he surveys.
The 31-year-old from Guadalajara (57-1-2) spent all of 2021 cleaning up the super-middleweight division, and now he plans to do the same at 175lbs. Despite the odds though (Canelo is a 1-5 favourite with Sky Bet) this is no pushover.
Bivol (7-2) brings a 19-0 record to the table as well as that WBA strap, and many experts believe this is the toughest test Alvarez has faced in a long time. And that for a man who ducks absolutely nobody. Canelo though cannot wait for the challenge.
He said at Thursday’s final press conference: “He’s a really good champion, he’s a really good fighter. We know that he has a lot of skills, a lot of amateur experience. He’s a solid champion at 175 but I know I’m ready. I believe in my skills and I’m very confident in how strong I am.
Alvarez desperate for new challenges
“I like that kind of challenge because I just want to make history. I feel alive when I have this kind of challenge - I respect the boxing skill of Dmitry Bivol but it’s my time. I feel in my prime and I enjoy this kind of moment.”
Alvarez referenced his epic 2021 campaign at super-middleweight, but only in the context of what he will now try to achieve. In his last 10 fights Canelo has faced a world champion eight times, he just doesn’t do easy nights.
“I beat all the champions in 168, so for now I’m okay at that weight. I need to take another challenge for myself, not just to make history, I need to feel that kind of challenge. To go up to 175 and have the opportunity to win another title is amazing for me.
“I know he’s gonna bring everything and I like the idea. The only thing I want is a really good fight - a really good fight is gonna be there in the boxing history books.”
Canelo is the marquee attraction, the A-side in any fight he takes part in. His payday on Saturday night will be a reported $50million-plus. No wonder that streaming service DAZN is pinning all of its hopes on him for the launch of its new PPV platform.
Bivol confident ahead of his biggest test
Bivol though, right now at least, is not blinded by the brightest lights in boxing. At the age of 31, he has waited a long time for this moment.
“I’m really glad that I got my opportunity. I asked my team for many many years to fight the best guys from light-heavyweight, from super-middleweight, and now I got this fight.
“I believe in me, I’ve had a long trip to this moment and now I have to do my job. Every time I come to the ring I believe in my victory - if you don’t believe you never win. I believe in my victory, why not?”
On Saturday night, on Cinco De Mayo weekend, we’ll get all the answers. And as ever, a Canelo fight will be the biggest event boxing can deliver. Now we just want the fight.
