WBA Light Heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) might be taking the route to undisputed title clash as his next fight, that is, to face the winner of Artur Beterbiev vs Joe Smith Jr if Canelo Alvarez deviates away from a rematch, says his manager Vadim Kornilov.
Bivol pulled off a shocker last Saturday night, outperforming Canelo throughout the 12 rounds at the T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada to secure a victory via unanimous decision (115-113, 115-113, 115-113).
While both boxers initially nodded to a rematch soon after the fight, Canelo later insisted that he might change his mind as the undisputed 168-pound champion has a trilogy fight against Gennadiy Golovkin in the works later this year.
On the other hand, the Light Heavyweight division is soon to get a three-belt unified champion next month as WBC and IBF champion Artur Beterbiev will square off against WBO titleholder Joe Smith Jr on 18th June at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
Dmitry Bivol taking on Beterbiev vs Smith winner for undisputed 175-pound title is “not an easy fight to make” says Kornilov
If Canelo decides to opt out of the Bivol rematch, the WBA champion will have a shot at the undisputed crown at 175- by taking on the Beterbiev vs Smith winner, as his manager Kornilov told Fighthype.
“There’s no deadline. Right now, it’s just vacation. Our goal is to get some rest, all of us. It’s been a stressful month for us. There are a lot of things to go through. He can make his plans and figure out what he [Canelo] wants to do. He needs some time as well, from what I understand. There’s absolutely no rush,” said Kornilov.
“Obviously, Dmitry, as he said, he dreamed from the beginning when we started working; we were always talking about him becoming an undisputed champion at 175,” the manager went on, “Right now, there’s a big opportunity to make that happen. That’s not an easy fight to make either. If that can happen, that’s another option. We’ll see.”
“I plan on coming to the fight as well,” Kornilov commented on the upcoming Beterbiev vs Smith clash, “That’ll be an exciting fight as well, Smith & Beterbiev.”
Do you think the Canelo rematch will happen or will Bivol take the undisputed title shot? Let us know in the comments below.
