You Have To Ask Canelo: Artur Beterbiev On Why Canelo Chose To Fight Bivol Over Him

Artur Beterbiev, the unified Light Heavyweight champion of the world, has no concrete explanation as to why Canelo Alvarez preferred to fight Dmitry Bivol in his 175-pound return over him.

He was the one who chose Bivol, not me: Artur Beterbiev

Last year in May, Canelo returned to light heavyweight to contest WBA champ Bivol. While a close contest was expected, Bivol dominated throughout the 12 rounds, ending the fight with a unanimous decision victory.

While there were several other options for the Mexican to go against at 175, Beterbiev believes its Canelo who can answer the best why he chose Bivol over others in the division, including him.

“I don’t know,” Beterbiev said in an interview with Dev Sahni. “Why do you think? You have to ask Canelo, not me. How can I answer this question? He was the one who chose Bivol, not me.”

All that being said, Beterbiev added that he would take a fight against Canelo, although it is not a priority for him.

“With Canelo?” Beterbiev went on, “If it was a fight that came up, I would take it, but I’m not dreaming of that fight, to be honest.”

The native of Dagestan, Russia is 37 years old and remains undefeated as a professional, with all of his 18 victories coming via knockouts. He will be back in action this 28th Jan, defending the WBC, IBF, and WBO belts against Anthony Yarde in London.

Bivol, meanwhile, insists with the idea that his priority is to unify the four belts with Artur Beterbiev. Apparently, the rematch with Canelo is in the background and is not in his interest.

“I want to be undisputable, and that is my maximum objective. My priority is to fight for other belts,” he said. “Of course, that would be a great fight. I would like to fight for his belts, and I know he wants to fight too. It will be a great fight. He is a tough opponent.”