A second encounter between Canelo Alvarez and Dmitry Bivol has reached the wishlist of many boxing fans, but it may never materialize if Canelo doesn’t overcome his next hurdle- Gennadiy Golovkin.
After his shock defeat to WBA Light Heavyweight champ Bivol back in May, there have been mixed takes on whether Canelo should return to 175 for the rematch. Amidst the difference of opinions, Canelo himself said that if Bivol is able to defeat Gilberto Ramirez on 5th November, he will go ahead with the rematch.
As it turns out, Bivol’s camp has issued a condition for Canelo as well. The Mexican is facing longtime rival Gennadiy Golovkin this 17th September in Las Vegas for their much awaited trilogy, with Canelo’s 186-pound belts up for grabs.
As Dmitry Bivol voices support for GGG, Canelo must defeat him to secure the 175-pound rematch
Speaking to BoxingScene.com, Bivol’s manager Vadim Kornilov states that if Canelo is unsuccessful against GGG and loses his undisputed status, there’s no point in going ahead with a rematch.
“If Canelo loses Golovkin, then we’re not fighting in the rematch with him either,” said Kornilov, “I heard him say that he’s not fighting Bivol if he lost to Ramirez. If [Canelo] lost to Golovkin, we’re not fighting Golovkin.”
“There is no obligation for the rematch to occur.We can make it happen. We have an agreement that if the fight can be made, we will make it. Our partnership with Matchroom [Boxing], we can always make it work. It’s a big money fight,” Kornilov went on, “But if he lost to Golovkin, it’s not that big of a fight anymore and we can just go fight somebody else.”
Bivol, who will mark the fifth year of his WBA title reign (counting both regular and elevated ‘Super’ champ status), is not very fond of giving his predictions for Canelo vs Golovkin 3 but will root for the Kazakhstani.
“I don’t know, I don’t like to do predictions. But we support Triple G,” Bivol acknowledged.
