‘I like difficulties, it causes me to feel invigorated’: Pound-for-pound lord Canelo Alvarez climbs in weight to confront light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in Vegas

‘I like difficulties, it causes me to feel invigorated’: Pound-for-pound lord Canelo Alvarez climbs in weight to confront light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in Vegas

Canelo Alvarez moves forward to confront Dmitry Bivol in Las Vegas this Saturday
This light-heavyweight battle denotes the Mexican star’s re-visitation of the division
Ruling WBA champion Bivol, 31, desires to run this most recent endeavor
On May 7, the battle will be accessible to British fans on real time feature DAZN
Not long from now, South Londoners Buatsi and Richards will conflict at The O2
Venturing out is generally the hardest while stepping up. Simply ask undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo Álvarez as he heads to the ring for his returning light-heavyweight division battle.

His devotion to the game has thought outside the box, evading the pattern of tip top level warriors who settle for the status quo.

Last year, the pound-for-pound ruler turned into the undisputed super-middleweight champion and this year, he has his sights set on a new arrangement of titles.

Remaining among him and his most recent belt is WBA (Super) champion, Dmitry Bivol, who will place his everything into clutching the title. Despite the fact that it may be his twentieth ace excursion, Bivol’s record proposes this might be the hardest battle yet for Canelo.

The last time boxing’s pound-for-pound No 1 was in the ring, he secured his most recent title against American fighter Caleb Pant in December. His last time fighting this division was in 2020 when he dethroned Sergey Kovalev, having secured all four bouts in less than a year.

Always one to do the unexpected, Canelo is reportedly going vegan in the run-up to this fight. Speaking to The Volume, he said that while he is ‘not 100% committed’ to the dietary choice, it’s a defining part of his preparations.

Bivol will tower four inches over the 5ft8 fighter, but his reach will only be two inches shorter by comparison. It will be technique and stamina that will determine which 31-year-old fighter will come out on top.

Dmitry Bivol is set to put him through his paces during the 12-round contest, all broadcast live on DAZN

Speaking at their announcement presser, Canelo said of his opponent:

‘I like challenges; it makes me feel alive – challenges for me in everything in my life. I like a good challenge and now I have a very good fighter in front of me and I’m excited for this fight.’

‘Bivol is a really tough fighter and it’s going to be a really good fight for Cinco de Mayo weekend with my people in Las Vegas – Mexican weekend.

‘I’m really excited and I’m going to prepare really well because this fight is going to be really hard.’

So far in his career, the Kyrgyz-born fighter has won all 19 of his outings, with 11 of them resulting in a knockout win. Having taken on a total of 148 rounds to Canelo’s 438 and debuting nine years after, experience will be on the Mexican figher’s side.

The nine-fight full card will also feature Montana Love vs Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela, Shakhram Giyasov vs Christian Gomez and Joselito Velazquez vs Jose Soto, and Zhilei Zhang among others.

What could be next for Canelo?

Should the 31-year-old emerge victorious on Saturday, he’ll probably have his eyes set on a highly anticipated re-match

Looking ahead to what could follow after Saturday’s fight, the pound-for-pound king has made it clear how he hopes to continue his super-lightweight campaign.

Canelo told The Volume’s Chris Mannix that he was in his prime and that few fighters would be able to beat him. But, this hasn’t stopped the speculation that his next big fight could be a re-match against Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin.

On GGG’s latest performance in the ring, Canelo shared: ‘He looks strong, he looks good as always.’

With DAZN fighting his corner, Canelo has verbally committed to a trilogy fight with Gennady Golovkin this September, but his adversary is reluctant to sign on the dotted line according to ESPN‘s Mike Coppinger.

Click HERE to sign up to DAZN for just £7.99/month and stream the Canelo vs Bivol fight at 4am BST on Sunday morning.

NEXT UP ON THE CALENDAR:  Buatsi v Richards

Former light-heavyweight title holder James Buatsi, who held the title in 2019, will go toe-to-toe with Craig Richards (pictured) who held the title last year

As light-heavyweight fights go, Canelo vs Bivol might be a larger fanfare but later this month the stakes will be more personal when two Londoners enter the ring.

On May 21, Joshua Buatsi – widely recognised as Croydon’s finest – will go toe-to-toe with Crystal Palace fighter Craig Richards at The O2. The clash of the hometown heroes promises to be a big test for Buatsi, 29, as he takes on a former World Title challenger.

Just over a year ago, Richards put on an impressive performance as he faced off against Bivol but he ultimately wasn’t able to clinch the title. The Russian held on to the WBA light heavyweight championship of the world.

Ghanaian-born fighter Buatsi was also set to fight a Russian former World Title challenger, Maxim Vlasov, but had to pull out after suffering a hand injury.

Streaming exclusively on DAZN, the fight will pitch one South London lad against another for what promises to be an electrifying fight.

The undercard will feature Chantelle Cameron defending her WBC, IBF super lightweight titles against two-weight world champion Victoria Noelia Bustos.

Joshua Buatsi

 Age: 29

Height: 6’2′

Reach: 74.5′

Wins: 15

Knockouts:  13

Ties: 0

Losses: 0

Craig Richards 

Age: 32

Height: 6’1′

Reach: 73′

Wins: 17

Knockouts: 10

Ties: 1

Losses: 2