Fresh from conquering the super-middleweight division, the great Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez returns to 175lb to face WBA champion Dmitry Bivol this weekend. The Mexican superstar first claimed light-heavyweight gold in 2019, stopping then-WBO champion Sergey Kovalev in 11 rounds. He now returns to the division to face an unbeaten Russian star on the rise.
Support comes from 14-0 heavyweight phenom Filip Hrgovic, who faces unbeaten Olympic silver medalist Zhang Zhilei in an intriguing collision.
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada
When: Saturday 7th May, 1am (UK time)
How to watch: DAZN
Tale of the Tape:
Alvarez
Place Of Birth: Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Age: 31
Alias: Canelo
Record: 57-1-2
Height: 5’7½’’
Reach: 70½”
Last Fight: ‘Canelo’ broke down IBF super-middleweight champion Caleb Plant in eleven rounds to claim the final piece of the puzzle in his quest to unify the 168lb division.
Bivol
Place Of Birth: Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan
Age: 31
Record: 19-0
Height: 6’0’’
Reach: 72”
Last Fight: Bivol pitched a near-shutout over Umar Salamov in his last outing, keeping the Russian on the end of his rapier-sharp jab for a wide unanimous decision.
What They Say:
Alvarez
“Right now, I have Bivol,” said Canelo. “He’s stronger than Kovalev, yes. He’s a solid champion at 175, a really good fighter. So, it’s a challenge for me, and this kind of challenge motivates me. I’m trying to extend my legacy. [Media Conference Call]
Bivol
“Of course he has good power, he has good skills, but most people think about him like he’s untouchable or he’s unstoppable, or he has enough power to beat super heavyweights. Sometimes it’s funny to hear about him from people. First of all, he’s a good fighter but he’s a man and he had a loss and draw — it means if you believe in your skills, if you’re a good boxer you could make him one more loss.” [Fight Hub TV]
Full Card
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez vs Dmitry Bivol
Filip Hrgovic vs Zhilei Zhang
Montana Love vs Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela
Shakhram Giyasov vs Christian Gomez
Joselito Velazquez vs Jose Soto
Alexis Espino vs Aaron Silva
Marc Castro vs Pedro Vicente Scharbaai
Elnur Abduraimov vs Manuel Correa
Fernando Angel Molina vs Ricardo Valdovinos
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change