WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol doesn’t believe he’s the pound-for-pound boxer in the world despite his win over Canelo Alvarez.
Last Saturday night in Las Vegas, Dmitry Bivol shocked the masses with an emphatic unanimous decision win over Canelo Alvarez. The triumph took his pro boxing record to 20-0 and dropped the Mexican sensation to just his second defeat in the sport, almost a decade on from his loss at the hands of Floyd Mayweather.
Many fans and pundits have had a lot to say in the aftermath of the result and, unfortunately for the Russian, the focus has primarily been on what’s next for Canelo.
We’ve seen a lot of plaudits being directed toward Bivol from hardcore purists but in a general sense, the conversation has been about where the 31-year-old challenger went wrong in his brave pursuit of glory.
Alvarez dared to be great and came up short, but the P4P best in the game also hit a brick wall - and that wall is called Dmitry Bivol.
During an interview with DAZN, the champ spoke candidly about whether or not he believes he should now take Canelo’s spot in the pound-for-pound rankings.
“I don’t like questions like this to be honest,†he said. “I don’t know, I just beat the P4P best but I don’t think I can take his place and me, P4P best? No, I don’t know where I am.â€
“I agree. I need more good names I want to prove, I want to take another belt, I want this because I don’t feel I am the biggest name in the world,†he stated.
“For me, another good fighter inside of me [and] I can move forward. If I take more belts, I will improve more. If I beat Canelo again, I will stay the same.â€
Will the rematch happen?
The proposed Canelo vs GGG trilogy fight seems to be off the menu for the time being because of this result. Of course, boxing is a strange sport, and there’s every chance it could get booked in time for September. Alas, Canelo’s main focus appears to be on securing a rematch with Bivol.Â
Given that the victor is already talking about it too, we’d say that’s where the smart money sits.