"It's not my goal" - Dmitry Bivol reveals Canelo Alvarez rematch not his ideal next fight
Dmitry Bivol has said that Canelo Alvarez is not the next opponent he wants to face.
Last Saturday night, the WBA (Super) Light-Heavyweight Champion took on the Mexican superstar at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Despite entering the bout as the underdog, the Russian put on a boxing clinic.
Bivol dominated the contest, easily outpointing the Unified Super Middleweight Champion across 12 rounds. At the end of the bout, the champion retained his title via unanimous decision. Following the fight, Alvarez confirmed that he intended to activate his rematch clause.
In the days since, the boxing icon has since stated that he's going to re-think fighting Bivol again. If he decides to instead head back down to 168 pounds, that would be fine with the Russian, as his ideal next fight isn't a rematch with Canelo Alvarez.
In an interview with the DAZN Boxing show, Bivol revealed that he does not want to face Alvarez next. Instead, the WBA (Super) Light-Heavyweight Champion would like to unify the title at 175 pounds. Discussing his next fight, he said:
"It's not my goal to have a rematch with Canelo. I have a goal to be undisputed [at light-heavyweight]. I'll give him a rematch, of course, if he wants. He moved up and gave me opportunity, and I'll give him opportunity."
Will Dmitry Bivol fight Canelo Alvarez again?
Dmitry Bivol has stated that his ideal next fight isn't with Canelo Alvarez. However, it's not really up to him if the two champions face off again.
On the night after his defeat, the Mexican superstar confirmed his intentions to re-run the bout. He had a trilogy bout with Gennadiy Golovkin on the books for September if he had managed to beat Bivol, but now he would instead like to try and avenge his defeat.
However, the Unified Super Middleweight Champion has gone back on his words a little bit. Alvarez recently stated that he's weighing his options, between fighting at 168 pounds or 175 pounds. He also opined that while he can fight at light-heavyweight, his optimal weight class is super middleweight.
While it remains to be confirmed if the two will rematch, Alvarez is the one who holds all the cards. If the boxing superstar does indeed decide to activate his rematch clause, Dmitry Bivol will be legally obligated to fight him once again, even if he doesn't really want to do it.