Eddie Hearn thinks Alvarez-Golovkin III becomes "bigger" after Canelo loss to Bivol
Eddie Hearn believes that Canelo Alvarez’s recent loss to Dmitry Bivol may have given the planned trilogy with arch-rival Gennadiy Golovkin a shot in the arm.
Canelo, who is currently the biggest attraction in modern day boxing, was expected to defeat the Russian light heavyweight champion to set up a third meeting with Golovkin later this year. However, with the Mexican superstar suffering his second professional loss, the planned trilogy with ‘GGG’ seems farfetched for now as Canelo eyes to avenge his loss.
Interestingly, Eddie Hearn claimed that Canelo’s loss to Bivol last week made the trilogy with the Kazakhstan-born champion “bigger.” In a recent interview with iFL TV, the British promoter said:
“Funnily enough, the Golovkin fight becomes bigger now because people give Golovkin a chance of winning the fight. Before it was all like, ‘Oh, he’s 39 he’s 40, he’s not going to win the fight.’ Now people look at that performance and say, ‘Okay, maybe Golovkin’s got more chance. So that’s a massive fight, as is the [Bivol] rematch.”
‘Cinnamon’ and ‘GGG’ fought in 2017 and 2018 at middleweight. Their first meeting ended with a controversial split draw.
The outcome of their heavily-contested first fight prompted a rematch which was a thrilling back-and-forth bout that ended up being named the 2018 Fight of the Year.
The rematch was again not without controversy as Alvarez defeated Golovkin via majority decision after 12 rounds. Statistically, the fight was just as close as their first meeting.
Golovkin (42-1-1, 36 KOs) has only fought thrice since his defeat against Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs) in 2018. Meanwhile, the Guadalajara native has fought seven times, becoming the undisputed Super Middleweight Champion along the way.
The 40-year-old Golovkin is currently the WBA, IBF and IBO Middleweight Champion. He took the WBA belt via a technical knockout win over Japanese champion Ryota Murata in April.
Watch Alvarez vs. Golovkin 1 full fight:
Eddie Hearn says Canelo “devastated” after Bivol loss
Eddie Hearn bared that Canelo Alvarez is “devastated” by his defeat to WBA (Super) Light Heavyweight Champion Dmitry Bivol last week in Las Vegas.
In the same interview with iFL TV, the Matchroom promoter said that he went to the golf course with Canelo a day after his unanimous decision loss to Bivol, and he said the Mexican star was really upset:
“I went to the golf course with him [Canelo] the next day for six or seven holes, [he was] devastated… I said to him, ‘How did you feel?’ And he said, ‘I felt tired, to be honest with you. I thought he looked tired after three or four rounds. I said, ‘Did you have a good camp?’ ‘Yeah, a few niggles like every fighter does. But no excuses; I just didn’t feel great in there. Maybe it was the weight.’ He [Canelo] didn’t make weight. He probably ate his way up to 174. He also acknowledges that Dmitry Bivol boxed really well at the same time. But he was just gutted, devastated.”
According to Hearn, Canelo and his trainer Eddy Reynoso believe they can defeat Bivol in the rematch. It is within their contract to be granted an immediate rematch.
Watch Eddie Hearn's full interview with iFL TV: