Dmitry Bivol has a hard time seeing how the judges gave Canelo Alvarez five rounds in their light heavyweight title bout.

Bivol, the 175-pound WBA champion from Russia, successfully defended his strap against the Mexican superstar last Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Yet as impressive as Bivol looked, he won by the slimmest of margins. All three judges scored it 115-113 for the champion, meaning Bivol won seven rounds to Canelo’s five.

Judges Tim Cheatham, Dave Moretti, and Steve Weisfeld were in lockstep about which rounds went to whom. All three scored the first four rounds for Alvarez and the next seven out of eight for Bivol.

Bivol, suffice to say, was surprised when the scores were announced.

“When I hear that 115-113, for one second I thought, ‘Oh, maybe, it’s not my day today,’ Bivol said on The DAZN Boxing Show. “But when I heard ‘Still’, yeah, they made the right decision.”

Asked if he thought Alvarez had a case to win five rounds, Bivol shook his head.

“Maybe maximum four [rounds], I think,” Bivol said.

Alvarez himself told reporters after the fight that he believed he did enough to win, saying that “Maybe I lost four or five rounds, but I definitely didn’t lose the fight.”

A rematch between the two fighters may be in the works. It is up to Alvarez to decide whether or not he wishes to activate his rematch clause. According to Vadim Kornilov, Bivol’s manager, Alvarez has a month to make his decision. Alvarez is still the undisputed champion at 168 pounds, where he still has opportunities to face fighters like David Benavidez and middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo.  

Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) said he is receptive to the idea of an Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs) rematch but also stated that some terms would have to change, both from financial and presentation standpoints.

“Of course, [I want] more money,” Bivol said. “I wanna be the first on the posters. Something like that.”

“If he wants rematch, I should give him a rematch,” Bivol added. “And I give him [rematch], of course. If he takes the option. If he not take [the rematch], no problem, I will go my [own] way, to my goal.

Bivol does not expect the rematch to be a breeze.

"I’m not sure if it will be easier," Bivol said. "It just will be different. It’s too hard. Maybe he will be more motivated, maybe."