Hearn on Canelo: Bivol is The Target, Obviously He'll Want To Avenge That Defeat

Eddie Hearn, who works on a fight by fight basis with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, says the Mexican star will be looking for a rematch with WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.

Back in May, Canelo suffered his first defeat since 2013 when he was outboxed over twelve rounds by Bivol.

Canelo bounced back on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with a dominant unanimous decision win over Gennadiy Golovkin in their trilogy clash.

With that victory, Canelo retained his undisputed status at 168-pounds.

According to Hearn, there is always the possibility of Bivol moving down in weight to challenge Canelo for his four titles.

However, Bivol has a very tough test in the coming months.

In November, Bivol will make a mandatory defense against undefeated challenger Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez. Should Bivol suffer defeat, the chances of a rematch with Canelo will become slim.

Canelo has stated in several interviews that he won't pursue a rematch with Bivol if he loses the upcoming fight with Ramirez.

“Dmitry Bivol is the target. Obviously, he’ll want to avenge that defeat, but Bivol has a very tough fight against Zurdo Ramirez on November 5th. We’ll have to see if he gets through that, but I think for Canelo Alvarez, that’ll always be in the back of his mind to see if he can avenge that defeat," Hearn said.

“I don’t think that Canelo Alvarez is looking at 175 as a division that he wants to necessarily go back to and win belts, but he wants Zurdo Ramirez to beat Bivol for Mexico, but he also wants Bivol to win so he can get a chance to rematch him.

“Don’t rule out the possibility of Bivol moving down to 168 to challenge for the undisputed title because he wants to do that as well. We have to see, but November 5th in Abu Dhabi is a very important date for the diary in the division.”

Canelo was expected to fight again in the month of May. That scenario is potentially going to change. 

After last weekend's win, Canelo explained that his left hand was injured, and he plans to undergo surgery - which may delay his return until September 2023.