WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol 21-0 (11) wants to become the undisputed champion at 175-pounds before more down in weight to repeat the achievement at super middleweight.
The undefeated 32-year-old Russian is looking to return to the ring in December or January in what will be his first bout in more than a year before targeting WBC, WBO and IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev 19-0 (19).
The career light heavyweight would then like to drop down a division where Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 60-2-2 (39) reigns supreme as undisputed super middleweight champion.
Bivol holds a unanimous decision victory over the 33-year-old Mexican superstar in May last year.
“It’s easier for Dmitry to go to 168 and I’ll let him speak for that. There are some bigger fights out there for him at 168,” said Bivol’s manager Vadim Kornilov to Fight Hub TV.
Bivol agreed. “I think it’s easier for me to move down to 168 than it is to move up [to cruiserweight] for me,” he said.
Bivol said he doesn’t drift too far from his fighting weight even when he is not in camp.
“In my fights, my weight is 185-pound maximum,” he explained. “In normal life, my weight is around 190-pounds and to make 175, it’s easy. I’m just starting my training camp and my weight goes down.
“I know a lot of fighters that are fighting at 147 and they’re losing more weight than me. I feel like I’m not dying when I do 175.
“I feel like I can cut more but I don’t want to do it. I remember doing this during my amateurs. I was thinking only about food and drink. I didn’t think about my fight.
“Of course, if there’s a big reason to be at 168 and if there’s a belt there, I will push myself. I will do 168, but for a good reason.
“It’s still an interesting fight [against Canelo]. It’s still a big challenge for me.”
But Kornilov warned against putting the cart before the horse, with the primary focus right now remaining big punching fellow Russian Beterbiev, 38. After that, the Alvarez rematch will be considered.
“We don’t need to get a rematch [with Canelo],” said Kornilov. “The focus is to get a fight in December or January and then focus on Beterbiev. If Bivol is the winner of that fight and is the undisputed world champion at 175, we’ll probably talk super middleweight.
“For a rematch with Canelo, what needs to happen is Canelo is basically in the corner and he has to have no other choice but to fight Bivol because I don’t think he’ll ever do it unless he has no choice.
“I think Bivol is the very last boxer that he would want to fight against or fight overall.”
