P4P n. 1 Canelo Alvarez of Mexico faces undefeated WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in what some say is Canelo’s toughest test since Gennadi Golovkin 1, a fight that Canelo lost most of the time.
Canelo vs Bivol, May 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, in a huge time on DAZN right after Taylor Serrano, who caught up with boxing. Canelo vs Bivol also marks DAZN PPV’s debut in the United States and the first of Canelo’s three potential fights with DAZN in 2022.
Canelo Bivol struggles with exhaustion
Bivoli (19-0) has a style that many consider ideal for beating Canelo Alvarez (57-1-2). Bivol has one of the best jobs in boxing, coupled with his distance control, the undefeated lightweight is a very hard man to clean up. He doesn’t have the power to stop the Mexican, so he has to rely on the judges, which means winning convincing rounds and at least eight of them.
Bivol seemed almost unbeatable in most of his fights apart from a bad night at the office with Craig Richards, who was down two levels but still won in three rounds. Canelo has fought back to back with good technical boxers and is used to the patient pressure fight he will really need on May 7.
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Canelo has a big advantage here, like any opponent, and this is his resume. Canelo has had to consistently beat the best fighters in the world in four weight divisions for the past decade. It’s not the same for Bivol, who has taken a win over WBO champion Joe Smith Jr, but hasn’t faced the elite as recently as Beterbiev, Zurdo or Callum Smith.
Canelo vs Bivol Main Map
In the co-main event, Matchroom USA Montana’s newfound love (17-0-1) will face Mexican Gabriel Valenzuela (25-2-1) for the IBF North American Super Lightweight title. Entering the scene, Montana battled undercard Jake Paul, beating former World Champion Ivan Baranchyk in a big fight in which both men were injured but forced Montana to quit round seven.
His opponent Valenzuela’s claim to fame is a shattered victory over Liverpool’s Robbie Davies Jr by majority decision last February and has maintained momentum after two more wins. A tough test for Love, but a win here will definitely push his current IBF ranking into the top ten.
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Uzbek super lightweight Shakhram Giyasov (12-0) will move up to middleweight and face Mexican Christian Gomez (22-2-1) for the IBF North American Middleweight title. This is an interesting fight for his 147lb debut as we don’t know exactly how good Gomez is, but realistically Giyasov should be too experienced and too much pedigree for him. Gomez is often on the Canelo/Matchroom Mexico undercard.
Filip Hrgovic (14-0) was set to face Chinese Southpaw puncher Zhillei Zhang (23-0-1) in the latest elimination from the IBF Heavyweight Mandatory, but Hrgovic retired for personal reasons earlier this week and will replace Zhang instead. Meet. Scott Alexander (16-4) on Canelo vs Bivol tab in ten rounds before rescheduling final elimination with Hrgovic.
Also on the main card of Canelo vs Bivol, Matchroom USA Lightweight Marc Castro (6-0), who has been a constant presence on the Canelo Alvarez undercards, will face Puerto Rican Pedro Vicente Scharbaai (7-4-1) in eight rounds ). Castro impressed with 5 KOs in 6 fights but was last knocked out by Julio Madeira.
Great expectations: Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano are the protagonists of an unforgettable evening.
Canelo vs Bivol preliminary action
In the flyweight division, 28-year-old Joselito Velasquez (14-0-1) will face Colombian Jose Soto (15-1-0). This is a very well matched matchup and if the winner impresses, he could earn a spot on another great Matchroom show and announce himself as a threat in the division.
Matchroom middleweight prospect Alex Espino (9-0-1) is in a 50-50 matchup with Mexico’s Aaron Silva (9-0). Silva defeated fellow undefeated fighter Raul Salomon on the Matchroom Mexico card in 2021 and looks set to take another undefeated record on the Canelo vs Bivol card.
World of Boxing prospect Elnur Abduraimov (8-0) takes on 11-0 undefeated prospect Manuel Correa in this fight in a truly exciting matchup with a big unknown element. Finally, on the Canelo vs Bivol map, Fernando Angle Molina (7-0) faces Ricardo Valdovinos 8-1.