Canelo Alvarez Bulks Up Ahead Of Title Fight Against Dmitry Bivol

The boxing pound-for-pound king Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is looking to add another feather to his cap as he prepares to face the WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Ahead of his championship quest in the 175 division, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn shared fresh photos of the Mexican fighter, which showed Canelo looking much heavier and bigger than he did in his previous fight against IBF super-middleweight champion Caleb Plant on November 6.

It’s not the first time Canelo added weight and vogued a fight against the competitor of the upper class.

The added muscle can hone the fighter’s knock-out ability but it significantly dents the mobility and that’s what happened to Canelo when he faced WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev in November 2019.

Though Canelo was able to revert the challenge of the Russian thanks to his superior fighting prowess, there were moments when he arguably lacked during the scrap.

The Mexican largely depends on his swift head movement, making his opponent miss the majority of their shots. But bulking up to an extent where it affects his mobility can come back to haunt Canelo.

Many boxing fans rank him in the bracket of the greatest fighters to ever grace the ring. But there is also a group of people who thinks otherwise.

Canelo has had his difficulties competing with fighters who were quick on their feet.

The 31-year-old was outsmarted by legendary Floyd Mayweather Jr and narrowly escaped with a controversial split-decision victory over Erislandy Lara. But many experts argue that the Mexican fought these names in their prime and it was the time when he himself was acclimatizing to the big moments and learning the art to embrace the occasions.

Plant also had his moments and was on his way to pull off an upset until he gassed out after the sixth round.

Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) is quite similar to the mentioned names — swift, agile on his feet — and above all, he is fighting in his natural class.

The Russian could prove to be the sternest test for the four-division world champion to date.

The former WBA lightweight titlist Ray Mancini was all praise for Canelo in an interview with Pro Boxing Fans and said that he loves watching the Mexican in the ring.

“Canelo has taken it to a whole another level. I’ve enjoyed him, and my son was a fan from the jump,” said Ray ‘Boom Boom’ Mancini.

“He’s a great fighter. He’s challenging greatness, and no one is doing what he’s doing. He’s fighting four to five times a year. Nobody is doing that again.”

But he also warned Canelo of Bivol’s threat, admiring Russian’s boxing knowledge and skills.

“He’s a real throwback, and I admire that he’s taking on these challenges. I think [Dmitry] Bivol is going to be a real headache for him. I think Bivol can really fight. Bivol is the younger, stronger guy who can fight. I’m picking Bivol just because of his youth and his strength. He’s just a natural light heavyweight where Canelo is not.

“But if he gets through Bivol, and that would be a heck of an accomplishment. I think the fight for him that I think he’s avoiding and if he’s smart, he would is David Benavidez,” Mancini added.