Canelo Álvarez Eyes Dmitry Bivol Rematch in September After Upset Loss in 2022

With a championship fight on the line Saturday night, Canelo Álvarez has his sights set on getting revenge.

Álvarez, who is set to defend his WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF super middleweight belts against John Ryder in Mexico, mentioned his desire for a rematch against Dmitry Bivol, who defeated Álvarez last May in an upset rout.

Álvarez referenced injuries and shifting weight classes as factors in the previous loss, expressing his confidence in the case of a rematch.

"I think I'm better than him—that's it," Alvarez said, per Mike Coppinger of ESPN. "If you see the first five rounds, six rounds, I dominate the fight. But then I get tired, of course, because I don't train at my 100 percent."

---

Álvarez mentioned his desire for the rematch to take place at 175 pounds, but that may cause some issues. Bivol wants to fight at 168 pounds, citing the challenge as a motivation:

"Why should I even do the rematch at 175. What is the challenge or what is the motivation for me if I've already beaten him at that weight class? And I don't think we should worry about who thinks what. It's really about what we want; what each of us wants. And I think he wants to win and if he can win, he might have a better chance at 168 because he said that that's his weight class. And for me, there should be some motivation and some challenge."

If Álvarez were to hold firm in his preferences, Bivol would instead look to fight Artur Beterbiev at 175 pounds. If Álvarez and Bivol's camps can agree, the fight would likely take place on Sept 16.

Bivol (21-0) has fought once since defeating Álvarez, a Nov. 5 victory over Gilberto Ramírez. Álvarez (58-2-2) defeated Gennady Golovkin in September 2022 and is fighting Ryder on Saturday night. If he were to lose to Ryder, he told DAZN that he would retire from the sport, though it was unclear how serious that statement was.