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Jamel Herring thinks Canelo Alvarez could choose to move up to 175 to challenge Artur Beterbiev for his undisputed championship after watching his lackluster performance beating Dmitry Bivol last Saturday night in Riyadh.
Herring says Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) didn’t look like this old monster self, getting outboxed during the periods of the fight before coming on in the end to win a close 12-round majority decision. The results haven’t been well-received by many fans, who insist that Bivol should have won.
Canelo Will Be Confident
Herring thinks Canelo will be confident after watching that fight. He saw how Beterbiev looked slow, not throwing many punches and coming close to losing to Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs).
Jamel believes that Canelo may want to go for the fight to add to his legacy. He had previously discussed wanting to fight Bivol in a rematch to avenge his 12-round unanimous decision loss against him on May 7, 2022.
If His Excellency Turki Alalshikh would be open to letting Canelo step in front of the Beterbiev-Bivol rematch, he could face Beterbiev next for all the gold. The winner of the Canelo vs. Beterbiev fight could then face Bivol if he’s interested.
That would make things more interesting for the public than seeing an immediate rematch between Bivol and Beterbiev because we just saw them fight, and we know how the second contest will play out. In other words, Bivol will move a lot, jab, throw quick combinations, and likely do a lot of holding.
Is Beterbiev Slowing Down?
Bivol is not going to want to brawl with Beterbiev in the second fight because he showed last Saturday night that he can’t take his power. In the 12th, Bivol held a lot to neutralize Beterbiev’s offensive effectively. Canelo won’t fight like that against Beterbiev because he’s an entertainer and will make it exciting for the fans, even if it means getting knocked out.
“I thought about it after the performance because I thought Beterbiev maybe slowing down a bit,” said Jamel Herring to Fighthype when asked about the possibility of Canelo Alvarez challenging Artur Beterbiev for his undisputed light heavyweight championship.
“Let’s be real. Fighters see that, and that could be a weakness. So, maybe Canelo does flirt with the idea, especially if it’s for the idea of being undisputed in another weight division,” said Herring.
It’s not just Canelo that will like his chances in a fight against Beterbiev. We’ve already heard Anthony Yarde and Edgar Berlanga wanting to fight Beterbiev now. Those are just two of the names. A lot more than that will want to fight him now because he didn’t look great, and neither did Bivol, who buckled under the pressure in the later part of the fight.
“We see a lot of fighters become undisputed in not just one weight class, but multiple weight classes,” said Herring. “So, I could see the added chip to the legacy for Canelo to flirt with the idea of going for undisputed in another weight division against an older Beterbiev if he doesn’t take on the Bivol fight in the rematch.”
Canelo could throw his hat into the ring right now, and Turki might be willing to give him the Beterbiev fight next. He’d have to say something right now, though, because if he waits, it’ll be too late. Turki will have already set up the Beterbiev vs. Bivol rematch.
“I think the activity hurt Canelo a lot in their fight [with Bivol],” said Herring. “Beterbiev fights at a certain speed at times. That could be bad. Canelo does have one of the best chins in the game. He does have defense. I think Canelo can flirt with the idea. This guy isn’t Superman as we thought he was. Bivol is just a monster himself. It’s not like Beterbiev fell off.”
Beterbiev couldn’t afford to give away the first five rounds against Canelo like he did against Bivol. If Beterbiev is going to take time to mentally figure out Canelo, he’ll have to do it much faster than he did against Bivol because he’ll fall too far behind to catch up.
“Sometimes fighters feel like, ‘Okay, he’s still up to it.’ I think Bivol said Canelo hits harder [than Beterbiev]. Of course, fighters take that in. ‘Maybe, I do hit harder than him,’ and go from there,” said Herring about Canelo potentially looking at Beterbiev now, thinking he can beat him.
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