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Chris Algieri believes Canelo Alvarez would stand a better chance against Artur Beterbiev than Dmitry Bivol if he moved up to 175.
Algieri feels that the slow pace of 39-year-old Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) would suit Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs). He notes that Beterbiev doesn’t throw a lot of punches. The slower-paced fighters are ones that Canelo does well against nowadays, and Beterbiev could be ideal for him.
Algieri still thinks Beterbiev would defeat Canelo, who got hit a lot in his last fight against the light heavyweight-sized Edgar Berlanga, who reportedly rehydrated to 193 lbs for their clash on September 14th.
Canelo hasn’t specifically mentioned wanting to move up to 175 to fight Beterbiev. The guy that he was interested in fighting was former WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs), but that was before he lost last Saturday against Beterbiev by a 12-round majority decision in Riyadh.
Bivol is now belt-less, coming off a lot, and looking at a potential second defeat if he goes through with his promoter Eddie Hearn’s plans to rematch Beterbiev.
Although many fans believe that Bivol deserved the win, Beterbiev seemed to have his style well figured out after the sixth round and took complete control from that point. In a rematch, it’s obvious that Beterbiev is going to light into Bivol like a rocket, knowing that he can’t handle steady pressure and will have him wilting immediately.
“I give Canelo a better shot against Beterbiev because of the pace. Beterbiev fights at a pretty slow clip these days. The fight we saw last night,” said Chris Algieri to Inside Boxing, saying Canelo Alvarez has a better chance against Artur Beterbiev at 175 than he would in a rematch with Dmitry Bivol.
I don’t agree with Algieri at all. Canelo won’t do better against Beterbiev than Bivol. He’ll do worse because he’ll be stationary, and Beterbiev will bludgeon him against the ropes. The worst Canelo can fear against Bivol is being outboxed like last time and getting hit with some combinations. Being stationary against Beterbiev would result in Canelo being knocked out. He would be a smaller version of Callum Smith.
“He doesn’t throw a ton of punches and is not that active. He used to set a pace on guys,” said Algieri about Beterbiev. “He used to put so much pressure. He’d start slow, but then he’d really rev up. At a slower pace, Canelo is really good at that. His defense is good enough, and his counter-punching.”
Beterbiev fought at a high pace in his fight earlier this year in January against Callum Smith. Against Bivol, he fought slower because he was worried about getting hit with his counters and jabs that he was constantly throwing. If Beterbiev hadn’t shown Bivol so much respect early on, he’d have knocked him out.
“He’ll get your respect. He does have a good jab, Canelo. He has a very underrated jab, I think. So, I give him a better shot. I still don’t think he beats him [Beterbiev]. I think Beterbiev beats Canelo, too. Stay in your weight class, Canelo. You don’t need to go to 175,” said Algieri.
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