Via Jim Calfa: Canelo Alvarez’s manager/coach Eddy Reynoso said that they were offered a match against Errol Spence Jr in the welterweight division prior to taking on Dmitry Bivol.
Reynoso says they negotiated with DAZN at the time that the fight between Spence was offered to Canelo, and nothing happened. However, Reynoso said that they still want to fight Spence and Canelo in the future.
Meanwhile, Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) wants to try and become the undisputed champion in light heavyweight by defeating 175-lb WBA champion Dmitry Bivol on Saturday and later. that was the winner of the June 18 unification match between Artur Betterbiev and Joe Smith Jr.
IBF/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Spence (28-0.22 KOs) recently stopped WBA champion Yordenis Ugas in the 10th round on April 16 in a unified match.
Spence will likely take on WBO champion Terence Crawford later this year for the undisputed 147 lb championship. Win or lose, Spence plans to hit 154 next year to start fighting in that weight class.
Even at 154, Spence would fall two to three weights behind Canelo, who is the undisputed 168-lb champion and hopes to do the same at 175.
Bivol is a complicated opponent for Canelo
“Yes, Bivol is a boxer with good moves, good distance, good coordination, side to side moves, attacks. He is complex and powerful. It will be a tough fight, Similar to [Sergey] Kovalev, but harder because Bivol works at longer distances,” said Canelo Alvarez coach Eddy Reynoso. Against TV Hub.
“Yes, I think so,” Reynoso said when asked if Bivol is the most complicated opponent Canelo has faced in a long time. “He is complex and will be heavier than Canelo on teamfights.
“He is a strong fighter for his weight, but we believe in Canelo and what he can do. We have prepared very carefully and hope that everything will go well this Saturday.
“Well, we hope that they both play well and we will be the winners. Yes, it is difficult and dangerous. But this is boxing, we have almost 70 fights with Saul. The important thing is that we get the win,” Reynoso said.
The fight is offered to Canelo
“No, they’re not inviting us at the moment,” Reynoso said when asked if Team Canelo would offer him a fight against Errol Spence Jr. “I’m sorry, they gave us something before we went to war with Bivolbut nothing happened to it.
“We had deep negotiations with DAZN, and we were unable to resolve this issue. Yes, I know. He is [Spence] below his [Canelo] weight level. We are almost at light heavyweight.
“Spence is three weight divisions short so I don’t think that fight will happen anytime soon, maybe in a few years.
“Yes, of course,” Reynoso said when asked if he was still interested in a fight between Canelo and Spence. “We are a freelancer and we have a good relationship with PBC & Top Rank. So let’s see in the future if we can fight against [Jermall] Charlo and Errol Spence.
“It will be an interesting fight,” Reynoso said of how the fight between Canelo and Spence will play out. “Spence is an excellent fighter. Canelo is also an excellent fighter, but when two great boxers fought, we had a great fight,” Reynoso said of the fight between Canelo and Spence.
Reynoso is not sure how high Canelo can go
“Look, a lot of people say, but we have to be realistic with the weight to see how high we can actually go, but still have the edge and how high we can go when we still competing in the division,” Reynoso said when asked if it was true that Canelo said he was interested in fighting Oleksandr Usyk at 201 lbs.
“It’s going to be a bit complicated against Usyk,” Reynoso said when asked if it was true that Canelo said he wanted to fight heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk at 201 lbs.
“Perhaps we can do something with [Ilunga] Makabu,” Reynoso said when asked if Canelo is still interested in challenging WBC heavyweight champion Ilunga Makabu.
“Let’s see how he [Canelo] this saturday [against Dmitry Bivol], then September, and see what happens. We have to win on Saturday, and that will open the way undisputed [for Canelo at 175]and we’ll see what happens.
“No, we’re going to be super average and 175. He’s going to go up and down,” Reynoso said when asked if Canelo will no longer fight at 168.
