Eddie Hearn has confirmed there will be no catchweight for the clause as Canelo wants to win legitimately at light heavyweight. Bivol retained his WBA (Super) light heavyweight championship as he refused to bow down to Canelo's pressure and was technically sound enough to prevent making mistakes for Canelo to capitalize upon. The Mexican moves up from super middleweight having unified the division and won all four world titles. Jacobs, a fading former middleweight champion, will be a good challenge for Munguia, if they eventually fight, especially if he plans on winning a belt at super middleweight anytime soon. Before defeating Billy Joe Saunders this past May, the Mexican star has bested Callum Smith, Sergey Kovalev, Daniel Jacobs, and Rocky Fielding in the quite recent past… Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KO) defeated Callum Smith for the WBC and WBA “super” belts last December, then added the WBO title to his collection last May with an impressive stoppage of Billy Joe Saunders. Alvarez last fought in May to take the WBO belt from Billy Joe Saunders and had been expected to return to the right to fight Texan IBF champion Plant this September. Right hand for Bivol gets in.
Misses a left hand. Canelo misses with a hook to the body but lands a hard right hand. Canelo misses an uppercut. Canelo lands an uppercut to close the round. Round Three: Canelo sneaks and uppercut in and Bivol lands a hard right hand. Canelo wraps a right hook around Bivol’s gloves and another. Round Four: Bivol’s defense is tight. The 25-year-old is well aware that Alvarez potentially will get promoted to WBC "franchise" champion, which is a fancy way of allowing Alvarez to retain his title without having to make the mandatory defense. Please refer to the notes of the ticket group you are purchasing for exact amenities which WILL be included as part of your order. Of course, Plant believes his other attributes will push him toward victory. Shakhram Giyasov, an Olympic silver medalist from Uzbekistan, scored three knockdowns en route to a 10-round unanimous decision victory over Christian Gomez. All three judges give it to the Russian with scores of 115-113. WOW!
With scores of 115-113 across the board, Bivol pulled off the big upset as a 5 1/2 to 1 underdog. Bivol opens up but Canelo steers clear of danger. Bivol fires a five punch combo and Canelo avoids it all. Whenever he did land a big power shot, Bivol would tighten his defense up and ensure he wouldn't absorb another shot. Bivol’s defense is tight. Bivol’s jab is sharp and steady. Canelo applying a lot of pressure as Bivol continues to prod with the jab. Canelo advances but Bivol blocks the straight right. Canelo backs Bivol into the ropes and lands a right hand, Bivol returns with a flush one of his own. He caught Canelo flush several times but never seemed to have the 31-year-old in any real trouble. Round Two: Canelo is moving forward and forcing Bivol to try to fight him off. We don’t know if this was a ruse on Canelo’s part to try and get Plant to agree to what he wanted in the contract. I don’t know if Top Rank can get him better fights than he’s gotten. How can you not be entertained by "The Spider" going into Mexico and beating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and then knocking out Tito Ortiz in under two minutes?
Early on, Canelo (57-2-2) attempted to walk down Bivol but the Russian sniffed out the strategy and would shoot the jab and carry a right hand behind it to keep Canelo from settling in with his power. Canelo lands a straight right but he needs to pick it up. Round Six: Bivol blocks Canelo’s advances and lands a right hand and follows with a one two. Bivol comes right back. Canelo keeps his back on the ropes looking to counter. Round Eight: Bivol very busy and Canelo looking to pick his spots. Round Five: Bivol busy with the jab and looking to open up but Canelo is making it tough. Round Seven: Nice left hand by Bivol. In the past, a lawn was mowed by hand. This super-middleweight bout was in contention ever since the Mexican boxer vanquished Billy Joe Saunders in May 2021. It was a massive title unification fight in the most decorated setting.