It appears that the expected rematch between WBA light heavyweight world champion Dmitry Bivol and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will not be happening as the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on a deal, that would see the two back in the ring before the end of 2023.
Canelo Alvarez was riding high after a huge 2021 in which Canelo was the consensus boxer of the year, only to lose a seemingly one-sided unanimous decision to Dmitry Bivol in their May 2022 bout. Despite Canelo calling out Bivol, it is Bivol's team who is less than thrilled with the antics of Canelo Alvarez.
Bivol's manager, Vadim Kornilov, criticized Canelo for offering the same terms as their first fight, despite Bivol being the winner.
“As I have said before, Canelo talking about the Bivol rematch was always just a front for the fans to believe,” Kornilov said to Sean Nam of BoxingScene.com.
Kornilov believes that Alvarez mentioned Bivol's name to please the public but had no intention of actually pursuing the rematch. Alvarez recently announced that he will be facing Jermell Charlo, the undisputed 154-pound champion, on September 30 in Las Vegas, and that Bivol who hasn't fought in 2023 has seen his career stall, because of Canelo Alvarez's decision.
This comes after a public display of Canelo exploring his value in the free market when he briefly considered fighting cruiserweight world champion Badou Jack but ultimately signed a multi-bout contract with Premier Boxing Champions, effectively ending his relationship with Matchroom Boxing, at least for the time being, who had been co-promoting Alvarez's fights for several years.
Bivol is now planning his return to the ring in the fall. He last fought in November getting a unanimous decision win over Gilberto Ramirez, which set up Bivol being proclaimed the 2022 Boxer of the Year. As of now, no official word on what is next for Bivol, who despite beating Canelo Alvarez, is having trouble luring in an opponent.
