Hearn Says Canelo Vs. Bivol Rematch Could Happen Next Year

Eddie Hearn has said that Canelo Alvarez could rematch Dmitry Bivol in 2025.

They first faced off in 2022, when Canelo moved up to 175 pounds to target Bivol’s WBA title. Alvarez has already had success in the weight class after knocking out Sergey Kovalev to win the WBO belt. This time, however, Canelo met his match. Bivol dominated the fight, outboxing the Mexican to a unanimous decision win. Canelo revealed that he had a hand issue coming into the fight, which may have plagued his performance. He subsequently underwent surgery to rectify the issue.

There were talks over a rematch, but the differences in the weight class prevented it from happening. Bivol wanted to rematch Canelo at super middleweight since the Mexican was the undisputed champion at the time. However, Canelo wanted to run things back at light heavyweight. This was to rule out any excuses that Bivol was drained if he had come out victorious.

Talks ultimately broke down as both fighters went their separate ways. Canelo is coming off a win against Edgar Balanga. But he is no longer undisputed since he chose to face the Puerto Rican. This was instead of taking on his IBF mandatory William Scull. Meanwhile, Bivol has the biggest fight of his career when he boxes Artur Beterbiev on October 12.

Hearn On Canelo-Bivol

The winner will become the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion, making them the best fighter in the weight class of their era. Haney felt that if Bivol came out victorious, there is a narrative in place to have an undisputed fight at 175 pounds. Hearn has previously promoted Canelo, making it much easier to make the bout. Meanwhile, he also works with Bivol, ruling out any competing network or promoter issues. 

“If Dmitry Bivol beats Artur Beterbiev, we have the opportunity to do Dmitry Bivol against Canelo Alvarez for the undisputed light heavyweight world championship, which all of a sudden brings another kind of attraction to the [Beterbiev-Bivol] fight for Canelo. If Dmitry were to lose [to Beterbiev[, he could drop down to 168 to challenge Canelo Alvarez, which he’s capable of doing. So, obviously, we want to see Dmitry win this fight, and if Canelo wants it, I would love to make that happen,” Hearn said 

Canelo has indicated his desire to take that rematch, thus ruling out the David Benavidez fight. The Mexican Monster is the WBC Interim Light Heavyweight Champion after beating Oleksandr Gvozdykin in his first fight at 175 pounds. He is set to box in December, subject to an official opponent being announced. He was linked with a fight against David Morrell Jr., only for them to backtrack on those comments. Reports state that Jesse Hart is the leading candidate. Given that Canelo and Bivol are much bigger fights globally, that might get the go-ahead if the Saudis are on board.