Via Jim Calfa: Dmitry Bivol said that he considers Canelo Alvarez his “enemy” in their fight this Saturday night and that he will not show him respect due to his popularity.
Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) wants to successfully defend his WBA light heavyweight title against “enemy” Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) on May 7 on DAZN PPV at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Bivol, 31, will make sure he practices good defence as he doesn’t want Canelo to make many of his shots in this fight.
For the casual boxing fan who hasn’t seen Bivol before, they might be surprised at what he can do with Canelo. If Bivol comes out on top with what he has shown in 2019, Canelo will be in for a long night on Saturday.
“We’ll see what I can do on May 7, but of course, I’ll do my best,” Dmitry Bivol told Fighthype about his title defense against Canelo Alvarez this Saturday.
“I have to do my best. Maybe my last match wasn’t my best, but during training I showed my best skills. I hope by May 7th I can do this and show my best skills.
“I hope so,” Bivol said when asked if he is the type of fighter that performs best in the face of better opposition. “Of course, I watched their fight in action [Canelo vs. Sergey Kovalev]I was here.
“Yes, Kovalev is very good, but the power is empty. He did well. In every fight, you can see which one, you can see some flaws.
“This is boxing, and knockouts can happen every second from both sides,” Bivol said when asked if he had the strength to KO Canelo. “We just dropped our punches and didn’t get a punch. It’s easy work.
“Boxing is easy. Punch harder and don’t get punched and stay focused. You ask me about strategy, huh? Watch this on May 7th. He has good boxing skills. It’s enough to be one of the best at 175.
“We are not talking about who is bigger or who is taller. The giraffe is the taller animal in the forest, but that doesn’t matter. It’s something different that we should think about.
“It didn’t help me in this fight, but it helped me in my career,” Bivol said of the match against Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez. “It helps you.
“Good boxers don’t get a punch, I think. You should have good defense. I try to show good defense in my fights and show off my boxing skills. This is why I’m one of the best I can be.
“My team believes in me, and they know I can beat Canelo Alvarez. I believe, why not? All my life, I believed in my skills and I wanted to fight.
“Not so much. I respect him as my ultimate opponent, but not more than that,” Bivol said when asked if he had too much respect for Canelo on Saturday.
“Yes, he has achieved a lot, it is difficult, but he is my opponent. I respect him but you are my enemy on May 7th. I’m so glad I’m going to fight the best boxer in the world.
“A fight against him would show me how much my skill costs, and how good my skills are. This is a big challenge for me. For me, that doesn’t matter. 175 or 168 because I didn’t lose too much weight,” Bivol said when asked if he was happy the fight was going with Canelo at 175 instead of 168.
“No, I have a lot of amateur matches, and often we go to another country and everyone is against me. I’ve won matches and I’m used to being in the ring with the fans going against you guys,” Bivol said when asked if he was nervous about fighting in front of Canelo’s fans. on Saturday or not.
