Will Canelo Fight Artur Beterbiev Next For Undisputed?

Canelo Alvarez still has a chance to fight for the undisputed light heavyweight championship against four-belt champ Artur Beterbiev after defeating Dmitry Bivol last Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

If Canelo wants to show fans that he’s brave and not a guy who only hand-picks certain fighters, he’ll call out Beterbiev to campaign for a fight against him next. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh said last Saturday night that he wants to make a rematch between Beterbiev and Bivol. However, Turki may change his mind if Canelo volunteers to face Beterbiev next.

The winner of that fight could then face Bivol or the winner of the January 25th clash between David Morrell and David Benavidez. Ideally, there needs to be a semi-finals type of set-up where Bivol faces the Morrell vs. Benavidez winner to then challenge King Beterbiev for the undisputed championship. In the meantime, Canelo will fight Beterbiev next.

Will Canelo Want the Beterbiev Clash?

It’ll be a much different type of fight for Canelo facing Beterbiev for the undisputed than if he fought the finesse-oriented Bivol, a pure boxer who occasionally shows aggression. Beterbiev would be a different story. He would be like a bigger, bolder, and more powerful version of Gennadiy Golovkin.

Canelo has always preferred to fight sluggers who are in his face and attack him with power shots. That’s the type of fighter that Canelo has thrived on. However, Beterbiev hits so hard that it would be pure trouble for Canelo if he got in close and unloaded with shots the way he was doing with Bivol last Saturday night.

Bivol had been winning the early rounds against Beterbiev because he wasn’t being pressured on the inside and didn’t have to deal with his onslaught. But the fight changed hands once Beterbiev turned it on in the seventh round in response to taking an early barrage from Bivol. Bivol became very afraid to attack, and he was never the same. It was all Beterbiev from the seventh round.

Beterbiev Foiled Canelo’s Plans

The Mexican star Canelo (62-2-2,39 KOs) had hoped to face Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) in a rematch for all the gold at 175, but his 12-round majority decision loss to IBF, WBC, and WBO light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) at the Kingdom Arena foiled those plans.

It’s not the end of the world for Canelo. He can fight for the four belts, but it just won’t be against Bivol unless he’s okay with fighting for no belts and facing a guy who just lost.