Canelo Alvarez wise to choose Gennady Golovkin trilogy over Dmitry Bivol rematch | Opinion

(Editor’s note: This column originally published at Boxing Junkie, part of the USA TODAY Network.)

Canelo Alvarez has chosen to face rival Gennady Golovkin a third time, not Dmitry Bivol in a rematch, on September 17.

The undisputed super middleweight champion wants a second shot at Bivol but not in his next fight. Alvarez and Golovkin had agreed to fight at 168 pounds in September before the Mexican star lost a stunning unanimous decision to light heavyweight titleholder Bivol on May 7.

“We already had that … agreement, so we have to continue what we started,” Alvarez told ESPN Deportes. “I think those are the two biggest fights in boxing, the fight with Golovkin and the rematch with Bivol. Unfortunately we lost, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try again. The important thing here is perseverance, and we’re going to do it again.

“What is certain is that we are going to return in September. And in the coming days, today, tomorrow, the day after, we are going to announce the [Golovkin] fight. We just have to wait a little bit.”

Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs) is making a smart move.

He and Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KOs) fought on even terms in their 2017 and 2018 fights, a disputed draw and a majority-decision victory for Alvarez. However, Triple-G is now 40.

Golovkin narrowly defeated Sergey Derevyanchenko to regain a world middleweight title in 2019 and has successfully defended twice, stopping Kamil Szeremeta and Ryota Murata. However, most believe that he has slipped at least to some degree.

Meanwhile, a second fight with the 31-year-old Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) would be dangerous for Alvarez, who most observers believe lost decisively even though all three judges scored the fight 115-113.

The former consensus pound-for-pound king – No. 2 on Boxing Junkie’s list at the time – looked lost by the middle of Bivol fight, which was a remarkable sight given his dominance in recent years.

So this was Alvarez’s choice: Probably get back into the win column against his arch rival at a more natural 168 pounds in a lucrative event or risk back-to-back losses against the bigger (better?) Bivol, which would further erode the superstar’s status as the face of boxing.

And make no mistake: A second victory for Bivol is the likely outcome unless the Russian stupidly agrees to come down to 168 pounds for the fight, which isn’t likely.

Alvarez has made the right choice.