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Mike CoppingerESPN
LAS VEGAS — Since Canelo Alvarez narrowly defeated Gennadiy Golovkin in 2018, he’s rarely lost a round. The one fight that was a genuine challenge came at a career-high weight of 174.5 pounds when Alvarez met Sergey Kovalev in 2019. The bout was even on one scorecard entering Round 11 when Canelo scored the spectacular knockout to capture a light heavyweight title.
For boxing’s pound-for-pound king to be tested again, he must seek much larger foes, and that’s what he’s doing Saturday with a 175-pound title fight against Dmitry Bivol (8 p.m. ET, DAZN PPV). A victory will usher Alvarez into a trilogy battle with GGG on Sept. 17 for Canelo’s undisputed 168-pound championship, the weight he said is his best, but already he’s looking ahead to boxing’s ultimate prize.
Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs) expressed interest in a heavyweight title fight with Oleksandr Usyk at a 201-pound catchweight, and although it seems far-fetched, the Mexican star has proven time and again he’s willing to test himself at different weights.
“I like it,” Alvarez, 31, said Wednesday. ” … Why not? … I’ll fight everyone. I don’t f—ing care.”
A heavyweight championship victory would be unprecedented for a fighter of Canelo’s size. Roy Jones Jr. won a heavyweight title in 2003 after winning his first title at 160 pounds. Alvarez made his pro debut at 139 pounds and went on to claim titles at 154, 160, 168 and 175.
Jones’ victory came over John Ruiz, a solid yet unspectacular heavyweight, but Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) is on a completely different level (ESPN’s No. 6 pound-for-pound boxer).
Usyk, an Olympic gold medalist, won the undisputed cruiserweight championship (200 pounds) before he moved up to heavyweight and dominated Anthony Joshua in September to capture his three titles.
The Usyk-Joshua rematch is slated for July 23 in Saudi Arabia, and if the 35-year-old Ukrainian can hang onto his unified heavyweight championship, just maybe, this fantasy matchup can come to fruition in 2023.
“I believe AJ will win the fight, but if he doesn’t … [Canelo] would a million percent fight at 201 pounds,” said Hearn, who promotes Alvarez and Joshua.
Canelo is 5-foot-7 and a half while Usyk is 6-foot-3. In his win over Joshua, Usyk weighed 221¼ pounds. If this matchup somehow comes to fruition, Alvarez said he would welcome it at 201 pounds, the minimum for a heavyweight fight.