Canelo’s shock defeat by Dmitry Bivol shows the Mexican went a step up too far

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Last weekend the old boxing adage of ‘a good big ‘un beats a good little ‘un’ couldn’t have been given a better example. Canelo Alvarez dared to be great by going back up to light-heavyweight and taking on WBA champion Dmitry Bivol.

But it was a step too far for the Mexican star. Sometimes you can just be outsized. Bivol was brilliant, disciplined and effective in pulling off the upset to defend his WBA crown.

There is no doubting Canelo’s status and what he has achieved in the sport, but there is always a limit on what you can do and maybe light-heavyweight just isn’t the weight for him. He has a rematch clause which he said he intends to trigger in the coming weeks.

Not so sure that is a great idea, in my opinion. He should definitely think long and hard about it. There is no guarantee he will be able to change much in a return fight and two back-to-back defeats will be damaging for his legacy.

It will be interesting to see what numbers it did on DAZN pay-per-view. The streaming channel which promised us pay-per-view was dead a few years ago has now realised that PPV is the only way to make these big fights pay off.

What next for Canelo? It seems the Gennady Golovkin fight is there for him if he opts out of a rematch with Bivol. Golovkin is one of my favourite fighters to watch but I’m not sure we need a third fight between these two. Yes, it may be more of interest now Canelo is coming off a loss but we have seen it twice already.

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Back in the light-heavyweight division, Anthony Yarde will be an interested spectator when the other belts in the division are up for grabs next month. WBC and IBF champion Artur Beterbiev takes on WBO belt holder Joe Smith Jnr on June 18.

Yarde is mandatory challenger for Smith’s WBO title and will be ringside in New York. Canelo's loss means he may force Bivol into a rematch but Yarde is ready to take his mandatory shot against Beterbiev or Smith Jnr.

  • Boxing
  • Canelo Alvarez
  • Frank Warren

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