Via Sean Jones: Jermall Charlo is picking Canelo Alvarez by knockout against WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in their bout in less than a month on DAZN PPV on May 7.
Jermall is predicting that the Bivol 6’0 “will hit one of the Canelo 5’8 hits” as the two go into it during the main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It is unclear if Charlo’s prediction was wishful thinking on his part, as it would be catastrophic if Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) lost to Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) because of him. He is expected to be the first fighter for the Mexican star out of the gate in 2023.
Canelo is looking to Bivol, especially if knocked out, will likely give Jermall a chance to face the Mexican star, at least in the first half of next year.
Jermall (32-0, 22 KOs) has received a lot of criticism from boxing fans for his weak opposition since moving to middleweight in 2018, and he doesn’t agree to go head-to-head with Demetrius Andrade or David Benavaivez.
Many fans believe Charlo is solely focused on squeezing out his 160-lb WBC title with fodder while looking for Canelo’s pay/withdrawal day match.
Jermall will defend his WBC middleweight belt next with Maciej Sulecki on June 18 on Showtime Championship Boxing in Houston, Texas. Sulecki was recently beaten by Andrade in a 12-round one-way loss.
“Canelo by knockout, round of 16 or something like that,” said Jermall Charlo to Fighthype in choosing Canelo Alvarez to stop Dmitry Bivol on May 7.
“Bivol will encounter some scenes, and then Canelo will finish him off. Business, always business,” Charlo said of why Canelo chose to disagree with PBC’s two-way fight agreement.
Canelo’s chances of knocking out Bivol are slim and zero, as he’s been with bigger boxers than him in fights with Joe Smith Jr, Jean Pascal, Craig Richards and Sullivan Barrera, and none of them. That number can stop him.
To be fair, the winner of the Bivol vs. Canelo will be the one with better boxing skills, collision phase and mobility. Sean Jones watched Bivol win that fight a country mile away.
Canelo has never been a good mover, and his coordinated throw has completely disappeared since moving up to 168.
“I won against Canelo, but I don’t know how it will play out. It’s a bigger division, a bigger guy, a bigger weight class, so it’s hard to say,” WBA super-middleweight champion David Morrell Jr. talk to Fighthype in analyzing the fight between Canelo and Bivol.
“I trusted myself, my boxing skills and whatever with their game plan, that was enough to make the win over Canelo,” Morrell said.
