Canelo Alvarez says Dmitry Bivol made ‘negotiations over a rematch hard’ despite him previously offering to fight at the same weight, with the same rules and terms.
The undisputed super middleweight champion stepped up to 175lbs for the second time in his career in May 2022 to face Bivol.
However, Bivol secured a win by unanimous decision, successfully defending his WBA crown and handing Alvarez only the second loss of his prolific career.
All three judges scored the contest 115-113 in Bivol’s favour at the end of 12 rounds – leaving the pre-fight favourite devastated.
Canelo was eager for a rematch and offered to face Bivol for a second time at 175lbs despite the fact he would stand a better chance at super middleweight.
Canelo Alvarez says Dmitry Bivol made ‘negotiations over a rematch hard’ despite him previously offering to fight at the same weight, with the same rules and terms
The undisputed super middleweight champion stepped up to 175lbs for the second time in his career in May 2022 to face Bivol but lost by unanimous decision
As a result, Bivol (above) successfully defending his WBA crown and handing Alvarez only the second loss of his prolific career
However, Canelo – who fought Gennadiy Golovkin last fall and John Ryder in May – says Bivol made the negotiations for a rematch ‘hard’.
Speaking to Brian Custer on ‘The Last Stand’, Canelo said: ‘Look, [Bivol] asked and tried to make the negotiations hard, right, and tried to make his own decision and everything. And I tried my best.’
Canelo had previously offered to fight Bivol at the same weight with the same terms to help move negotiations on.
He told BoxingNews247: ‘My goal now is Bivol, and then we’ll see what happens. It will be the same terms because I feel like I need to do it in those terms.’
However, negotiations never moved forwards and Canelo decided to fight Golovkin and Ryder instead.
As a result, Canelo is focusing on his upcoming fight with Jermell Charlo on September 30 in Las Vegas.
The Mexican said: ‘Right now I am focused 100 per cent on my fight with Jermell Charlo, and working with PBC right now as is my focus.
‘I’m going to try my best [to stop Charlo]. I will. I always try, and I’m going to try every single round. Any fighter who says they don’t look for the knockout? That’s a lie.’
Negotiations over a rematch between Canelo and Bivol never progressed so the Mexican decided to fight Gennadiy Golovkin and John Ryder (left) instead