Chris Algieri believes Canelo Alvarez will stand a better chance against Artur Beterbiev than Dmitry Bivol if he moves up to 175.
Algieri feels the slow pace of the 39-year-old Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) will suit Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs). He notes that Beterbiev doesn’t throw many punches. The slower-paced fighters are what Canelo does well against these days, and Beterbiev could be ideal for him.
Algieri still thinks Beterbiev will defeat Canelo, who was hit hard in his last fight against light heavyweight size Edgar Berlanga, who reportedly rehydrated to 193 pounds for their Sept. 14 clash.
Canelo has not specifically mentioned wanting to move up to 175 to fight Beterbiev. The guy he’s interested in fighting is former WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs), but that was before he lost to Beterbiev by 12-round majority decision in Riyadh last Saturday.
Bivol is now strapless, coming down heavily and looking at a potential second loss if he goes through with his promoter Eddie Hearn’s plans to rematch Beterbiev.
Although many fans believe that Bivol deserved the win, Beterbiev seemed to have his style figured out after the sixth round and took complete control from that point on. In a rematch, it’s clear that Beterbiev will go at Bivol like a rocket, knowing that he can’t handle sustained pressure and will leave him wilting immediately.
“I give Canelo a better chance against Beterbiev because of the pace. Beterbiev is fighting at a pretty slow clip these days. The fight we saw last night,” Chris Algieri said Inner boxand says Canelo Alvarez has a better chance against Artur Beterbiev at 175 than he would in a rematch with Dmitry Bivol.
I do not agree with Algieri at all. Canelo won’t do better against Beterbiev than Bivol. He will do worse because he will stand still, and Beterbiev will bump him against the ropes. The worst that Canelo can fear against Bivol is to be boxed out like last time and hit with some combinations. Being stagnant against Beterbiev will result in Canelo getting knocked out. He would be a smaller version of Callum Smith.
“He doesn’t throw a lot of punches and isn’t that active. He used to set a pace on guys,” Algieri said of Beterbiev. “He used to put so much pressure. He started off slow, but then he really picked up. At a slower pace, Canelo is really good at it. His defense is good enough and his counter punches.”
Beterbiev fought at a high pace in his fight against Callum Smith earlier this year in January. Against Bivol, he fought slower because he was worried about getting hit with his counters and jabs that he was constantly throwing. If Beterbiev hadn’t shown Bivol so much respect early on, he would have knocked him out.
“He will gain your respect. He has a good jab, Canelo. He has a very underrated sting, I think. So, I give him a better chance. I still don’t think he beats him (Beterbiev). I think Beterbiev beats Canelo too. Stay in your weight class, Canelo. You don’t have to go to 175,” Algieri said.
