Dmitry Bivol suggests dropping down to super-middleweight for a four-belt rematch with Canelo Alvarez

WBO light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol says he is willing to drop down a division for his rematch with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.

The undefeated Russian sent shockwaves through the boxing world on Saturday night when he easily outpointed the biggest star in the sport.

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All three ringside judges scored the fight 115-113 to Bivol after 12 rounds but most observers had the defending champion winning by a much wider margin.

In the immediate aftermath of his first defeat since 2013, Canelo announced his intention to rematch Bivol, scuppering plans for an eagerly anticipated trilogy fight with his biggest rival Gennady Golovkin.

Bivol believes size was not really an issue in his fight with Canelo but says he is willing to drop down to super-middleweight in order to challenge the Mexican who currently holds all four major titles at 168lbs.

“His natural size is for less weight, and mine too. Maybe next fight for four belts in his division,” Bivol told Behind The Gloves.

His trainer Joel Diaz backed his fighter to perform even better in a potential Canelo rematch, especially if it takes place in the light-heavyweight division.

“In the rematch, Dmitry Bivol will do more damage on Canelo because there’s a lot of combination punches that he didn’t do that he could’ve done,” Diaz said in a separate interview with Behind The Gloves.

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He believes the size difference was a huge factor in the fight, as Canelo’s power proved to be ineffective against Bivol at 175lbs.

“The size difference is a big factor,” he added.

“Canelo is a heavy puncher, he hurts, he’s a great fighter but in his division. Moving up to 175 it’s a bigger division, he (Bivol) is a bigger man. In the light-heavyweight division, they’re bigger, they can take more punishment.

“I think in the next one, it’ll be much easier for Dmitry Bivol to beat Canelo because he’s already felt his punch – his hardest punch.”