One man who will be keeping an eye on Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez’s attempt to become a two-time world light heavyweight champion will be Britain’s Craig Richards.
Richards, who is preparing for a domestic clash with Josh Buatsi on May 21, now has something in common with Canelo, and that’s come Saturday, both will have shared the ring with WBA 175lb champion Dmitry Bivol.
Richards fought Bivol last year, and while he lost via a unanimous decision, the ‘Spider’ gave a good account of himself and showed that he can fight on the world stage.
The upcoming fight with Buatsi is a WBA world title eliminator, therefore, the winner would be in line to face either Canelo or Bivol when a mandatory defence is called by the governing body.
When asked about what Canelo needs to do in order to become a two-time world light heavyweight champion, Richards believes being ‘smart’ is key in the early stages of a fight which can be seen live across the world on DAZN (except Mexico and Latin America).
“He [Canelo] needs to be smart with his work early,” Richards told DAZN in an exclusive interview.
“Bivol’s a sharpshooter, he’s got very fast hands, good combination puncher.
“You’ve got to pick your times when to press onto him.
“But Canelo is Canelo, I’m sure he doesn’t need advice from myself with his IQ.
“In my fight I showed how I closed the distance, no one has really done that to Bivol before, so people think that part is easy, but it’s going to be difficult for Canelo to close the gap and get to work if he doesn’t have good footwork.”
As expected, Richards isn’t letting the prospect of facing Canelo distract him from the task at the hand against Buatsi on May 21, but the Mexican has alluded to fighting in the UK in the near future and this is an opportunity which Richards would grab with both hands if it arose.
“You want these legacy fights, you want these opportunities to pull things out the bag that no one imagined you can do,” Richards said.
“Any big opportunities, I throw my name into the hat all the time to cause the upsets or the things that people never expect.
“An opportunity like that against Canelo, you’ll grab that with both hands.”