Eddie Hearn believes Dmitry Bivol is facing ‘the biggest star in the sport in boxing’ when he takes on Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez this weekend.
Undefeated WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol will take on undisputed super middleweight Canelo on Saturday May 7, live on DAZN (except in Mexico and Latin America).
Speaking to IFL TV, Hearn explained that he thought this would be a tough fight for Canelo, but it is not yet clear just how good Bivol can be.
“This guy is the biggest star in the sport of boxing. It’s a tough fight this weekend. We just did the head to head, it’s a really tough fight against Dmitry Bivol,” he said.
“You saw a thriller last weekend and you’re going to see another thriller on DAZN.
“I think [Bivol] against [Artur] Beterbiev is an incredible fight, but the thing about Beterbiev is he’s old, he’s also a huge pincher. You saw him go down against Callum Johnson. Dmitry Bviol is fresh, he's never really had a tough fight, never been down on the canvas. Never been close to defeat.
“Boxed Joe Smith, beat him easily, he’s another world champion. Boxed Jean Pascal, in his prime, easy fight. It’s all about how good Dmitry Bivol is, because if you’re not a pound for pound great, you’re not going to beat Canelo Alvarez...
“A young fresh light heavyweight who could be levels above what he’s had to show.”
Turning back to Canelo, he was in awe of the four-weight champion for moving up to 175lbs for the second time.
“I do believe you’ll get a thrilling fight,” he said. “You see the size of the light heavyweights against him. He's taking incredible challenges, but he lives to do it.”