Dmitry Bivol explained how he defeated Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in their lightweight clash in Las Vegas last weekend.
The undefeated WBA champion added another notch to his belt when he beat the Mexican undisputed super middleweight on a unanimous decision.
Speaking to the DAZN Boxing Show, he explained that he had been willing to take the fight to make a name for himself, but had more demands if Canelo wanted a rematch.
“I wanted this fight to get more attention to show my skills to many fans, to introduce myself to boxing fans,” he explained. “Now I got it. Now it’s not my goal to have a rematch, I have a goal to have more belts in the light heavyweight [division].”
Of the potential rematch, which his manager said has to be decided within a month from the fight and scheduled within six months of last Saturday, Bivol said: “It’s not the first thing I want to do. I have a goal to be undisputed. I want to fight against the guys.
“He has options in the contract, but it’s not my goal, but I will give him rematch of course if he wants. He gives me an opportunity, of course I give him an opportunity.”
However, he explained that he felt he was due an improved deal for a second fight: More money. I want to be the first on the posters and something like that. “If he doesn’t take it, no problem.”
Asked about the tactics he employed for the fight, Bivol broke down his defence and preparation, given Canelo’s strengths.
“He has a good shot, he has good power,” he claimed. “He can compete against anyone in the light heavyweight division. Absolutely he has enough power.
“Of course my [defence] helped me, it saved my head, it saved my body. A lot of punches I took on my arm from left hooks, from the body. When he punched my arm he wasted his power, his energy.
“I have a bruise here [his left arm], a little bit of pain, but I can still go through the jab.
“When I sparred in my training camp, my sparring partners sometimes hit on my arm. They got a plan to hit Bivol on the arm, on the shoulder, in the sparring. Of course I expected that and I watched his fight against Callum Smith, and I knew that.”
Watch the entire exclusive Bivol interview, in which he reveals when he thought he might lose the fight to Canelo, his thoughts on the light-heavyweight clash in June pitting Artur Beterbiev vs. Joe Smith Jr, and more when the latest DAZN Boxing Show drops later today (Tuesday May 10) on the DAZN app.