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Trainer Joel Diaz is expecting WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol 19-0 (11) to provide Mexican superstar and undisputed super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 57-1-2 (39) the toughest test of his 17-year pro career when they clash at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 7.
The 31-year-old Russian has been training out of Diaz’s gym in Indio, California in preparation for his next title defence.
“Bivol is in a good state of mind, he has a good mindset right now,” Diaz said FightHubTV.
“He’s in great physical strength, he’s training really hard, he’s very focused, and one of the things that I always tell the fighters, ‘If you’re happy, that’s the most important thing’.
“Bivol right now, he’s a very happy fighter right now, he’s training and has got great sparring partners. Every sparring day for him is a fun day because he’s been performing well and doing everything he needs to do.
“Like I said, everybody wants to beat Canelo and everybody walks in the ring with that mentality of beating Canelo. I’m not going to tell you that this guy is going to knock out Canelo, but I can tell you this: this is going to be Canelo’s toughest fight.
“It’s going to be Canelo’s toughest fight because Bivol is a natural 175, he’s a bigger man, he’s awkward, he’s strong and besides being strong, he’s very smart.
“So he’s going to make Canelo work and think, and I honestly see a fight where people are going to see the unexpected. Dmitry Bivol has fought lower opposition before.
“If you look at one of Bivol’s fights, and you think, ‘He didn’t look that great.’ Let me tell you why. I’ve seen him with some of my fighters in the past.
“When you fight an average fighter, you drop to their level, but when they give you that competitive edge, you step up to the opposition. Bivol is one of those fighters that step up to the opposition, and that’s Canelo Alvarez.
“You’re going to see a totally different Bivol that steps in the ring with Canelo than you did when he fought [Craig Richards and Umar Salamov] because I saw it with Tim Bradley when he fought Manny Pacquiao. He stepped it up.
“It is with every fighter, every boxer. If you give them a good name, they’ll step up that level and that’s the reason why you’re going to see a fight where you’re going to see the unexpected on May 7th.
“You’re going to see a great fight. Honestly, I’m looking forward to it because you’re going to be seeing a great competitive fight from beginning to end. When [Bivol] hits the bag, he moves the whole gym.”
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