Undisputed light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol made a surprising prediction about the outcome of the fight between Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez.
In September, “Cinnamon” and “The Mexican Monster” will face off at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The excitement surrounding the fight has led fans and analysts to make their own predictions. Bivol’s perspective on the match is particularly interesting.
Most expect Álvarez to win
Most people believe Álvarez will be the champion due to his size advantage over his opponent. This assumption makes sense since Crawford usually doesn’t fight in higher weight divisions.
Even though Crawford holds titles in four divisions, that doesn’t necessarily mean he will defeat the Mexican fighter. That was Dmitry Bivol’s first thought when he saw Crawford for the first time.
“My first reaction, of course, was about Crawford’s size… Is it okay for him to move up two weight classes or not? But then I saw him in Dubai a month ago. I thought, ‘He’s big.’ He has very good skills,” Bivol told The Ring.
Dmitry Bivol tells The Ring that Terence Crawford can beat Canelo Alvarez if he is able to adapt to a fight at 168lbs. pic.twitter.com/FhgXYTDpwo
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) March 24, 2025
In fact, Bivol considers Crawford one of his favorite boxers and even stated, “He is capable of winning this fight. But there are many small things we don’t know… We don’t know how he will handle it. He needs to adjust to the power and pressure at 168 because it’s a big difference, to be honest… Maybe he will get used to it and to how it feels. But he is capable. He has good skills, he’s tricky, and he can use both hands. That gives him advantages.”
Mental preparation will be key
Besides adjusting to Canelo’s weight and size, Crawford needs to be mentally prepared for the fight. Dmitry Bivol highlighted this in the interview: “If he is mentally ready, he will handle the punches well… Alvarez has good defense. That’s one of his strengths. He uses his body a lot.”
Despite these predictions, both fighters have what it takes to win. They also have enough time to prepare their bodies and minds. In September, we will finally see the results of that preparation and find out if Bivol was righ.
