Former six-weight world champion Oscar De La Hoya advises Canelo Alvarez to look anywhere but in Dmitry Bivol’s direction.
Over the past few years, Canelo Alvarez has made a habit of competing only twice every 12 months and at the time of writing, 2025 looks to be no different.
The 62-2-2 superstar might already have one eye on Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford, but the door also remains well and truly open for an enormous rematch with undisputed light heavyweight king, Dmitry Bivol… But should it?
Canelo Alvarez advised against enormous rematch with Dmitry Bivol
Whilst there are plenty of options out there for both fighters, Canelo Alvarez remains keen on getting revenge for his unanimous decision loss to Dmitry Bivol in May 2022.
That being said, not everyone agrees that the Mexican superstar should set his sights on running it back with Bivol – cue former six-weight world champion, Oscar De La Hoya.
“There is no way he beats Bivol,” claimed ‘The Golden Boy’ in an interview with Fight Hub TV.
“There is just no way. Styles make fights [and] as much as I would want to see a Mexican win inside that ring, a national hero, there is no way he beats Bivol.”
De La Hoya would much rather see Bivol face a new challenger in the form of 30-0 champion David Benavidez, who retained his interim title with a decision win over David Morrell in February.
“I think that’s a hell of a fight. If he’s willing to do that, willing to be great and fight Benavidez – my gosh, that would solidify Bivol’s Hall of Fame career, for sure… That’s a hell of a fight and a hell of a route to take.
“That’s a tough one, I mean I would go with Benavidez because he’s more active, he throws more punches and has better footwork than Beterbiev, he’s smarter out there – yeah, I would favor Benavidez.”
- REVEALED: David Benavidez claims he ‘almost dropped’ Dmitry Bivol with 15-20 punch combination in sparring
The legendary Mexican boxer has two fights already booked for 2025
For Canelo Alvarez vs Dmitry Bivol 2 to actually happen, the Mexican superstar must first get through his next two fights – both of which have already been announced for later this year.
On May 3, Canelo takes on undefeated Cuban sensation William ‘El Indomable’ Scull, who claimed ownership of the IBF World Super Middleweight title last October.
Then comes the big one; Canelo Alvarez vs Terance Crawford, which is currently scheduled for September 13, 2025, at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
In a prior interview with Fight Hype, De La Hoya shared his Canelo vs Crawford prediction; with the boxing Hall of Famer expecting his former client to squeak past ‘Bud’ in a monumental PPV.
“Look, fighter versus fighter and talent, obviously Crawford is the craftier boxer, but Canelo has the size, he has the power and it’s like [Bob] Arum said he’ll run right through him.
“It’ll be a tough fight but stylistically I mean yeah, it’ll be a one-sided fight for maybe let’s say seven rounds and then Canelo starts attacking, attacking, he starts to take it to deep waters and the power will eventually be too much.
“Will it be a great fight? Will it be a huge event? Absolutely.”