Canelo Alvarez will return to the ring tonight when he makes a switch to 175lbs to challenge Dmitry Bivol for the WBA world title.
The Mexican star has not fought since defeating Caleb Plant last year to become undisputed champion at 168lbs, and has made a 6lb weight hike to meet Bivol in the ring this weekend at the T-Mobile Arena. Alvarez previously fought at light-heavyweight when he defeated Sergey Kovalev in 2020, with his quest now taking him one step away from becoming two-time champion at the weight.
Alvarez had an extremely busy year fighting four times in 2021, and he has now signed a two-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn. Victory in his latest outing will set up a trilogy with two-time rival Gennady Golovkin.
Meanwhile undefeated Bivol will be hoping to spring a shock having defeated the likes of Craig Richards and Joe Smith Jr in his career to date.
Here's all you need to know about tonight's title clash...
What time are the fights on?
Ring walks for tonight's main event are expected to take place at 5am UK time in the early hours of Sunday morning with the undercard set to get underway at around 1am.
The main event will begin at around 5:15am with the start time dependent on the duration of the undercard.
How to watch via TV and live stream
The event will be shown live on DAZN, with the main broadcast starting at 1:00am. A subscription to DAZN is available at a price point £7.99 a month and you can purchase one here.
Subscribers in the US and Canada will be able to purchase the event on DAZN PPV for an additional one-off fee of $59.99. You can also watch DAZN on multiple devices including laptop, smart TV and through the mobile app.
Undercard
Canelo Alvarez vs Dmitry Bivol – WBA (Super) light heavyweight title
Filip Hrgovic vs Zhilei Zhang
Montana Love vs Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela
Shakhram Giyasov vs Christian Gomez
Joselito Velazquez vs Jose Soto
Alexis Espino vs Aaron Silva
Odds
Alvarez 1/4
Bivol 4/1
Draw 20/1
Will Canelo Alvarez defeat Dmitry Bivol? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below
Quotes corner
Alvarez: “Thank you to Dmitry Bivol for the opportunity to fight for your world championship, thank you so much. I’m glad to be back with Eddie Hearn and working with him, with DAZN, I’m really excited for this year.
"Bivol is a really tough fighter and it’s going to be a really good fight for Cinco de Mayo weekend with my people in Las Vegas – Mexican weekend. I’m really excited and I’m going to prepare really well because this fight is going to be really hard.
“He’s a good fighter. Difficult fighter, too. He’s a fighter who fights at distance, [maintains] good distance. He moves [well], he’s fast for the division, he’s strong. He’s a solid champion at 175. So he’s a dangerous fighter, but I like [the challenge].
Bivol: “I believe in my skills and when I come to the ring I believe in my victory. I’m looking forward to May 7, thank you. Me and my team wanted this fight and I’m glad this fight will be in the United States and one of the Mecca of boxing.
“This is very important for me especially because I’m fighting one of the best if not the best in the world right now, I want people to be able to see me and my skills, this is a big fight that can give me the ability to achieve my other goals and go on if I win this fight.”
