Canelo Alvarez will improve his conditioning over 12 rounds at light-heavyweight when he rematches Dmitry Bivol next year.
The pound-for-pound great was stopped in his tracks earlier this month when Russian champion Bivol comfortably defeated him at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Alvarez had been entertaining a possible move to cruiserweight before the underdog sent him back to reality with a dominant decision victory.
And there are already plans underway for Alvarez to get a rematch with the Russian, after he defends his undisputed super-middleweight title twice this year. His promoter Eddie Hearn has already started drafting plans for another Cinco De Mayo fight week against Bivol after Alvarez faces Gennady Golovkin on September 17 and an as-yet unnamed opponent in December.
"I'm going to try again for sure," Alvarez told DAZN of his plans to face Bivol again. "I'm a very competitive person, very persevering. I tried to gain weight and win this championship, but we didn't make it. But we are going to try again.
"Only that for a second fight, I would look to be in much better physical condition, prepare myself for the 12 rounds. A different strategy to the one I used with my opponents at 168 pounds. You learn from everything. I tried new things, and it didn't work, but now we have a new guideline for what's coming."
First, Alvarez will have to get past his trilogy bout with Golovkin, and possibly John Ryder in the UK or another opponent in a Mexican homecoming this December. Then, the team will begin to work on a game plan for the Bivol rematch.
"We spoke to Bivol and his team, we're working on the rematch for 'Cinco De Mayo' next year," Eddie said on the DAZN Boxing Show. "There's no way Canelo won't take that fight."
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Alvarez has dropped to No.6 with The Ring Magazine on their pound-for-pound list, with Oleksandr Usyk now taking up the top spot. But he is unfazed by the drastic change in his perception, and still believes that he is the best boxer in the world.
"The truth is that I don't know how they handle that kind of thing," he continued. "But I still feel I'm the best. Tell me another fighter who is trying in other categories, going down and up in weight, wanting to achieve different kinds of things. Nobody has done that.
"I do it. I risk everything to keep making history when I don't need to risk anything. I've already achieved so many things. I'm in a position where I don't have to risk anything, and I still do it, and nobody does that when they are in a position like the one I'm in. So personally, I still feel I'm the best in the world."
