Dmitry Bivol has been touted as a potential opponent for Terence Crawford by fans following the Omaha-native’s unanimous decision win against Canelo Alvarez on September 13. Crawford joined Bivol and Floyd Mayweather in the list of the only three men to beat Canelo.
He moved up two weight classes and looked surprisingly comfortable against Canelo, who has ruled the super middleweight division for a long time. Much has been made of Crawford’s potential next opponent since his win. Some fans have suggested that light heavyweight could be an option for ‘Bud’, which is staggering as his career has mostly existed in the smaller divisions.
David Benavidez and Bivol have been thrown into the mix, with Crawford previously dismissing a Benavidez showdown due to the size difference. Crawford’s previous opponent, Israil Madrimov, has shared his take on a potential Bivol fight.
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Madrimov doesn’t think Crawford stands a chance against Bivol. He reckons the Russian is just too good and Crawford can’t hit him like he did Canelo. Speaking to BoxNation, he said:
“I think it’s going to be too much if Terence wants to move up there. It’s too much weight, too much of a difference and the styles as knowing Bivol very well, it’s going to be a completely different story.”
Madrimov added, “You can’t fight Bivol, you can’t hit him back the way you can with Canelo, he has a brilliant amateur style, the in and outs and everything so it’s, in my opinion, too much.”
Bivol last fought in February, defeating Artur Beterbiev in their rematch to become the undisputed light heavyweight champion. He has since been stripped of the WBC title, which Benavidez currently holds and will defend it against Anthony Yarde in November.
Throughout his career, Crawford has stayed true to his home, Omaha, Nebraska. He trains out of there and has done so from the start of his career. Crawford has now announced a victory parade for the Canelo fight, writing on Instagram:
“OMAHA I’M HOME! I left Omaha as the challenger, this week I returned as the 3x UNDISPUTED WORLD CHAMPION‼️
Omaha is on the map now. Come out next Saturday and celebrate with the Champ 👑”
With the historic Canelo win, Crawford also became the first ever male boxer to be undisputed at three different weight classes, 140 lbs, 147 lbs, and 168 lbs.
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