On the verge of another challenge of capital dimensions, when he challenges Russian Dmitry Bivol for his WBA World Light heavyweight title on May 7, Canelo Alvarez answered a question that many of his fans may not want to answer: when will he retire from boxing?
The Mexican superstar is insatiable, as he is betting everything on winning his 14th title in nearly 20 years as a professional boxer. So far, Alvarez has won World Championships in the Super welterweight, Middleweight, Super middleweight and Light heavyweight divisions. The latter in the only fight in which he fought at 175 pounds, in 2019 against Russian Sergey Kovalev.
For his part, Dmitry Bivol is not at all uncomfortable playing the role of the bad guy in the movie. The Kyrgyzstan native is one of the most solid world champions in boxing today, thanks to seven defenses of his 175-pound belt. He is undefeated and undefeated after 19 fights as a professional and is undoubtedly in his prime.
Canelo Alvarez and his retirement from boxing
It is true, Canelo is one of the active world champions with the most fights in the world, this is because he began his boxing career at the age of 15. However, with 60 fights under his belt, and almost 32 years of age, it is a fact that he is closer to the end than the beginning of his career. In this regard, Alvarez revealed when he envisions his retirement.
“I love boxing. I love a challenge. I love that adrenaline. I need to accomplish everything to be in the books of history of boxing. That’s why I’m here and I love what I do…I hope a long time (for his retirement), because I’m gonna miss boxing when I’m retired. Right now, 6 years more, 7, 5, I don’t know.“, stated Canelo Alvarez in an interview for TMZ Sports.
Regarding his upcoming fight against Dmitry Bivol for one of the four 175-pound championships, Canelo Alvarez highlighted the fact that one of boxing’s biggest stars like himself is normalizing moving up and down divisions to face the best opponents available.
“When (have) you see (seen) the best fighter go up and down a weight class and beat all the champions? I think nobody, and I try to do my best. For boxing, for me, for my legacy.“, said Canelo Alvarez before confessing he likes the idea of becoming the Undisputed Light heavyweight Champion.
Canelo Alvarez and Dmitry Bivol show their current belts. (Matt Thomas/Getty Images)
