Canelo Alvarez suffered his first loss since 2013 on Saturday night, with Dmitry Bivol winning a clear decision over him in their Las Vegas main event on DAZN pay-per-view.
Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KO) spoke at his post-fight press conference, and wasn’t quite so congratulatory as he was in the ring immediately after the fight, questioning the judges’ scoring, and not exactly committing to an immediate rematch or what would be coming next, which is fair given the fight just ended a couple of hours ago.
Here’s a look at what Canelo said at the presser.
On the loss to Dmitry Bivol
“Personally, I’m feeling good. I’m not giving any excuses. I do feel that I won the fight. I think perhaps, maybe I lost four or five rounds, but I definitely didn’t lose the fight. I think I got a little bit tired towards the final rounds, but I felt good. We’ll see what’s next.”
“Maybe the weight was a slight issue, and I didn’t feel 100 percent during the fight. … I’m always looking for difficult fights. I went up and looked for this difficult fight. Naturally, I feel good at 168, but I’m always up for challenges. That’s boxing. Tonight I was looking for greatness.”
On the scoring
“I think, as I said, I think he won four or five rounds maximum. I felt a little bit fatigued going into the final rounds. Perhaps it was because of the fight. But personally, I feel as I said, that he only won four or five rounds.”
On what he’d do different in a rematch
“We’ll have to see. I’ll have to watch it back and work out what we would do differently.”
“This doesn’t end in this way. I’m a very competitive person, I’ve got many years ahead of me, and I’m going to come back stronger.”
On what he feels the judges missed
“I feel often judges score things that perhaps they shouldn’t. For example, I was blocking shots and I was rolling punches, and I think that’s where the mistake may have been made.”
On whether he got frustrated by Bivol taking his power
“I think you have to give the credit to Bivol, he’s a very difficult fighter to hit around the head area. You have to give him credit.”
On what’s going through his mind
“I’m proud, I’m very proud, and I’m a very competitive person. I’ve gone up and fought at 175, I’ve gone out of my comfort zone and fought at a weight that isn’t mine. There’s no shame in that. I’m looking for challenges that others would be scared to take on because they might lose. That’s what I’m here for. Nobody wants to see fights where people know who’s going to win. It’s about those 50/50 fights, that’s what people want to see.”
On whether he was hurt in the fight
“No.”
On whether he thinks he can fight further at 175 past a Bivol rematch
“My most comfortable weight is 168, and that’s where I feel best. We’re going to see if we can take on this rematch.”
On whether he’ll still return in September or take a break
“We’re going to see what’s next, talk about it and we’ll let you know.”
On what he’ll do tomorrow
“Play golf, I think.”
On whether this loss hurts as much as the one against Mayweather
“No, I don’t feel that way. I feel I can come out of this fight with my head held high. I gave the best of me in a different weight class. I’m looking for challenges in my career that take me out of my comfort zone. I’m proud and I’m feeling good.”
On whether Bivol will be a career-defining rival
“Could be.”
On the judges having him up 4-0 after four rounds and losing seven of the next eight
“It doesn’t make sense.”
On staying against the ropes frequently in the fight
“I felt comfortable on the ropes. I was there and able to take shots and block them. I felt really comfortable there.”
On Team Bivol wanting renegotiated terms on a rematch
“We’ll see.”
On tiring in the later rounds
“Maybe it was (because of the weight). I don’t know.”
On whether this will make him a better fighter
“I always like to learn from things. Today I feel like I learned a lot, and I’m going to show you this in upcoming fights.”
On whether he still feels Bivol was the right choice instead of Benavidez or Charlo
“Yeah. It’s really important for me to get out of my comfort zone and take these challenges in my career.”
On whether he ever felt he was behind in the fight
“No.”
