Joe Smith Jr: I was surprised Canelo took that fight against Bivol
Bivol #Bivol
WBO light heavyweight World Champion Joe Smith Jr. has expressed his surprise about the fact that Canelo Alvarez decided to take on Dmitry Bivol.
Smith Jr. has claimed that he expected Canelo to opt for him instead and broke down the reasons why Alvarez should not have chosen Bivol as his rival.
“I believed Bivol was gonna win that fight because of his style,” Smith told BoxingScene.com.
“You know, Canelo’s used to people being aggressive and coming after him. Canelo likes being aggressive and coming forward and slipping the punches of people when they’re being aggressive.
“And I just knew Bivol wasn’t gonna give him too many opportunities for him to counter him or do anything like that.
“I was surprised Canelo took that fight, and didn’t take [Artur] Beterbiev or me. I believe he stayed away from us because he was just coming up to light heavyweight.
“Who knows what would’ve happened if he faced one of us? But I was shocked when he chose to fight [Bivol].”
Despite being considered as the clear favourite heading into the fight against Bivol, Canelo was beaten for the first time in more than eight years on May 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.