By Sean Jones: Canelo Alvarez will have his career finished off by Dmitry Bivol next May when he faces him in a rematch.

Rather undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) doing the right thing by facing David Benavidez to allow him to dethrone him to become the next star; he’s choosing to face Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) on Cinco de Mayo in a fight that he can’t win.

It’s over for Canelo if he loses again against Bivol because if he returns to the 168-lb division, he’ll have to fight Benavidez.

Losing to Bivol means a one-sided decision loss, but getting by Benavidez would be a humiliating knockout for Canelo.

If Canelo chooses to retire after the loss, Bivol, it would make sense because it makes him look heroic by taking a rematch against a guy that whipped him so soundly last May.

Alvarez has no choice but to fight Bivol again. It’s either fight Bivol or take on the ‘Mexican Monster’ David Benavidez, and all know that Canelo wants no part of fighting him.

Canelo likely to rematch Bivol at 168

What we’re likely going to see is Canelo choosing to have Bivol come down to 168 to challenge him for his four belts. Why would Canelo have Bivol face him at 168 rather than at 175? It’s simple for these reasons:

• Bivol would inherit Canelo’s problem: If Canelo loses to Bivol again, he’ll be off the hook for needing to face the ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez. If Bivol beats Canelo at 168, he’d be the one stuck with having to defend against Benavidez, and he’ll look like he’s ducking if he chooses to vacate the belts to return to the 175-lb division. Losing to Bivol wouldn’t hurt Canelo’s legacy nearly as much as getting whipped by Benavidez. Getting beaten by Bivol means that Canelo will rob Benavidez of being able to use a victory over him to catapult his career.
• Canelo’s chances of winning are greater at 168 against a drained Bivol than at 175.
• Rehydration clause. If Bivol comes down to 168, Canelo can insist on a rehydration clause to weaken him. It would literally be a double whammy that Bivol would be dealing with. Not only would he need to drain down to 168, but he would need to limit how much weight he could gain back on the morning of the fight.

Canelo’s trainer Eddy Reynoso has no clue how to help him prepare for the rematch with Bivol. We’re probably going to see Canelo trying to knock Bivol out with single shots like last time, and he’s going to look silly.