Despite heading into his showdown against Dmitry Bivol as a sizable favorite, the Russian native proved to be a far more complex puzzle than Canelo Alvarez initially realized.

Unwilling to capitulate and crumble underneath Alvarez’s power, Bivol implemented a well-thought-out game plan, resulting in a unanimous decision victory on May 7th. Although the pound-for-pound star appeared to be on his way to an immediate rematch, handlers of the 32-year-old shifted course, pushing him to finish his long-standing rivalry with Gennadiy Golovkin.

This past weekend, in front of a jam-packed crowd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Alvarez first boxed, then brawled his way to a unanimous decision win. With Golovkin now placed in the rearview mirror, Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) will become an interested observer.

On November 5th, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) will attempt to defend his WBA light heavyweight title against Gilberto Ramirez. Admittedly, Alvarez would love nothing more than to become the first man to sully Bivol’s record. However, considering that Ramirez is Alvarez’s fellow countrymen, he acknowledges that he’ll be quietly rooting for him come fight night.

“He needs to take care of business with Ramirez,” said Alvarez during an interview with Matchroom Boxing. “I want Ramirez win, wish Gilberto Ramirez win but we’ll see.”

Should Ramirez register the victory, Alvarez has already stated that due to Ramirez hailing from his native land of Mexico, that a showdown between them would be unlikely. But, in any event, while Ramirez is given a legitimate chance at pulling off the upset, the prevailing thought process behind his upcoming bout against Bivol is that the Russian star will emerge victorious.

Regardless of the final outcome, Alvarez will be tuned in come November 5th. Although the initial scorecards that were handed in for their May 7th bout revealed a closely contested bout, many are of the belief that Bivol won their first encounter rather comfortably.

Be that as it may, Alvarez isn’t unnerved when broached with the possibility of facing Bivol again. In fact, with what appears to be a second showdown likely on the horizon, Alvarez is completely convinced that he’ll not even defeat Bivol, but he won’t break a sweat while doing so.

“I can win that fight, no problem.”