Saul “Canelo” Alvarez did not live his best night against Dmitry Bivol last Saturday and took a painful defeat for his career, but it does not tarnish the great performance of the man who continues to be the face of the boxing world. 

The Mexican knew what he was facing in this fight against the World Boxing Association (WBA) Champion and still took on the most complicated challenge among his options in search of greatness. 

He moved up in class despite holding all four super middleweight belts and faced a solid light heavyweight champion with more than 10 defenses, which speaks to the risk the Guadalajara native was taking.

Alvarez made a fight in which he looked for his opponent, went into the exchange and fought toe-to-toe to finally fall by decision to a Bivol who looked better from many aspects.

Since the decision was announced in Las Vegas, Canelo has made it clear that he wants to face Bivol again. Alvarez feels he can take revenge but it all depends on the rematch and the circumstances.

Bivol has expressed that he is willing to move down the ranks to seek that undisputed title from the Mexican, which would add new elements to the bout and make it even more interesting.

For now, Canelo must make a decision but what is certain is that he lost a difficult fight and that he remains the undisputed 168-pound monarch. He has made a leap from welterweight to super middleweight achieving great things in his career and has had accomplishments that few fighters in history have achieved. His record remains intact.