Former world champion in light heavyweight (up to 79.4 kg) Ukrainian Alexander Gvozdyk gave
interview for the American blog.
In a conversation, Alexander spoke about sparring with the absolute champion of the second middleweight (up to 76.2 kg) from Mexico Canelo Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs), when he was preparing for a fight against the WBA “super champion” in the light heavyweight category (up to 79 .4 kg) Russian Dmitry Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs).
Recall that in the end, Alvarez lost to Bivol on points.
I saw that you sparred with Canelo before the fight with Bivol.
– Yes.
— What was it like?
— It was a very good experience. He is very nice, very good person. He is a good professional and it was a good experience.
– How did you get in touch?
Do you know reporter Ellie?
– Yeah.
So, he called me on FaceTime. Said, “Hi Alex, I’m at the Canelo camp right now.” I didn’t even think about sparring with him or doing something like that. He says “Wait a second” and hands over the phone to Canelo. Canelo says, “Hey Alex, come to spar.”
— [смеётся]
And I’m like, “Okay, wow.” Here’s how it happened.
Did you stay there for a day or a week?
I was there the whole camp. I was there 2 months. But I didn’t stay there all the time. I traveled back and forth. I went there three times a week.
— I think it was very wise to invite you to the Canelo camp for sparring, a man with an Eastern European style, the same weight.
I hope I helped, but it didn’t work, unfortunately.
– If you are invited to sparring for revenge, will you go?
– Yes. Why not? Of course. It not only helps him, it also helps me.
– Do you stay in shape?
– Yes. I train almost every day.
Immediately after the Alvarez-Bivol fight, Gvozdyk stated that Canelo had done enough to win.
