YEKATERINBURG, RUSSIA - OCTOBER 29, 2016: Russian boxer Dmitry Bivol (L), the current interim WBA light heavyweight champion, in a non-title ten-round light heavyweight bout against Ukrainian boxer Jevgeniy Mahteenko. Donat Sorokin/TASS PUBLICATIONxINxGERxAUTxONLY TS035F07 Yekaterinburg Russia October 29 2016 Russian Boxer Dmitry Bivol l The Current Interim WBA Light Heavyweight Champion in A Non Title Ten Round Light Heavyweight Bout Against Ukrainian Boxer Jevgeniy Donat Sorokin TASS PUBLICATIONxINxGERxAUTxONLY TS035F07
Bivol scores the upset!
Someone should have watched more tapes of Bivol, starting with Álvarez’s trainer Eddy Reynoso. On Saturday night, Canelo was dominated by Bivol, who was technically a better fighter than Canelo. Alvarez has always had issues with fighters like Bivol, but over-confidence got him on Saturday night; I say over-confidence got the best of him because he should never have decided on Bivol as an opponent. Bivol won at the very least nine rounds and probably more. Canelo’s face was beaten, while Bivol had no marks on his face. People will say that Canelo bit off more than he should have because of the weight, but that is not the reality. This Bivol is just better; his style is all wrong for Canelo. We have you covered if you want to find the best sports betting sites to bet on Boxing.
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Bivol was a legit threat that Canelo did not have to face, but the fact that he did showed that Canelo was indeed chasing greatness, and not many do that anymore. I know people will say that Canelo proved he was overrated, and I don’t see it this way. Bivol is a much more formidable fighter than Canelo’s people have been accused of ducking. Guys like Demetrius Andrade and Charlo won’t even fight each other or anyone of real significance because they are just waiting for a fight with Canelo. So give Canelo credit for challenging himself, but his best move would have always been to clean out the 160lb division and then the 168lb division.
Rematch?
My answer would be, why? Bivol dominated the fight, and I don’t see anything Canelo could do to change the first fight’s result. Bivol is stronger, takes a great punch and is technically a superior boxer. The only way the result could change would be if the judges decided to give it to Canelo, which is entirely possible. All three judges scored the fight 115-113, and with Canelo’s record, that would be the only way to win a rematch. Plus, with the lack of respect, Bivol got from Matchroom, why give Canelo a rematch.
Bivol was treated poorly by Matchroom.
If you did not know that the Champion in this fight was Bivol, I wouldn’t blame you because he was treated like the challenger on Saturday night. Bivol was forced to come out first and then wait as Canelo’s entrance lasted too long for such a short walk, and then Bivol was introduced first. Boxing protocol is usually the champ comes out last and is introduced last. Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing showed Bivol complete disrespect. How many times have you seen a rematch clause for a challenger? It doesn’t happen, and the kind of treatment is why many boxing fans are tired of the Canelo show. Canelo has always tended to make demands that others simply wouldn’t or couldn’t!
Will Canelo trigger the rematch clause? If he does, he is just being delusional, as we have already seen with our own eyes that Bivol is the better man. The decision of 115-113 by all three judges should be concerning for any rematch also, as we have seen Canelo beaten by GGG in the first fight and get the decision. Hell, we saw Floyd Mayweather shut him out, and one of the judges scored the fight a draw!
DAZN Announcers
As always, the announcing team on DAZN leaves a lot to be desired, which was on full display on Saturday night. How sad is it that everyone who scored the fight had Bivol easily winning, but you still had some of them saying that it could have been seen as a close fight! Then to hear them discuss how hard it was to win a decision against Canelo in Vegas was mind-blowing as they stated it matter of factly like it was no big deal.
Commercials on PPV
I have been a subscriber to DAZN since its inception, and I remember what I was told at the start. What I was told was that they would never charge for PPV! Luckily I never believed it, and now I had to pay an extra 60 dollars to see this fight! The undercard was complete shit, as most are nowadays, but the biggest kicker to all of this shit was having to watch Top Gun commercials between rounds instead of hearing what the trainers were saying to the fighters! If we are paying 60 dollars for a fight, why do we have to watch commercials?
What should Canelo do now?
It’s evident that to fight GGG in September, a contract is already in place, and it’s still a money-making fight. After that fight, he could trigger the rematch clause for May with Bivol, or he could stay at 168 and fight a fighter like David Benievdez, which would be a big fight and a challenge for Canelo. Andrade and Charlo could move up to 168 and fight Canelo also.
Is Canelo an all-time great?
Canelo is a great fighter, but he is not an all-time great fighter. His biggest fights were against Mayweather, who he lost to and GGG, who he lost to in their first fight, and that was a Triple G that was forced to wait on Canelo. In contrast, Canelo fought the likes of Amir Khan and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. So against the three best fighters he has fought; he lost to all three; I will give him that the rematch against GGG was close and could have gone either way, but to compare Canelo to the greatest Mexican fighter’s of all time is absurd at this point. Check out the best new sportsbooks!
What is next for Bivol
The answer here is clear if he is not forced into a Canelo rematch, all roads lead to fighting the winner of the Artur Beterbiev-Joe Smith fight to become the Undisputed Light Heavyweight champion. This would also be the best move for the entire sport of Boxing.
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I think a Bivol rematch is probably coming, and the issue for me would be that it will be a more significant mismatch than it was on Saturday night; I think now that Bivol knows that Canelo doesn’t have the power to hurt him, he will turn up the offense just a tad and possibly stop Canelo in a rematch.
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