This is Rummy’s Corner.
I don’t know shit about boxing.
WBA super duper light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol successfully defended his belt
against Canelo Alvarez in an upset victory.
Bivol put forth an extremely disciplined and intelligent effort, start to finish.
Bivol was patiently effective and very consistent.
The foundation for his success was a versatile jab that he used in a variety of ways.
At times he was just flicking the jab, maintaining a safe range, where he would sometimes explode
into a sharp one-two between hypnotic flicks.
Bivol was also timing Canelo with some well placed combinations, where Canelo almost seemed
to expect that these flurries would end sooner than they did, and Bivol was punctuating these
moments well because of it.
The other key attributes that helped Bivol were his impeccable guard defense, and his
extremely educated deceptively quick footwork.
Canelo seemed more dedicated to trying to dig downstairs earlier in the fight, but somewhere
along the way he largely got away from that.
Canelo was having difficulty creating the openings he needed, and he was often just
missing with his power shots, including a few home run uppercuts just off the mark.
Bivol’s effective guard had Canelo start working the arms and shoulders and anywhere
he could bang.
But in addition to stellar defense and footwork, Bivol also proved durable on the guard whenever
Canelo unleashed with ill intent.
At times the fight had a bit of a strange rhythm, and by the beginning of the second
half of the fight, Canelo was beginning to look frustrated.
Canelo’s punches simply weren’t having the desired impact, because Bivol was tough.
He was in fact beginning to look comfortable, and the more comfortable he looked, the more
frustrated Canelo appeared.
Like a true champion, Canelo battled it out as best he could, often with a renewed sense
of urgency, but Bivol maintained his composure in consistent fashion, and he never allowed
things to get away from him.
At the end of 12 intriguing rounds in this offbeat chess match, all 3 judges scored the
fight in favor of Bivol, 115 to 113.
I personally had it 116 to 112 for Bivol, but I definitely think the right man won.
It was a terrific victory for Dmitry Bivol in a breakout performance under a big time
spotlight.
With all of the odds seemingly stacked against him, he did not let the moment get the best
of him.
Quite the contrary, he exhibited the heart, the skills, and the smarts of a true champion.
Canelo has nothing to be ashamed of, and he gave it a hell of an effort.
Lesser boxers may have succumbed to Canelo’s power attacks, but Bivol proved tough enough
to absorb that power better than most recent Canelo opponents, and more importantly, he
was able to dish it out too.
As I see it, the division is definitely heating up.
A rematch between Canelo and Bivol would be a welcome addition from my perspective, and
then next month on June 18th, we have a light heavyweight unification match between unified
WBC/IBF champion Artur Beterbiev and WBO champion Joe Smith Jr.
That one could prove to be very interesting, and there are a lot of potentially interesting
match-ups that can be made between those 4 who now sit atop the 175 pound landscape.
Whatever happens, I’m fired-up about the light heavyweight division, and congratulations
to Dmitry Bivol.
What did you think of the fight?
Please share your thoughts in the comment section.
Thanks for watching everyone, I hope you enjoyed, and have a wonderful night.
This is Rummy’s Corner.