Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez tries to win the WBA super light-heavyweight belt from Dmitry Bivol on Saturday. Will the Russian prove the Mexican pound’s toughest test in years, or is it merely another routine quest on his way to greatness?
After fighting three times last year on his way to unifying the super-middleweight world championship, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez returned to the light-heavyweight division for a second time on Saturday night, as he attempted to add to the mix. Add another dramatic scalp to a sports CV. was filled with achievements challenging Dmitrii Bivol’s WBA ‘super’ world title at T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In his previous foray into 175lbs, Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) impressively stopped his past best of Sergey Kovalev for eleven innings. Bivol, however, is capable of giving a much harder test than the blurred ‘Krusher’.
The 31-year-old Russian (born in Kyrgyzstan to a Korean mother and Moldovan father) is probably at the peak of his power right now and is widely regarded as the second best active lightweight athlete in the world. two in the world (after Artur Beterbiev).
Bivol is six months younger than Canelo and his senior by amateur pedigree, having won national and junior titles as well as competing in high-quality Word boxing before switching in 2014 . By the time Bivol turned pro, Canelo was already a professional 44-1-1 lightweight champion and an experienced lightweight champion and was on his way to return after was knocked out in September 2013 to the incredible punches of Floyd Mayweather Jr. , and is an exceptional master in the art of self-paced over 12 rounds.
Some might argue this is inappropriate given the Mexican’s physical short – 6′ tall with 72 inch reach, Bivol has a significant advantage in height and length (Canelo is only 5′) 8″ with a reach of 70½”). Furthermore, the Russian, accustomed to working out at 175lbs, has spent his entire career working out with weights.
For many boxers, these physical and statistical weaknesses will be cause for concern, but not – it seems – for Canelo, who is used to fighting taller and longer enemies. than him, and a man with the strength of a bull might even see him – in the end – on cruiser-class campaigns.
Another concern for Bivol supporters must be his recent form. His last three matches – against the best performers at world level Umar Salamov, Craig Richards and Lenin Castillo – have all gone so far, leading to suspicions that the Russians may have lost a part of its advantage, or has begun to stagnate.
For the best performances of Bivol’s career, we have to go back to 2019 – when he appreciated Joe Smith Jr – and 2018, when he dominated and stopped Sullivan Barrera. In the previous game, Smith rocked Bivol on a couple of occasions, notably at the end of the 10th round. If Smith Jr can get Bivol into trouble then surely Canelo will be able to find enough openings to exploit, though the Mexicans likely found him harder to destroy and more dominant than his last two victims at 168 lbs, Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant.
If Bivol wants to win then he will need to use his technical skills, especially his excellent shot, to accumulate points early and let Canelo down. However, it is likely that he will need to throw more punches than usual, and in quick synergies, if he is to win a decisive victory against a man who is usually thought to benefit from suspicion from the Las Vegas judges.
Canelo’s ability to maneuver his body and create decisive openings and potentially end the game by setting subtle traps, as well as his impressive head movement and rotation skills, leads me to believe he will have enough skill in his inventory to move through the gears in the second half of the fight and win a clear point.
Given Bivol’s technique and class, a controversial decision in Canelo’s favor cannot be ruled out either, but any form of victory for the Russians would be a major disappointment.
