A critical look at the past week in boxing
GOOD
The fans were spoiled on Saturday night.
They received not one, but two unusually stellar performances in locations about 7,000 miles apart, first by Dmitry Bivol of £175 owner in the United Arab Emirates and later that’s David Morrell at £168 in Minneapolis.
Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) reminds us of how he was able to upset Canelo Alvarez in May, edging past good, previously undefeated Gilberto Ramirez to win a wide decision spread and set up another major skirmish.
Ramirez (44-1, 30 KOs) competed in the first four innings. Then, after Bivol started the fight, he toyed with the former 168-pound champion for the rest of the run to win a widely agreed decision and underscore the perception that he was one of the purest boxers on the planet.
Bivol’s defensive performance was particularly remarkable: Ramirez only landed with 12.2% of his punches, according to CompuBox. No one is harder to hit.
What’s next?
He wants to fight compatriot Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed light heavyweight championship. If that doesn’t happen – and probably won’t be due to a previous commitment – he will happily arrange a rematch with Alvarez.
Neither of those matches were easy but I would pick Bivol to win both. He’s the best of those three… maybe the best, period.
Morrell (8-0.7 KO) showed in his 12order– knock-out Aidos Yerbossynuly (16-1, 11 KOs) why he will become one of the top few super middleweights and eventually light heavyweights.
Find a weak point. The Cuban defector is naturally gifted, has batting skills, the ability to punch and kick, and has a beautiful chin. On Saturday, he overcame a good opponent who, for sure, beat him and then brutally knocked him down.
The fans in his adopted home country cherished every minute of it. The rest of us just nodded approvingly.
Morrell seems special.
BAD
Bivol suggested after Saturday’s win that he was willing to drop to 168 pounds to challenge Alvarez for the undisputed title after overtaking Alvarez at 175 in their first match.
Let’s hope he doesn’t do that.
It’s one thing to move up a division, as Alvarez did in May. It’s another way to lose weight, which can exhaust the boxer and give the opponent a significant advantage. And that’s the last thing you want if you’re facing a future Hall of Famer.
Bivol fought as a light heavyweight during his eight-year professional career. As he said, “I am a light person. This is my weight.”
He needs to remember that. And so is Alvarez.
If the Mexican star wants to turn the tide with Bivol, he needs to do it against a fit Bivol. That would be 175 pounds, not 168 or catch weight. Otherwise, a win in the rematch won’t mean much.
And Alvarez hit it off at the age of 175. He stopped a still qualified Sergey Kovalev from winning the light heavyweight title in 2019. The size disadvantage was not an insurmountable obstacle in that night. And there’s no reason it should be in the second fight with Bivol.
Indeed, the first meeting was more about possibility than scale. That would also be the case for a rematch.
It has to go at 175 pounds.
WORSE
Bivol, Morrell and the fans will have to wait for the battles they want.
Bivol is choosing legacy over money when he says he’d rather fight Beterbiev than have a rematch with Alvarez in his next match. You have to think that Betterbiev wanted that fight too. And, of course, fans would love to see the fight between the boxing wizard and the knockout artist.
Instead, it looks like Beterbiev will defend his three belts against mandatory challenger Anthony Yarde early next year.
Unfortunately for the fans. Betterbiev-Yarde does not fit. Yarde has the power but he doesn’t have the skills to compete with a boxer as capable and experienced as Beterbiev, who will almost certainly dominate and eventually stop Yarde. Knockout is always fun to watch but I’d love to see a more competitive fight.
Bivol will probably fight Beterbiev at some point. The question is when.
He could face Alvarez for a second time in May, when Mexicans usually fight. Then, if all goes well with Bivol and Beterbiev beating Yarde, the Russians could meet in the fall.
That seems to be the best case scenario for Bivol.
Meanwhile, Morrell left little doubt on Saturday that he was ready to challenge one of the top 168-pound athletes. He wants to face former two-time champion David Benavidez next.
However, Benavidez looks to be heading for the long-awaited showdown with Caleb Plant. Benavidez-Plant is a much better matchup than Beterbiev-Yarde, especially after Plant’s Anthony Dirrell knock-out last month.
It’s not as good as Benavidez-Morrell, which appears to be the last 168-pound fight involving Alvarez. Why? Because Morrell is a bigger threat to Benavidez than Plant.
Benavidez-Morrell could also happen next year if Benavidez defeats Plant and Morrell wins a makeshift fight, which is likely to happen.
We just need to be patient.
BAGS DOLL
Jeison Rosario (23-4-1, 17 KOs) turned out to be a one-of-a-kind wonder. The Dominican made a splash when he stopped talented Julian Williams from winning two £154 belts in 2020. It’s been downhill for him ever since. He was stopped by Jermell Charlo and Erickson Lubin in his next two battles, defeating three traveling in his homeland and then being stopped by Brian Mendoza (21-2, 15 KOs) in five rounds with a Morrell-Yerbossynuly card. Rosario is only 27 years old but seems to have finished as an elite boxer. … Kudos against Mendoza, who ended the bout with a nice top-right and continued to the left in the fifth round of the first 160-pound bout. The win was a breakthrough for the product of Albuquerque, who had lost a decisive o Jesus Ramos just two games ago. … Say hello to Fiodor Czerkaszyn. The talented Ukrainian middleweight will probably be around for a while. Czerkaszyn (21-0, 13 KOs) put on a strong performance with Morrell-Yerbossynuly, easily overtaking the veterans Nathaniel Gallimore (22-6-1, 17 KOs) in a 10th round. The former Muay Thai fighter seems to be a sleek, skillful fighter with heavy hands and a lot of confidence. It will be interesting to see how he evaluates to the next level. … Undisputed 147-pound champion Jessica McCaskill (12-3.5 KO) looked bad for most of her fight against the 140-pound titleholder Chantelle Cameron (17-0.8 KO) on the Bivol-Ramirez card, wide decisive loss. Possibly the conqueror of two timers of Cecilia Braekhus having trouble losing weight. Maybe a head bump in the fight affected her. Maybe Cameron is considerably better than her. Whatever the reason, McCaskill had a bad night. She may have a chance to redeem herself. Cameron later said she wanted to rise to 147 to challenge McCaskill’s titles in that division.
