Dmitry Bivol has no plans to slow down.
The last time we saw him in the ring was this past May in Las Vegas, when the deft £175 champion wowed the boxing world by knocking out poundweight king Canelo Alvarez with a unanimous decision.
He is currently considered one of the best pound-for-pound boxers, coming in at #6 on Boxing Junkie’s list. And, he said, he was just getting started.
Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) is expected to defend his belt against the undefeated Gilberto Ramirez at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (DAZN).
“I really have a big dream to win this belt and I don’t want to leave it,” said Bivol, who is expected to defend it against Gilberto Ramirez on Saturday in the United Arab Emirates. (DAZN) said..
“I will fight for this and I want to keep it. I want more. I feel like I have something inside that I need to realize in order to be happy at the end of my career.”
He continued: “When people tell me I’ve achieved everything, it’s like they pour water on fire. I try to think only about my dreams, to realize my full potential. I always try to stay hungry and angry and focus on my training and my opponents.
“I try to think about how this Saturday night is going to be the hardest battle of my career. It makes me more focused at night.”
Bivol, 31, is always appreciated. The Kyrgyz native and resident of Las Vegas was a top amateur in the Russian system – reportedly finishing that part of his career with a 268-15 record – before turning pro in 2014 .
And he has had nothing but success as a pro, including consecutive wins over Sullivan Barrera, Isaac Chilemba, Jean Pascal and Joe Smith Jr in 2018-19 that confirmed him. That’s a great talent.
He has held the WBA “regular” title (which Boxing Junkie does not recognize) since 2017 but he was upgraded to “super champion” in 2019. Then, after a series of bouts To no avail, he annoyed Alvarez.
If he can get past Ramirez (44-0.30 KOs), his next big game could be a meeting with Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed championship or possibly a rematch with Alvarez.
Vadim Kornilov, Bivol’s manager, said: “Any boxer has to go through a very long way to get to the top. “As a team, it’s part of our strategy to make sure we look at the end goal, and we don’t consider every point along the way.
“It’s the kind of visionary of what’s in the end.”
