While the hobby is acquired, the master Dmitry Bivol once again produces an almost perfect performance – Boxing News

IF you watch boxing primarily because you want to see entertainment, drama, knockouts and competitive two-way action, there’s every chance Dmitry Bivol won’t be the boxer for you. However, if you’re more interested in seeing the best distance judge in the sport, as well as arguably the best footwork and arguably the best lap control and discipline, Bivol most likely exactly what you are looking for.

The acquired hobby, one obviously not for everyone, to watch Bivol requires you to have knowledge and appreciation of what you are watching. More than that, however, it requires an acceptance that perfection – which Bivol is often close to achieving in the ring – will, by its very nature, starve you to drama and element of danger and The competition you see in most games is hailed as the “Fight of the Year” contenders.

With Bivol, you see, you’re following perfection in a boxing ring and right, if in that direction, learn to love it on that basis and that base only. In other words, watching the Russians may not be the most thrilling spectacle in the world, but it will be an education, a lesson, a masterpiece.

Tonight (November 5) in Abu Dhabi, Bivol produced another of his bouts against Gilberto Ramírez, the former super-middleweight titleholder who, before this first professional loss, had won five consecutive games. continued in the light-heavy class, keeping them safe. all by stopping. All in all, for Ramirez, Bivol was both a step forward and a step too far; too good a fighter. In fact, never before has Ramírez been consistent in the fight, much less so when he’s flourishing, and never once has Ramírez, who completed 30 of his previous 44 wins in the distance, ever watched from a distance. close to earning that much in Bivol over the 12 rounds they shared.

For Bivol, despite the perceived threat in front of him, this is just another day at the office; not far from a socializing or training session. When he won by scores of 118-110 and 117-111 (twice), he successfully overthrew Ramírez mentally and physically, leaving him boneless; a fighter jet projectile that some expected would at least give Bivol reason to worry.

In fact, right from the first half, the control that Bivol enjoyed on the opponent was clear again when facing Ramírez. From the very beginning, he held the central ring, as if it were its landlord, and in turn, Ramírez, his tenant: insecurity, anxiety, never sure when the rent would be be raised or he will be kicked out. This is achieved primarily with his feet, which are used expertly to maneuver Ramírez and trap him, but it is also achieved by a tough right hand of Bivol that hits the ground, instantly capturing attract the attention and respect of Mexicans. (Speaking of which, there seems to be little respect between the two as, at the end of the first inning, they bump into each other before reaching their respective corners.)

The first success for Ramírez, meanwhile, came in the second round, with Bivol’s left hand bent south. However, despite that, there was still nothing he could do to build it. He attempted to target Bivol’s body with his left, though often spurred on rather than punched with any real conviction, and he proved too reticent because of both his reputation for his ability to knock down and his incredible physical stature.

By the third inning, Bivol, 21-0 (11), was back to being the more active of the two, closing in on Ramírez with jabs and crosses whenever he made a mistake. He tends to wait for him, almost tempting him to make these mistakes with his mind, and then suddenly explode with a punch – ten whips, basically – that Ramírez would never have see come.

For three rounds, this seemed innocuous, with Ramírez having to deal with whatever came his way. In the fourth round, however, a Bivol right cross clearly falsified Ramírez and forced him back to the ropes, where he stayed for a moment before regaining his composure and returning to center center of the arena.

It was a breakthrough for Bivol, a boxer without a win since 2018. It showed, albeit briefly, that he could burn Ramírez with one of his counter punches. and it also shows that Ramírez’s mistakes will be punished not simply by a punch or two but by damaging punches, the kind of which he is not used to facing in his career.

This knowledge only made Ramírez, 44-1 (30), more hesitant as the game progressed. He tried to advance in the fifth inning but was rocked back by a Bivol combination, and only a right hook thrown late that inning hinted at Ramírez’s own potential in the fight. Besides that, Bivol is taking on cruise control, growing in confidence and downsizing Ramírez. Of the two, there was a Russian who looked like he had all the answers and it was Ramírez, who looked like someone who was revising in the middle of a test. It could be said that there was nothing Ramírez could do to surprise Bivol; nothing that he didn’t expect or didn’t see before.

Even the speed is ideal for the Bivol. Neither fast nor slow, the match became an exhibition, a boxing match in its purest sense. This allows Bivol to dictate what happened and when it happened, while also serving as a reminder to Ramírez and any other light-heavy opponents out there that few have hoping to beat Bivol in a clean and traditional boxing match.

For his part, Ramírez tried. Of course he did. But his constant punches from the Southpaw pose do little to stop Bivol and moreover, whenever he is brave and open, he merely exposes more holes in the defence. your opponent to exploit. This was evident in the seventh and eighth rounds when Bivol helped Ramírez put on the rope with a footwork and then traded him with one minute left in the round. A picture of comfort, Bivol gets everything better when on his front foot and also then he finds himself against the ropes, so one-way and predictable is his opponent’s attacks. his bigger but slower player.

Soon after, before the start of the 9th half, a DAZN commentator asked “Where’s Mexican style?” and I wonder if Bivol’s beauty can be lost to even those tasked with protecting the sport today. Of course, he meant Ramírez when he mentioned “Mexican style”, but suggested that choosing to fight this way was easy when simply choosing to fight this way against a super technician. mortal like Bivol shows a complete lack of understanding of the quality of the boxers they have. see the moment. Furthermore, when later in the round, watching a Bivol match, the same commentator later said “He is Bring us Mexican style! ” I wonder if boxing, in 2022, will become merely an exercise in reducing fighters to clichés and stereotypes to make the action – whether boring or exciting – become should be more palatable to the kind of audience platforms like DAZN now have to target to keep their business afloat.

Regardless, Bivol took the ninth win, Mexican style or not, and also swept the remaining innings of the fight, resulting in a decisive unanimous victory at the end of the game. (I gave Ramírez just one inning.) His performance tonight might be easier to admire than to enjoy, especially if viewed through the eyes of people who don’t know what they’re seeing, but it’s that. It’s a hell of a show. Indeed, the 31-year-old Bivol has now produced not one but two of them in the calendar year – this after he went to school for Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez in May – and it won’t be long before we all having to accept that call Dmitry Bivol’s possession of taste is not a winged compliment, nor is it something to go against him. Rather, it is a reference to his perfection, so something says more about us, the audience, than he, as an artist, does.