When the scorecards of the three judges who scored the stellar fight of the boxing card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 7 came out, it confirmed what had been brewing for 12 rounds: Canelo Alvarez went from the sky to the ground and ended up being defeated by Russian Dmitry Bivol.
Although the scorecards of judges Cheatham, Moretti and Weisfeld scored a tight 115-113 in favor of Bivol, during the fight a frustrated, beaten and tired Canelo Alvarez was noticeable. And the Mexican was surprised: since September 14, 2013, almost 9 years ago, he had not tasted the bitter taste of defeat.
Dmitry Bivol put himself in the eyes of the world with this defeat that keeps him as the WBA World Light Heavyweight Champion, undefeated and with perfect pace in 20 fights as a professional, with 8 successful defenses of his belt and with the door open to big fights as a possible, and lucrative, rematch with Alvarez and a latent unification at 175 pounds against the winner of the clash between Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr.
Dmitry Bivol points out Canelo Alvarez’smistakes in the ring
If anyone got a triple win for beating Canelo Alvarez, it was Dmitry Bivol, because not only did he win the biggest purse of his career and keep his world championship, he also won over many boxing fans thanks to his honesty, simplicity and humility. These qualities made him point out what Alvarez did wrong and made it easier for him to beat him.
“(I knew that) All fight I should be focused. He threw hard punches, only hard punches, and after the hard punches he became a little bit tired. Canelo is a good counter-puncher, but I make him to go forward and I was the counter-puncher, that was the key“, stated Bivol to the media.
The boxing masterclass that Dmitry Bivol gave to Canelo Alvarez did not end with the Russian’s remarks, as he extended with a statement he offered in an interview with Fight Hype, where he shared part of what he considers essential to be able to succeed in the ring vs any fighter
“Jab is the key for everything. If you overuse the jab is not bad, its only better, everytime. For me, for him (Canelo Alvarez). To use the jab is an easy advices, but it works all time“, said Dmitry Bivol to validate what statistics of his fight againts Canelo have already shown: the amount of jabs that Bivol thrown and landed almost doubled the Alvarez’s one.
Dmitry Bivol jabbing Canelo Alvarez. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
