I also give an edge to Bivol, but I'd put it at around 55:45. Bivol has some of the best boxing skills in the sport at the moment and is still probably in his prime (32 in Dec).
Whereas Artur is 38 exactly a week before the Yarde fight on Jan 28th and if he's "natural" he must have declined at least a bit from his very best - maybe he just hasn't met anyone good enough to take advantage of any decline - Bivol could be the one.
That said, Beterbiev is still an exceptional puncher and Bivol would have to be very careful from the first second to the last.
IMO it's one of the best fights to be made in boxing - it's one of the few fights I would pay to watch.
Beter is a good boxer, he is not like Zurdo who was slow and plodding at best. Beter is a confident fighter and he has some things that Bivol dont have. He has that natural power he can hit you and it not be flush but your legs will shake after it is over. And beter has been tested with some hard fought wins he has fought thru cuts and long minutes in the ring. He dont look as skilled as Bivol but he is the type of fighter I enjoy watching. I would not pick this fight until after the weigh in tho...... that is when I would decide who is going to win or who will do what. I would prefer to have Bivol v Beter be next up and skip Yarde but it is signed I believe so it will be done. Get it done quick beter crack him early and he will fold....................
I think Beterbiev beats Bivol, its just his fight against mother time that helps Bivol more than Artur. I could see Bivol ever so slightly outboxing Beterbiev but i see the older man's bigger punches taking a toll and grinding his younger compatriot down by the later rounds.
You stated it perfectly, in the ring the boxer who possesses the far greater ring smarts and skill nearly always overcomes an opponent whose main attribute is size advantage.
Bivol's boxing skills are really impressive - he simply didn't have to bother with top gear in this fight.
A fight with Beterbiev would probably happen late next Summer (August/September ?) at the earliest because of Beterbiev's fight with Yarde which is supposedly taking place on Jan 28th in London.
If Bivol wants to stay active, I hope he doesn't take a rematch with Canelo as the ridiculous scorecards from their first fight, as well as other Canelo fights, shows that Nevada judges can't be trusted.
Also a May fight with Canelo would probably delay a fight with Beterbiev even further.
Good, effective and efficient as Bivol was, overall I thought it was an underwhelming night of boxing: Yafai appeared to have forgotten a lot of what he learned after years in the amateurs, Barrett [after looking great for more than half the fight] seemed to get an injury from nowhere [although this was denied].
After Serrano-Taylor and Marshall-Shields, I bought into the possibility that Cameron-McCaskill could be similar. Unfortunately it wasn't...
I thought Ramirez was in with a decent shout prior to the fight, but [while of course it's easy to say], not once do I think he sat down on his punches and give it everything he had. Not even in the 12th. Odd.
I wonder how the landscape looked, apart from the top weight, if fighters fought on their RING weights rather than the fake official weights. Of course, there were the occasional fighters whose official weights = their ring weights. Floy
Thanks, big fella, for quoting the weight classification as the names are not meaningful to the casual readers.
I saw on Mike Benson that Ramirez thought he did enough. He reminded me of Canelo's biff with Bivol where he "believed" that he had won. Even his supporters dissed his showboating.
I also "believed" I could have beaten Canel and Bivol.
It is dissing their opponents when fighters don't acknowledge clear-cut losses.
Painting a masterpiece is right! The fight never got beyond a smolder, because Bivol fought a brilliant controlled fight and left Ramerez looking slow and without any real answers. Peppered was exactly the right descriptive.
After Artur dismantles Yarde the unification talks will begin in earnest, I make the fight 51-49 for Bivol...its that close IMO.
WHO is your pick?
I also give an edge to Bivol, but I'd put it at around 55:45. Bivol has some of the best boxing skills in the sport at the moment and is still probably in his prime (32 in Dec).
Whereas Artur is 38 exactly a week before the Yarde fight on Jan 28th and if he's "natural" he must have declined at least a bit from his very best - maybe he just hasn't met anyone good enough to take advantage of any decline - Bivol could be the one.
That said, Beterbiev is still an exceptional puncher and Bivol would have to be very careful from the first second to the last.
IMO it's one of the best fights to be made in boxing - it's one of the few fights I would pay to watch.
Typo:
Ramirez (21-0, 11 KOs), 31, of Russia,
Beter is a good boxer, he is not like Zurdo who was slow and plodding at best. Beter is a confident fighter and he has some things that Bivol dont have. He has that natural power he can hit you and it not be flush but your legs will shake after it is over. And beter has been tested with some hard fought wins he has fought thru cuts and long minutes in the ring. He dont look as skilled as Bivol but he is the type of fighter I enjoy watching. I would not pick this fight until after the weigh in tho...... that is when I would decide who is going to win or who will do what. I would prefer to have Bivol v Beter be next up and skip Yarde but it is signed I believe so it will be done. Get it done quick beter crack him early and he will fold....................
I think Beterbiev beats Bivol, its just his fight against mother time that helps Bivol more than Artur. I could see Bivol ever so slightly outboxing Beterbiev but i see the older man's bigger punches taking a toll and grinding his younger compatriot down by the later rounds.
You stated it perfectly, in the ring the boxer who possesses the far greater ring smarts and skill nearly always overcomes an opponent whose main attribute is size advantage.
Bivol's boxing skills are really impressive - he simply didn't have to bother with top gear in this fight.
A fight with Beterbiev would probably happen late next Summer (August/September ?) at the earliest because of Beterbiev's fight with Yarde which is supposedly taking place on Jan 28th in London.
If Bivol wants to stay active, I hope he doesn't take a rematch with Canelo as the ridiculous scorecards from their first fight, as well as other Canelo fights, shows that Nevada judges can't be trusted.
Also a May fight with Canelo would probably delay a fight with Beterbiev even further.
Good, effective and efficient as Bivol was, overall I thought it was an underwhelming night of boxing: Yafai appeared to have forgotten a lot of what he learned after years in the amateurs, Barrett [after looking great for more than half the fight] seemed to get an injury from nowhere [although this was denied].
After Serrano-Taylor and Marshall-Shields, I bought into the possibility that Cameron-McCaskill could be similar. Unfortunately it wasn't...
I thought Ramirez was in with a decent shout prior to the fight, but [while of course it's easy to say], not once do I think he sat down on his punches and give it everything he had. Not even in the 12th. Odd.
I wonder how the landscape looked, apart from the top weight, if fighters fought on their RING weights rather than the fake official weights. Of course, there were the occasional fighters whose official weights = their ring weights. Floy
Thanks, big fella, for quoting the weight classification as the names are not meaningful to the casual readers.
I saw on Mike Benson that Ramirez thought he did enough. He reminded me of Canelo's biff with Bivol where he "believed" that he had won. Even his supporters dissed his showboating.
I also "believed" I could have beaten Canel and Bivol.
It is dissing their opponents when fighters don't acknowledge clear-cut losses.
I assume Ramirez never touched Bivol's belt.
Painting a masterpiece is right! The fight never got beyond a smolder, because Bivol fought a brilliant controlled fight and left Ramerez looking slow and without any real answers. Peppered was exactly the right descriptive.