Bivol takes down Canelo in masterful performance to retain 175 title
Alvarez's 16-fight unbeaten streak ends as he's toppled from P4P perch; Plus: the scorecard, my post-fight YouTube channel interviews; Show and tell
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LAS VEGAS — Dmitry Bivol had heard all of the questions throughout the promotion: Could he possibly get a decision against pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez in his house at T-Mobile Arena on Cinco de Mayo weekend?
The answer? A resounding yes.
The bigger Bivol, a 5-to-1 underdog, showed that weight classes were created for a reason as he pounded out a clear unanimous decision to retain the WBA light heavyweight title against boxing’s biggest star, much to the disappointment of the overwhelmingly pro-Canelo crowd, on Saturday night.
All three judges — Tim Cheatham, Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld — scored it 115-113. I had it 116-112 for Bivol, who retained his 175-pound belt for the ninth time.
To read my full ringside story on the fight for Big Fight Weekend please go here: https://bigfightweekend.com/news/bivol-upsets-canelo-to-retain-light-heavyweight-title/
The undercard
On the pay-per-view undercard, junior welterweight Montana Love and Gabriel Valenzuela exchanged early knockdowns but it was Love who went on to win a unanimous decision in the co-feature.
Also, welterweight Shakhram Giyasov dropped Christian Gomez three times en route to a unanimous decision victory; lightweight prospect Marc Castro outpointed Pedro Vicente; and Chinese heavyweight contender Zhang Zhilei obliterated late replacement Scott Alexander via first-round knockout.
Read my story on those fights and the rest of the undercard at Big Fight Weekend here: https://bigfightweekend.com/news/love-edges-valenzuela-in-canelo-co-feature/
My post-fight thoughts
Several boxing YouTube channels asked to speak with me following the post-fight news conference and I covered a lot of ground with them in these videos on various aspects of Bivol’s huge win and Canelo’s rough loss. We discussed the fight, the scorecards, their performances and if Canelo should take the immediate rematch. Check out the videos:
iFL TV
Boxing Social
Pro Boxing Fans
Intu Boxing
Show and tell
Here is my Canelo-Bivol ringside credential.
Photos: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing
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This could be comparable to Tito/Hopkins. That upset (that wasn’t really an upset) kicked off a fun era at Middleweight. There’s still a lot of great fights to be mixed and matched at 175. Bivol, Beterbiev, Smith, Zurdo, Buatsi, Vlasov, Etc. Respect to Canelo for the attempt. But there’s still Interesting fights at 168 for him. An immediate rematch with Bivol, would be the type of mistake that permanently ends his run at the Top Tier of the sport.
I’m not interested in a rematch, would prefer to see Bivol fight the Beterbiev - Smith winner. Canelo should fight GGG anyway and then stay at 168. Excellently disciplined performance from Bivol, you can tell he’s a well schooled amateur.