16 Comments

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.

Expand full comment

100% on skipping an immediate rematch, or any rematch imho. I don’t need to see it. Amy as Dan said, quoting Rocky 2 he don’t need him in his life. For me Lomachenko could have sat on top of the p4p for ages if he hadn’t kept challenging bigger and bigger guys. Same for Canelo and it was so obvious from the start of that fight that his ability to wither his opponents wasn’t coming up in weight with him.

I have great respect for Canelo for trying and hope he doesn’t let his ego get in the way of his legacy.

Expand full comment

Let Bivol come down to 168lbs and challenge Canelo for all his belts. That's the fight I want to see.

Expand full comment

What part of the world are you from Nando? I'm just curious thank you.

Expand full comment

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.

Expand full comment

A rematch wouldn't be in Canelo's best interest. Bivol a true boxer and would make matters worst for Canelo is there were to be a rematch.

Expand full comment

Or better yet, Bivol should and can move down to 168lbs and challenge Canelo for all his 4 belts. That would be an incredible rematch albeit in a lower division.

Expand full comment

Nah, if Canelo won people would say Bivol was weight drained. They should each remain in their optimal weight classes.

Expand full comment

I agree, but Bivol already said or hinted of going down to 168lbs to challenge Canelo for all four belts. They would both have one win versus each other in different weight divisions. It's a good deal ($$$) for both boxers.

Expand full comment

Bivol Beterbiev would be an excellent fight!

Expand full comment

Can we talk for a second about how bad the undercard was? Hrgovic dropping out was a bad omen. Between the time when Zhang obliterated some guy they got off the street and the main event, I had to drink two cups of coffee just to keep my eyes open. I’m pretty much all set with Marc Castro at this point, and Montana Love can go back to doing Paul Brothers cards that I don’t buy as far as I’m concerned. I supposed the Giyasov fight wasn’t the worst, but Sergio and Danny Jacobs saying a world title is in his future is absurd.

I can accept that DAZN has to move some fights onto PPV to make its business work, but if subscribers are going to have to fork over an extra $70 a few times a year, I don’t think it’s asking too much for them to put together a decent undercard.

Expand full comment
author

Undercard was an atrocity against mankind.

Expand full comment

The humble Bivol humbled Canelo with ease. Bivol walked into the ring with all against him, rude/shrieking Canelo fans and most boxing experts predicting Canelo would win as per-usual, but Bivol in his quiet non-trash talking humble attitude proved them all wrong.

Expand full comment

Bivol is an excellent boxer and must have a great big fight mentality that allows him to perform when it really matters.

I disagree with Dan as I think the scorecards were another judging travesty. I couldn’t give Canelo more than 3 rounds for all his loading up, hitting arms (which are not scoring shots) and being blocked or slipped by the exceptional Bivol.

I don’t need to see a rematch I”d prefer to see Bivol fight the winner of Beterbiev vs Smith however that won’t happen because of the WBC, WBO & IBF ban on Russian boxers - so it’ll have to be the rematch then 😂.

Expand full comment

Like I always said once if Saul took on a real challenge he would loose in the ring and that is what happened. He choose to make his money and noise from those that took the bait at 168 but he will loose to Bivol again but he wont fight him any time soon if at all. It was a pleasure to see him loose, hope he looses a few more and we will not have to hear about how great his potential is. He will not fight a real challenge again for a long time..... Tick Tock time is not on his side. He wins all the awards for making the money and getting the ink but in the ring it is a dif story.

Expand full comment

When I fist saw a pic of Canelo Bivol facing off I immediately thought “uh-oh, too big”.

Watching Canelo’s wicked shots bouncing harmlessly off of Bivol round one and two? I was pretty convinced he had very little shot of hurting Bivol, who excellent defense and reach advantage seemed pretty insurmountable.

Does anyone think less of Canelo for trying? I don’t.

Expand full comment