Dmitry Bivol surprised the boxing world Saturday in Las Vegas, joining Floyd Mayweather as the only fighters to defeat the Mexican star and current consensus pound-for-pound king.
All three judges had the same score after the 12-round fight, 115-113, seven rounds to five. Boxing Junkie had Bivol winning 117-111.
Here’s a look back at the fight, round by round. This was written between rounds in real time.
Round 1
Good pace to open the fight. Bivol jabbed a great deal, as expected. He followed with some combinations. Canelo was a little more aggressive than normal, throwing wide shots to the head and body. He didn’t land much, though. Neither guy did.
Round 2
Another competitive round. Bivol still jabbing and throwing combinations. He arguably is outworking Canelo. However, Canelo landed some heavy shots, several to the body. Can Bivol stand up to those shots?
Round 3
Bivol is jabbing and throwing power shots in bunches. Canelo is throwing one punch at a time … and not landing all of them. Seems to me that Bivol is in control and probably winning these early rounds. That doesn’t mean that Canelo won’t break him down. He’s just is no where near that right now.
Round 4
Canelo came out firing that round but slowed down in the second half of the frame, allowing Bivol to bounce back and make it a close round. Canelo finished the round with a good uppercut, which he has thrown repeatedly in the fight.
Round 5
Canelo trying to impose his will on Bivol, walking him down and throwing punches meant to hurt him. He had some success doing that. The most dramatic moment came mid-round, when Bivol landed a flurry of hard, accurate shots. Canelo then waved him in for more but Bivol didn’t bite.
Round 6
Good round for Bivol. He outworked Canelo, particularly in the second half of the frame. The Russian is fighting patiently, jabbing, waiting for openings for his right and then landed cleanly a lot of the time. Canelo is still throwing one punch at a time. Not sure that was enough to win that round.
Round 7
This isn’t complicated from my perspective: Bivol is outboxing and outworking Alvarez, who isn’t landing precious few punches cleanly. It’s the champion who is finding the target much more often. Bivol seems to be in control at the moment.
Round 8
I haven’t seen Canelo this lost, this frustrated since he lost to Floyd Mayweather. It’s all Bivol, who is landing almost at will. And Canelo is landing next to nothing. Canelo is known for figuring out his opponents and ultimately taking control. It’s hard to imagine that at the moment, though.
Round 9
Canelo fought with more urgency that round. He was more active and landed some eye-catching shots, particularly to the body. And Bivol didn’t throw as many punches as he had in the previous few rounds. He can’t fight at the pace and expect to get a decision.
Round 10
It was all Bivol that round. He clearly outworked Canelo, who essentially took the round off. I have no idea what he’s thinking. Is he tired? Just frustrated? This is crazy based on what we’ve seen from Canelo over the past decade.
Round 11
More of the same. Canelo came out aggressively. He obviously believes he needs to find some magic to win the fight. But Bivol dominated the last two minutes of the round, landing more and cleaner punches than the Mexican star. Seems to me Bivol is way ahead on the cards.
Round 12
Bivol just turned in one of the most brilliant performances in recent years, outboxing, outworking and just dominating the consensus No. 1 fighter in the world pound for pound. To say he made Canelo look human is an understatement. Now let’s hope the judges don’t steal the victory from Bivol.
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