Tag: Alvarez vs Bivol

Jermell Charlo vs. Brian Castano: live results, full coverage

Jermell Charlo vs. Brian Castano: live results, full coverage.

Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano are scheduled to fight for the undisputed 154-pound championship in their rematch Saturday in Carson, California (Showtime).

Boxing Junkie will post results of the featured bouts on the card immediately after they end. Simply return to this post when the time comes.

Also, full coverage – a fight story, photo gallery and more analysis – will follow on separate posts the night of the fight and the following day.

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Jermell Charlo vs. Brian Castano: live results, full coverage

Jermell Charlo vs. Brian Castano: live results, full coverage.

Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano are scheduled to fight for the undisputed 154-pound championship in their rematch Saturday in Carson, California (Showtime).

Boxing Junkie will post results of the featured bouts on the card immediately after they end. Simply return to this post when the time comes.

Also, full coverage – a fight story, photo gallery and more analysis – will follow on separate posts the night of the fight and the following day.

[lawrence-related id=30167,30156,29587,30159]

Good, bad, worse: Dmitry Bivol masterfully exposes Canelo Alvarez as human

Good, bad, worse: Dmitry Bivol masterfully exposed Canelo Alvarez as human on Saturday in Las Vegas.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

GOOD

No one should be stunned.

Light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol had a natural size advantage over super middleweight champ Canelo Alvarez in their fight Saturday in Las Vegas, which Bivol won by a unanimous decision.

However, that edge would’ve amounted to nothing if he didn’t have unusual ability to go along with his bulk. And the Russian has demonstrated that he has plenty of that commodity throughout his amateur and professional careers, in which he has dominated even elite opponents.

Of course, the consensus pound-for-pound king posed a bigger challenge than any of Bivol’s previous opponents because of his own proven ability and experience in big fights. In the end, however, Alvarez was merely a small light heavyweight facing a natural 175-pounder with a comparable level of ability.

Bivol was brilliant, calmly, coolly controlling distance with his jab and quick, hard combinations, and maintaining a tight guard that Alvarez couldn’t penetrate. By mid-fight, the Mexican star was frustrated, tired and out of options.

No one – not even Gennadiy Golovkin – had been able to do that to the Mexican star since Floyd Mayweather in 2013. And Bivol turned the trick with Alvarez in his prime.

That wasn’t lost on the gracious loser, who said repeatedly before and then after the fight that Bivol is an excellent boxer. As Eddy Reynoso, Alvarez’s trainer, said afterward, “I said before the fight that it’d be a tough fight because he uses distance really well.”

We’ll see where the upset leads Bivol.

We could see a rematch, although Alvarez wouldn’t commit to that in the post-fight news conference because of the size difference. Bivol said he’d like to face the winner of the upcoming 175-pound title-unification bout between Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr. for the undisputed championship.

Only one thing is certain at the moment: Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) will never be seen the same. No matter what happens going forward, he will always be the conqueror of the great Canelo.

 

BAD

The scoring of the Alvarez-Bivol fight – 115-113 across the board – makes it appear as if the fight was close. It wasn’t.

Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs) was fixated on throwing single power shots and the vast majority of them didn’t land to the head or body. According to CompuBox, he connected on only 84 total punches – 7 per round – in the fight (compared to 152 for Bivol).

That’s a career low for him in a 12-round bout. His next lowest? 117 in his one-sided loss to Mayweather.

All three judges gave the first four rounds to Alvarez, meaning he won only one of the last eight rounds on all three cards. That level of futility was inconceivable given the consensus pound-for-pound king’s dominance in recent years.

Thus, one of the most dominating fighters of his generation was dominated.

What are we to make of this?

Moving up in weight to face a fighter of Bivol’s ability was a dangerous move that backfired. As they say, a good big man beats a good little man. The natural size advantage probably made it easier for Bivol to absorb punches. And the extra weight might’ve played a role in wearing Alvarez down.

This wasn’t solely about size, however, Bivol was better than Alvarez, who outboxed, outworked and ultimately outclassed him.

Of course, one setback doesn’t define Alvarez, who has accomplished so much over the past decade. In this case, he took a big swing and missed. He should be applauded for testing himself when so many fighters seem to avoid genuine challenges. And, as he said, losing is a part of boxing.

At the same time, Alvarez won’t be seen quite the same either. He had taken on an aura of invincibility, the product of a 15-0-1 record in his previous 16 fights against almost exclusively top-flight opposition.

Bivol shattered that notion with his convincing victory, which demonstrated that a particularly good boxer with physical strength comparable to Alvarez’s can beat him.

Suddenly, the chances of David Benavidez, Jermall Charlo and Demetrius Andrade defeating Alvarez seem much less remote.

 

WORSE

The judges narrowly avoided a regrettable decision.

All three of them gave the 12th and final round to Bivol, which proved to be decisive. Had two or three of them given the frame to Alvarez, the fight would’ve ended in a draw that would’ve been skewered by anyone who watched the fight with their eyes open.

I scored it 117-111 for Bivol, nine rounds to three. I gave Alvarez two of first four rounds and one of the last eight. I could see 116-112, eight rounds to four. 115-113? No. That doesn’t reflect what happened in the ring.

Once again, CompuBox numbers are far from definitive. However, sometimes they help to tell the story, which is the case here. Bivol landed in double digits in every round, Alvarez in two.

Indeed, Bivol was as good as billed defensively. Alvarez admitted afterward that his opponent “is very difficult to hit around the head area.”

So how did the judges find five rounds to give Alvarez?

The first four rounds were competitive. Alvarez would’ve needed the benefit of every doubt to win all four, which wasn’t reasonable. Bivol boxed too well early in the fight to be shut out.

At least the judges – Tim Cheatham, Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld – got the latter eight rounds right. More important, the right man had his hand raised in the end.

That’s what people will remember.

 

RABBIT PUNCHES

Alvarez was classy in defeat, repeatedly giving Bivol credit for his victory and offering no excuses. He said he believes he did enough to win the fight but not with great conviction. And he indicating that Bivol’s size advantage might’ve played a role only when a reporter asked him about that. Kudos to him for the manner in which he handled himself. … If I had to guess, I’d say Alvarez will fight Golovkin a third time in September instead of a second fight with Bivol because of his size disadvantage. He’d fight Triple-G at 168 pounds. And Bivol probably will pursue a fight with the winner of the Beterbiev-Smith fight, which Beterbiev is favored to win. Bivol vs. Alvarez II could happen later on. … Alvarez had expressed interest in fighting smallish heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk if Usyk would agree to a catch weight of 201 pounds. That notion seems absurd given what we witnessed on Saturday. Clearly, it’s possible to think too big. Roy Jones Jr. moved up from light heavyweight to outpoint heavyweight titleholder John Ruiz but Alvarez is no Jones and Ruiz was no Usyk.

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Good, bad, worse: Dmitry Bivol masterfully exposes Canelo Alvarez as human

Good, bad, worse: Dmitry Bivol masterfully exposed Canelo Alvarez as human on Saturday in Las Vegas.

A critical look at the past week in boxing

GOOD

No one should be stunned.

Light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol had a natural size advantage over super middleweight champ Canelo Alvarez in their fight Saturday in Las Vegas, which Bivol won by a unanimous decision.

However, that edge would’ve amounted to nothing if he didn’t have unusual ability to go along with his bulk. And the Russian has demonstrated that he has plenty of that commodity throughout his amateur and professional careers, in which he has dominated even elite opponents.

Of course, the consensus pound-for-pound king posed a bigger challenge than any of Bivol’s previous opponents because of his own proven ability and experience in big fights. In the end, however, Alvarez was merely a small light heavyweight facing a natural 175-pounder with a comparable level of ability.

Bivol was brilliant, calmly, coolly controlling distance with his jab and quick, hard combinations, and maintaining a tight guard that Alvarez couldn’t penetrate. By mid-fight, the Mexican star was frustrated, tired and out of options.

No one – not even Gennadiy Golovkin – had been able to do that to the Mexican star since Floyd Mayweather in 2013. And Bivol turned the trick with Alvarez in his prime.

That wasn’t lost on the gracious loser, who said repeatedly before and then after the fight that Bivol is an excellent boxer. As Eddy Reynoso, Alvarez’s trainer, said afterward, “I said before the fight that it’d be a tough fight because he uses distance really well.”

We’ll see where the upset leads Bivol.

We could see a rematch, although Alvarez wouldn’t commit to that in the post-fight news conference because of the size difference. Bivol said he’d like to face the winner of the upcoming 175-pound title-unification bout between Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr. for the undisputed championship.

Only one thing is certain at the moment: Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) will never be seen the same. No matter what happens going forward, he will always be the conqueror of the great Canelo.

 

BAD

The scoring of the Alvarez-Bivol fight – 115-113 across the board – makes it appear as if the fight was close. It wasn’t.

Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs) was fixated on throwing single power shots and the vast majority of them didn’t land to the head or body. According to CompuBox, he connected on only 84 total punches – 7 per round – in the fight (compared to 152 for Bivol).

That’s a career low for him in a 12-round bout. His next lowest? 117 in his one-sided loss to Mayweather.

All three judges gave the first four rounds to Alvarez, meaning he won only one of the last eight rounds on all three cards. That level of futility was inconceivable given the consensus pound-for-pound king’s dominance in recent years.

Thus, one of the most dominating fighters of his generation was dominated.

What are we to make of this?

Moving up in weight to face a fighter of Bivol’s ability was a dangerous move that backfired. As they say, a good big man beats a good little man. The natural size advantage probably made it easier for Bivol to absorb punches. And the extra weight might’ve played a role in wearing Alvarez down.

This wasn’t solely about size, however, Bivol was better than Alvarez, who outboxed, outworked and ultimately outclassed him.

Of course, one setback doesn’t define Alvarez, who has accomplished so much over the past decade. In this case, he took a big swing and missed. He should be applauded for testing himself when so many fighters seem to avoid genuine challenges. And, as he said, losing is a part of boxing.

At the same time, Alvarez won’t be seen quite the same either. He had taken on an aura of invincibility, the product of a 15-0-1 record in his previous 16 fights against almost exclusively top-flight opposition.

Bivol shattered that notion with his convincing victory, which demonstrated that a particularly good boxer with physical strength comparable to Alvarez’s can beat him.

Suddenly, the chances of David Benavidez, Jermall Charlo and Demetrius Andrade defeating Alvarez seem much less remote.

 

WORSE

The judges narrowly avoided a regrettable decision.

All three of them gave the 12th and final round to Bivol, which proved to be decisive. Had two or three of them given the frame to Alvarez, the fight would’ve ended in a draw that would’ve been skewered by anyone who watched the fight with their eyes open.

I scored it 117-111 for Bivol, nine rounds to three. I gave Alvarez two of first four rounds and one of the last eight. I could see 116-112, eight rounds to four. 115-113? No. That doesn’t reflect what happened in the ring.

Once again, CompuBox numbers are far from definitive. However, sometimes they help to tell the story, which is the case here. Bivol landed in double digits in every round, Alvarez in two.

Indeed, Bivol was as good as billed defensively. Alvarez admitted afterward that his opponent “is very difficult to hit around the head area.”

So how did the judges find five rounds to give Alvarez?

The first four rounds were competitive. Alvarez would’ve needed the benefit of every doubt to win all four, which wasn’t reasonable. Bivol boxed too well early in the fight to be shut out.

At least the judges – Tim Cheatham, Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld – got the latter eight rounds right. More important, the right man had his hand raised in the end.

That’s what people will remember.

 

RABBIT PUNCHES

Alvarez was classy in defeat, repeatedly giving Bivol credit for his victory and offering no excuses. He said he believes he did enough to win the fight but not with great conviction. And he indicating that Bivol’s size advantage might’ve played a role only when a reporter asked him about that. Kudos to him for the manner in which he handled himself. … If I had to guess, I’d say Alvarez will fight Golovkin a third time in September instead of a second fight with Bivol because of his size disadvantage. He’d fight Triple-G at 168 pounds. And Bivol probably will pursue a fight with the winner of the Beterbiev-Smith fight, which Beterbiev is favored to win. Bivol vs. Alvarez II could happen later on. … Alvarez had expressed interest in fighting smallish heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk if Usyk would agree to a catch weight of 201 pounds. That notion seems absurd given what we witnessed on Saturday. Clearly, it’s possible to think too big. Roy Jones Jr. moved up from light heavyweight to outpoint heavyweight titleholder John Ruiz but Alvarez is no Jones and Ruiz was no Usyk.

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Canelo Alvarez might not jump into rematch with Dmitry Bivol

Canelo Alvarez might not jump into a rematch with Dmitry Bivol after his stunning defeat on Saturday.

Immediate rematch? Not necessary.

Canelo Alvarez reiterated that he would like to fight Dmitry Bivol again after losing a unanimous decision to the 175-pound titleholder Saturday in Las Vegas, saying at the post-fight news conference, “As I said, this doesn’t end this way.”

Eddy Reynoso, his manager and trainer, also made it clear that he’d like to see a rematch “to see what we can do better.”

However, the Mexican star, citing the fact his natural weight is 168, said he hasn’t decided whether he will exercise the rematch clause in the contract for Saturday’s fight.

Canelo Alvarez (left) said he doesn’t know whether he’ll face Dmitry Bivol again in his next fight. Joe Camporeale / USA TODAY Sports

Alvarez had been scheduled to face rival and middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin a third time in September.

“My natural weight, my most comfortable weight is 168,” he said through a translator. “That’s where we feel best. We’re going to see if we’re going to take on this rematch.”

Plus, Bivol reportedly wants to renegotiate terms for a second fight that are currently set down in the contract. He apparently made a reference to those terms immediately after the fight, saying, “I just want to make sure I can be treated like a champion now.”

Alvarez was asked about the possibility of further talks but said only, “We’ll see.”

He added later: “We’re going to see what’s next, to talk about it. We’ll let you know.”

Meanwhile, Alvarez, who believes he did enough to win the fight, seemed to be handling the setback well emotionally.

He has said repeatedly that he feeds off of genuine challenges. This was one of those. And when a fighter faces a stiff test, he said, sometimes things don’t go your way.

“I’m proud, very proud,” he said. “I’m a competitive person. I’ve gone up to 175, gone out of my comfort zone to fight at a weight that’s not time. No shame in that. I’m looking for challenges that others would be scared to take because they might lose.

“That’s what I’m here for, and that’s what I want to do.”

Now we can only wait to see whether he truly wants the same challenge he faced on Saturday.

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Canelo Alvarez might not jump into rematch with Dmitry Bivol

Canelo Alvarez might not jump into a rematch with Dmitry Bivol after his stunning defeat on Saturday.

Immediate rematch? Not necessary.

Canelo Alvarez reiterated that he would like to fight Dmitry Bivol again after losing a unanimous decision to the 175-pound titleholder Saturday in Las Vegas, saying at the post-fight news conference, “As I said, this doesn’t end this way.”

Eddy Reynoso, his manager and trainer, also made it clear that he’d like to see a rematch “to see what we can do better.”

However, the Mexican star, citing the fact his natural weight is 168, said he hasn’t decided whether he will exercise the rematch clause in the contract for Saturday’s fight.

Canelo Alvarez (left) said he doesn’t know whether he’ll face Dmitry Bivol again in his next fight. Joe Camporeale / USA TODAY Sports

Alvarez had been scheduled to face rival and middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin a third time in September.

“My natural weight, my most comfortable weight is 168,” he said through a translator. “That’s where we feel best. We’re going to see if we’re going to take on this rematch.”

Plus, Bivol reportedly wants to renegotiate terms for a second fight that are currently set down in the contract. He apparently made a reference to those terms immediately after the fight, saying, “I just want to make sure I can be treated like a champion now.”

Alvarez was asked about the possibility of further talks but said only, “We’ll see.”

He added later: “We’re going to see what’s next, to talk about it. We’ll let you know.”

Meanwhile, Alvarez, who believes he did enough to win the fight, seemed to be handling the setback well emotionally.

He has said repeatedly that he feeds off of genuine challenges. This was one of those. And when a fighter faces a stiff test, he said, sometimes things don’t go your way.

“I’m proud, very proud,” he said. “I’m a competitive person. I’ve gone up to 175, gone out of my comfort zone to fight at a weight that’s not time. No shame in that. I’m looking for challenges that others would be scared to take because they might lose.

“That’s what I’m here for, and that’s what I want to do.”

Now we can only wait to see whether he truly wants the same challenge he faced on Saturday.

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Dmitry Bivol’s victory over Canelo Alvarez: round by round

Dmitry Bivol’s victory over Canelo Alvarez: round by round.

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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Dmitry Bivol’s victory over Canelo Alvarez: round by round

Dmitry Bivol’s victory over Canelo Alvarez: round by round.

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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Photos: Dmitry Bivol’s unanimous decision victory over Canelo Alvarez

Photos: Dmitry Bivol’s unanimous decision victory over Canelo Alvarez.

Dmitry Bivol delivered one of the most stunning upsets in recent years Saturday in Las Vegas, defeating consensus pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez by a unanimous decision to retain his light heavyweight title.

Here are images from the fight. All photos by Joe Camporeale of USA TODAY Sports.

Twitter reacts to Dmitry Bivol’s shocking upset of Canelo Alvarez

Twitter reacted to Dmitry Bivol’s shocking upset of Canelo Alvarez.

When a seemingly unbeatable fighter finally loses, it’s difficult to comprehend.

That’s why those boxing people on social media expressed shock after Dmitry Bivol defeated Canelo Alvarez by a unanimous decision Saturday in Las Vegas.

Here’s a sampling of tweets.