Does Canelo have a shot at the distinction of being the greatest Mexican fighter of all?
Well, today he’s going to take a shot at it and should he be successful he will arguably be in the conversation.
BIVOL. Standing in his way is a formidable Russian opponent, undefeated in 19 starts with 11 KOs: Dmitri Bivol, the reigning WBA light heavyweight champion.
Dmitri Bivol isn’t taking this fight lightly though. He’s not one to be relegated to being a footnote to Alvarez’ march towards ring immortality.
Thought incorrectly to be the “easiest” of the current crop of light heavyweight titleholders, some pundits have opined Canelo targeted Bivol because he saw something in the Russian he could capitalize on.
Whatever it is, it can’t be his size, as Bivol is similar in stature with Sergey Kovalev whom Canelo chopped down after 11 toughly contested rounds.
FACTORS. I foresee this fight to be quite similar in complexion as the Kovalev fight. Bivol lacks the experience but makes up for it by his toughness and conditioning.
This has the potential to end abruptly and violently for either protagonist and in fact, I think this will be the toughest test of Canelo’s career.
Alvarez will have the advantage in speed, championship experience and ring generalship while Bivol will rely on his size, power and physicality. The first few rounds will be crucial. In the Kovalev fight, Canelo lost the early rounds as he was figuring out how to nullify Kovalev’s reach advantage.
The same will hold true but Bivol is more of a stationary target than Kovalev so he will get hit hard by Canelo.
It will be interesting how he reacts once he gets a taste of Canelo’s power.
If he is unfazed, he might be emboldened to take more risks against the smaller man and we should expect a brutal war.
I’m going to go with Bivol via a close decision on this one, though not with much conviction as this is to me a fight that could go either way.
VERBATIM. “I don’t feel like a guest here like many opponents may have.” - Dmitri Bivol (WBA heavyweight champion)
LAST ROUND. It’s on one of my best buddies, lawyer Ramil Esguerra, who recently celebrated his birthday.