For Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, tonight’s Light Heavyweight championship fight against Dmitry Bivol was one of the most important of his career for a number of reasons. First of all, he obviously wanted to prove he is well on his way to become the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing history.
But Russian champion Bivol wen’t up at least 15 lbs since the weigh-ins, his body is simply bigger than Canelo‘s from a natural standpoint. At the start of the fight, it was clear that Bivol’s jads were going to be a problem for Canelo, who immediately started looking at the weight difference between the two fighters. Bivol took the direct punches to the body like a champion, that weight difference meant he felt those stingers less.
Canelo started taking a beating after Round 9. Even though he won a good 5 rounds from the entire fight, Alvarez seemed to struggle quite a bit during the final four rounds. He seemed extremely tired in the last round, he was completely humbled today by a fighter who is in a completely different weight class.
Today, we all proved why there are different divisions in this beautiful sport. Those Canelo stans were certain he actually had a chance and even Alvarez started getting a little cocky at a certain point. Despite the loss, which was pretty evident, the final conclusions are not what everybody might think.
Is this a setback for Canelo Alvarez?
In short, this is definitely a setback for Alvarez but a loss against a fighter who is above his usual weight class only proves he is definitely best kept in his division. If he wants to win a fight of this magnitude, Canelo needs far more training and way more muscle mass. In comparison, Israel Adesanya also got cocky and he also attempted to fight a Light Heavyweight division fighter only to get humbled.
Canelo will continue to build his legacy because he still has all the belts he rightfully won in his own division. Bivol won by unanimous decision, it was pretty evident. Canelo needs to rest, decompress and look for his next challenge. Canelo immediately asked for a rematch, Bivol agreed on it right on the ring.
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