By Ian Aldous: This Saturday night, Dmitry Bivol (10-0) puts his unbeaten record and No.1 ranking with the WBA on the line in a ten-rounder against Cedric Agnew (29-2). The man from Kyrgyzstan, who currently holds the WBA interim light-heavyweight championship, will be looking to make a name for himself as part of the Ward/Kovalev 2 televised undercard, live on HBO PPV. This week, Dmitry took some time to talk with me over the phone via his translator, Artem Yalanskiy.
IA: For fans that may be watching you fight for the first time next Saturday, tell me a little bit about your fighting style.
DB: Well, I would tell them that first of all, I am trying to think inside the ring during the fight. I think I have good speed, I throw quick punches, I know how to pressure my opponent. So, I would say those are the main features of my boxing style.
IA: How much have you seen of your opponent, Cedric Agnew? He’s best known for his unsuccessful world title challenge against Kovalev in 2014. How much do you know about Cedric as a fighter?
DB: I know a lot about him now, I’ve studied him obviously. I remember I was watching his fight against Sergey Kovalev live, and I remember it wasn’t an easy fight for Sergey. He won, but he had a cut and Cedric showed a lot of skills during that boxing match. I know what to expect and I know he’s good with counter-attacks. I’m prepared.
IA: You’ve very quickly climbed to the top of the WBA rankings. You’re obviously the interim champion already. Have your surprised yourself at how impressively you’ve dealt with the ten guys that you have beaten professionally so far?
DB: Well, to be honest, this year and last year I’m not that surprised. I knew what I had to do was to win the interim title, that was my main goal and focus and I knew if I kept up good performances that would happen anyway.
IA: Not for a second looking past Cedric Agnew, but currently, Nathan Cleverly is the WBA ‘regular’ world champion. It makes a lot of sense for you to fight him next. Do you think it’s a fight Nathan would want to take, and you would possibly be his mandatory challenger anyway?
DB: I don’t really think about this fight, but for me, of course I want this fight. I want it to happen. I don’t want to have the interim title all the time, I want to have the regular title. For that to happen, I need to have this fight. It’s definitely a fight that presents a lot of interest for me.
IA: Not only can you box very well, but you’ve knocked out eight of your ten opponents. Do you worry it might make you a fighter that potential opponents want to avoid as you’re not yet a huge name in the U.S?
DB: I think it’s inevitable that sometimes if you have a good level of boxing and especially if you’re a knockout artist – some people are going to be afraid to fight against you. But I cannot change my style based on other people’s feelings or something. Maybe it will happen, if it happens it’s actually a good thing for me because it means that I’m doing everything right. They recognise my talent and they recognise the threat that I possess. If it happens – it happens. Even if it happens it’ll be a good thing for me and my career.
IA: You’ve only been a professional since late 2014. When you joined the professional ranks, did you plan on fast-tracking yourself to the upper levels of the light-heavyweight division? You’ve not fought anyone with a losing record, which is incredibly unique in boxing. Everyone fights those type of guys for a start. You’ve gone straight in against fighters with winning records.
DB: To be honest, yes, it was the strategy (I decided on) with my team and my promoter. We met and we decided that we’re going to match the opponents so that each time I fight, it is an opponent that is somehow more difficult and presents more challenges. We wanted to take one step at a time. We didn’t want to do something like (Vasyl) Lomachenko because it’s like too much of the extreme. But at the same time, I didn’t want to waste my time. I wanted every fight to have a specific goal and that’s what we did.
IA: How do you feel when people say you could be the next Sergey Kovalev? I’ve heard it said a few times! From what I’ve seen of you – you’ve got so much potential to be the next Kovalev.
DB: Of course, Sergey has a big name in boxing and a big name in America, but I want to be separated from him. I don’t want people to associate my fighting style with his, because I want to be authentic, to be myself. I want people to enjoy MY boxing style. He has a big name, but I hope I will make a big name for myself – by myself. It’s going to be my authentic style that people enjoy.
Ward vs. Kovalev 2: “The Rematch,” a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA Light Heavyweight World Championships, is presented by Roc Nation Sports, Main Events, Andre Ward Promotions, Krusher Promotions and Corona Extra, sponsored by Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Jetlux, Life10 Water, Zappos and Powered by Monster. The championship event takes place Saturday, June 17 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Tickets for Ward-Kovalev 2: “The Rematch” are available on axs.com and at the Mandalay Bay Events Center box office.
Follow the conversation using #WardKovalev.