By Allan Fox: Sergio Mora is predicting that Dmitry Bivol will give Canelo Alvarez issues with his jab in their fight on May 7th. Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) has a good jab and a powerful right hand that he likes to throw behind it.
We haven’t heard what the pay-per-view price will be on DAZN for Canelo vs. Bivol, but hopefully, it’s not in the $80 range.
For that kind of money, this fight better produce some excitement we could see a lot of unhappy subscribers jumping overboard afterward and canceling.
Canelo’s recent fights have lacked excitement
All of Canelo’s fights in 2021 were one-sided mismatches against British fighters, a weak Caleb Plant, and an ex-sparring partner in Avni Yildirim.
I’m not the first to say that Canelo vs. Plant failed to live up to the huge price tag for the fight on Showtime PPV.
If Bivol can reproduce the same performance he put in against Joe Smith Jr. in 2019, boxing fans won’t mind paying $80 on PPV in addition to their monthly subscription to watch it on DAZN.
Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) will need his head movement and Mayweather shoulder roll to be working for him in this fight to avoid getting picked apart by WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol.
With the fight being staged at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Bivol can’t afford to be content with just jabbing Canelo.
It’s reasonable to assume given the past events at that venue involving Canelo being given repeated questionable decisions, Bivol will need a knockout to win.
Considering that Canelo’s manager Eddy Reynoso picked Bivol and they’re both saying he’s the best fighter in the 175-lb division, it strongly indicates that he’s not a threat.
I mean, we heard the same thing from Canelo and Reynoso when they fought over-the-hill Sergey Kovalev in 2019. They ignored IBF/WBC light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and said Kovalev was picked because he was the best in the 175-lb division.
Now, we’re hearing the same comments being made about Bivol, and it seems like deja vu.
Hopefully, Bivol can fight better than Kovalev did against Canelo otherwise there are going to be a lot of grumpy boxing fans, upset at paying to watch the fight on DAZN PPV.
Canelo will have issues with Bivol’s jab
“He’s going to have to be special because Bivol is going to have to get out of character in order to beat Canelo,” said Sergio Mora to Fighthype when asked if Dmitry Bivol isn’t special enough to defeat Canelo Alvarez.
“That jab [from Bivol] is going to give him issues, and the power and size is going to give Canelo issues,” said Mora. “But it’s not going to be enough to win.
“Caleb Plant gave Canelo some issues with the jab, some issues with the movement. But he didn’t have the experience, size, or the power to do anything else, and ultimately, he got knocked out in the 11th.
“[Sergey] Kovalev had the size but didn’t have the commitment and got knocked out in the 11th. I think Bivol might be in the same boat. He’s going to have to show up and show out.
“Oh man, I think that would be the most popular fight,” Mora said when asked about his thoughts on a Canelo vs. David Benavidez fight. “Imagine that fight on Cinco de Mayo or in September, Mexican Independence day.
“That would be an incredible fight because Benavidez has the size, power, and the speed and he has the fight. I think that’s the most competitive fight you can make aside from Bivol. Both would be competitive in different ways.
“One would be physical with Benavidez, and one would be strategically difficult,” said Mora.
Bivol = dangerous fight for Saul
WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol presents a lot of issues for Canelo and not just because of his jab. What really will give Canelo problems is the combination punching and the in & out attacking style of Bivol.
Canelo has fought a lot of fighters that had zero mobility in the last four years, allowing him to plod forward on his short legs, and pressure them.
Bivol is a different animal than the fighters Canelo’s manager Eddy Reynoso has been hand-picking for him. It’s pretty obvious that Reynoso has gone out of his way to pick guys that had gotten older, and lost their legs.
Danny Jacobs, Sergey Kovalev, and Billy Joe Saunders were excellent movers when they were younger. But by the time they met up with Canelo, they were in their 30s and had slowed down, enabling him to easily close the distance to land.
“Whether it’s Makabu for the cruiserweight championship or if it’s in London, it’ll be Ryder,” said Eddie Hearn to Fighthype on Canelo’s third fight in 2022 in December.
“I think that Saul should fight internationally, he’s a global star now, and I think he’ll really enjoy it.
“I love it, it’s great,” said Hearn when asked what he thinks about Canelo’s comment about wanting to make Gennady Golovkin pay for his trash-talking he’s done.
“I’m telling you now if Canelo beats Bivol and GGG defeats Murata, the build-up to Canelo to GGG is going to be unbelievable. They can’t stand each other, and in the past, they never really wanted to say anything, but now they don’t care what they say, right?
“So, you heard what he said. I’m going to make him payday, and Golovkin says he was ripped off in the first two. Whatever. First things first, on May 7th, April 9th, two great fights. Let’s hope they [Canelo and Golovkin] come through.
“Probably Canelo-Bivol, to be honest with you because as good as Canelo is, I think it’s a really tough dangerous fight,” said Hearn when asked which of those two fights he’s more worried about.
“Moving up to 175 is a disadvantage unquestionably [for Canelo Alvarez], but to do it against a young light heavyweight [31-year-old Bivol] in his prime, who is undamaged.
“It’s not like it’s [Sergey] Kovalev, who has lived a bad life and is getting a bit old. This is a prime light heavyweight. I worry about the Bivol fight because it’s a really tough fight,” said Hearn.
