By Jim Calfa: Canelo Alvarez has been dropped from the #1 spot to #6 in Ring Magazine’s updated pound-for-pound list following his loss to WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol last Saturday.
The undefeated Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs), who put on a masterclass performance, makes the pound-for-pound list for the first time in his career at #8.
You can argue the main reason Canelo was dropped all the way to #6 in the pound-for-pound list was how badly he was totally outclassed by Bivol.
Canelo came into the fight as a 4:1 favorite, but he fought like a second-tier amateur, loading up on single punches, not using his jab, targeting Bivol’s left arm, and gassing out after three rounds.
Alvarez failed to perform like a #1 pound-for-pound fighter against Bivol, and he was fortunate not to be dropped even lower in the updated list.
Perhaps the reason why Bivol isn’t rated above Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KOs) is that the Mexican star had moved up in weight from 168 to challenge him at 175 for his WBA title.
IBF, WBA & WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has been moved to the #1 spot in the pound-for-pound list, while Terence Crawford stays put at #2.
That won’t make Crawford too happy not taking the #1 spot, as he felt that he should have been elevated to that position after Canelo was beaten last Saturday night by Bivol.
Updated Ring Magazine pound-for-pound list
1. Oleksandr Usyk
2. Terence Crawford
3. Naoya Inoue
4. Errol Spence
5. Juan Estrada
6. Canelo Alvarez
7. Vasyl Lomachenko
8. Dmitry Bivol
9. Josh Taylor
10. Roman Gonzalez
Benavidez reacts to Canelo’s loss
“I was a little surprised by the scorecards, 115-113, but I was so happy that Dmitry Bivol got the victory. I’m glad they didn’t rob the fight,” said David Benavidez to Fighthype, reacting to Canelo Alvarez’s loss last Saturday night.
“Canelo was on his high horse, thinking he could stop everybody. He didn’t look like he had a game plan and was just trying to land one power shot after another,” Benavidez continued. “I think that really turned around and bit him in the a** at the end of the fight.
“I think he can win a rematch, but he has to stick to a game plan and be more dedicated. He looked really gassed. I feel Dmitry Bivol beats him even in the rematch too.
“I feel like the point where Canelo is at, he’s going to do whatever he wants to do anyway,” said Benavidez when asked how much of the loss was the fault of Canelo and how much falls on the shoulders of his trainer Eddy Reynoso.
“If Eddy Reynoso told him to do something, he already had his mind set. As you can see, he was just trying to hit him in the arm. I guess he thought he would do the same thing he did to Callum Smith.
“I think they thought they were going to go in there and knock the guy out,” said Benavidez about Canelo’s flawed gameplan for the Bivol fight.
