By Dan Ambrose: Oscar De La Hoya says WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol dominated Canelo Alvarez last weekend in a fight that wasn’t at all close.
Promoter De La Hoya doesn’t agree with Canelo’s belief that he won eight of the twelve rounds against the unbeaten Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs).
At best, De La Hoya says Canelo deserved four rounds only, and he thinks that he has a “Tough task” trying to defeat Bivol in the rematch if it takes place. Even if Bivol comes down in weight to 168, De La Hoya doubts that Canelo will beat him.
What surprised Oscar is Canelo’s inability to make adjustments during the fight. He noted that he had some success throwing uppercuts, but he didn’t continue with those shots.
Canelo’s lack of a jab and his tendency to load up on everything he there made it even tougher for him.
De La Hoya thinks that one of the reasons why Canelo got so tired is that he was putting everything into his shots and failing to mix up the power and speed with his punches.
De La Hoya: Bivol dominated Canelo
“When we [Canelo] fought Kovalev, Kovalev, we all know, wasn’t the same fighter that fought Bernard Hopkins,” said Oscar De La Hoya to Fight Hub TV in reacting to Canelo Alvarez’s loss to Dmitry Bivol last Saturday.
“It wasn’t; it really wasn’t. I have to be honest with you,” said De La Hoya when asked if the Canelo vs. Bivol fight was a close one. “It was a domination by Bivol. I had Canelo [winning] four rounds [out of twelve].
“Yeah, the doors are wide open. If you want to work together once again and have that winning streak that we had together. The doors are always wide open, so no love lost,” said De La Hoya about the Tweet he sent out last Saturday, letting Canelo know that he’d welcome back to Golden Boy Promotions.
“I’ve been in that position many times where when you lose, you’re emotions get to you,” said De La Hoya about Canelo saying at the post-fight press conference that Bivol only won four rounds, whereas he won eight.
“You feel that the close rounds, ‘They should go to me.’ I understand all that but closely looking at the fight, the mistakes you made, and the good things you made. You analyze all that and go back to the drawing board, and yeah, looking at it realistically, I had Canelo winning four rounds.
“It’s a tough task,” said De La Hoya when asked if Canelo would beat Bivol in the rematch.
Oscar wants Canelo to return to 168
“So it all depends on when you catch that fighter. I would recommend him saying at 168 and dominating the world there,” said De La Hoya about Canelo. “I have no issues with that.
“Styles make fights,” said De La Hoya when asked if it’ll make a difference if Bivol comes down to 168 for the rematch with Canelo.
“It surprises me that Canelo didn’t adjust; it really did. I always said a small good fighter would never beat a good big fighter. The uppercuts were landing,” said De La Hoya on what Canelo should have done to try and defeat Bivol. “That was the only punch that was landing [for Canelo] early on.
“Jabs to the body, more jabs. He was only one speed, and he should have switched it up. He should have thrown more combinations but more jabs. Jab is always the key.
“He got tired because he was throwing hard punches every single time. You’ve got to change up your speed,” said De La Hoya on the mistakes Canelo was making. You live and learn.
“In boxing, when you challenge the very best, you have a chance to win, and you have a chance to lose. There’s a better chance of losing because you’re going for greatness.
“So, nothing lost. I think fighting GGG at 168, Canelo knocks him out, and he’s back on top of the world,” said De La Hoya.
