By Sean Jones: Dmitry Bivol’s spectacular victory over the previous #1 pound-for-pound fighter Canelo Alvarez last May rates the year’s upset for 2022.
Not only was Bivol’s win over the famous Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) viewed as Sean Jones’ upset of the year, but also DAZN’s as well.
They saw it the same way, collectively viewing it as an unexpected win by WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) that surprised them and the world.
The victory over Canelo has turned Bivol into a superstar overnight, resulting in him being recognized wherever he goes in the United States.
What’s even more surprising than Bivol’s win is Canelo’s reluctance to try and avenge the loss by taking a rematch.
One can tell by the way that Canelo has swerved taking the rematch with Bivol that he doesn’t want to relive that same experience again. Canelo doesn’t want to swim with the sharks again after the terrible ordeal he suffered last May at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Bivol followed that win with a masterclass performance against Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez last November, beating the undefeated former WBO 168-lb champion by a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision in Abu Dhabi.
Before the fight, Ramirez’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya talked about Zurdo getting revenge for Bivol’s win over Canelo. Unfortunately for De La Hoya, Ramirez failed miserably at his job and wound up losing in a more one-sided fashion than Canelo had.
Going into that fight with Canelo, Bivol had looked pedestrian in his recent performances against Craig Richards, Umar Salamov, Lenin Castillo, and Joe Smith Jr.
What may have helped Bivol get the fight with Canelo is his narrow victory over Craig Richards in May of last year in Manchester, England.
Bivol fought passively, rarely putting his foot on the accelerator in the 12 round fight.
When Bivol did turn on the gas, Richards looked in distress, but for some reason, the unbeaten WBA 175-lb champion held back and took a big chance by letting the judges decide the outcome.
Had Sean Jones been in Bivol’s corner, he would have impressed upon him that he needed to fight with a sense of urgency if he didn’t want to lose a controversial decision to the home country fighter Richards.
“We knew this was a very dangerous fight for the pound-for-pound king [Canelo Alvarez], but we knew that he’s proven himself since his loss to Floyd Mayweather that he is a phenomenal talent and one of the best of this era, if not the best,” said Akin Reyes on the DAZN Boxing Showing, going overboard with the slathering of compliments on Canelo Alvarez, and forgetting about his many controversial decisions during his career.
“To me, this is a complete no-brainer. Dmitry Bivol’s win over Canelo Alvarez is the biggest upset of the year, hands down because think about where these two fighters were going into that fight,” said Chris Mannix.
“Canelo was peaking. He was #1 pound-for-pound according to most rankings, and he had just come off a four-belt collecting in an eleven-month run to become the undisputed champion at super middleweight. He had just flattened Caleb Plant in the eleventh round of their fight several months before that.
“He was at his best, and Dmitry Bivol, what did we think of Dmitry Bivol at the time? Yes, he was a 175-lb champion, but look at his recent performances. He was life & death with Craig Richards, and he was in a tougher-than-expected fight with Umar Salamov.
“He was not looked at as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in all of boxing. He goes in there, and even though the scorecards said it was close, he dominated Canelo. He won decisively in that fight.
“That, to me, no question was upset of the year,” said Mannix.
“It is upset of the year, and if you remember, he was also rocked in a fight that he was winning against Joe Smith Jr. Joe Smith Jr is like a cinder block. So he got past him as well.
“Dmitry Bivol came out of nowhere. We knew he was the goods, but he started knocking out everyone, so we thought he was the next Gennadiy Golovkin. But he hasn’t knocked out his last handful of opponents, so we thought Canelo was going to be able to get past that jab and do what Canelo does with the explosive combinations and body punching.
“We didn’t see none of that. We saw complete domination from round one to round twelve and forget the scorecards. Dmitry Bivol dominated, and yes, it’s the upset of the year.
“Whenever you beat the #1 fighter in the world in boxing, you need that award,” said Mora.
“This shouldn’t even be up for debate,” said Mannix.
“Just as I expected, both Chris and Sergio agree with me. It’s the biggest upset of the year; There’s no question about it, Dmitry Bivol vs. Canelo Alvarez,” said Akin Reyes.
“I don’t mind standing alone and being the smartest one in the room,” said Barak Bess.
“You love standing alone,” said Reyes.
“I don’t mind standing alone in the room, and it’s okay, I’ll deal with you guys,” said Bess.
“We knew he would find a way to win [against Bivol], but I was very nervous in this fight because we knew how great Dmitry Bivol was. My pick for the upset of the year is Dmitry Bivol back in May, beating the pound-for-pound king at the time, Canelo Alvarez,” said Reyes.
“To me, that’s disrespectful to say that because Bivol is a great fighter,” said Barak Bess.
“That’s not saying he’s not because he was still the underdog,” said Reyes.
“Not in my mind if we are truly sweet scientists and we dissect the sport,” Bess said about Bivol’s win over Canelo, NOT being an upset. “We knew, even though the oddsmakers didn’t know.
“We knew this was too dangerous for Canelo, and I’ve been saying since he fought [Sergey] Kovalev that wasn’t his division, he should be happy with that win and never go back to that division again.
“He’s a small guy. Nobody else with his size, 5’8″ would go up and fight anybody in the 175-lb division. Nobody who has fought at 154 would ever fight at 175.”
“You can still see why we would call it an upset,” said Reyes about Bivol’s win over Canelo. “You can still understand.”
“I really don’t; I’m so sorry,” said Bess. “I can’t call that an upset.”
“It was the biggest shift in the sport,” Reyes continued, believing Bivol’s win over Canelo was a big shock rather than an obvious outcome given how beatable the Mexican star had looked in recent fights against paper champions at 168 in Caleb Plant and Billy Joe Saunders.
“I understand the boxing society,” said Bess.
“Not society,” said Reyes. “How much did it change the sport. It literally changed Dmitry Bivol’s life. When there’s an upset most of the time, if not every time, it changes the other guy’s life. It obviously changed Dmitry’s [life].
“He said to us that he can’t even walk the streets in this country because he is so much more famous after beating Canelo Alvarez. If that’s not an upset, I don’t know what is.”
“If he lost, he’d still be just as famous. He’s fought Canelo. It’s just about being known. It’s not like being the best,” said Bess. “I just think the biggest upset for me is Josh Warrington against Alberto Luis Lopez.
“Well, maybe because I called it beforehand. Seriously, because Josh Warrington was supposed to win. That’s just it. Everybody thought he was going to win, you know?
“I understand people thought Canelo was going to win because Canello is superman, but he’s fighting at 175, and that’s way about his natural weight. But Alberto Lopez was not supposed to win, and it was a great performance on his behalf and I’m glad the judges gave it to him.
“Do I want to see a rematch? Yes. I feel that was the upset of the year,” said Bess.
“That was a great upset, no question about it,” said Reyes.