Dmitrii Yuriyevich Bivol vs. Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán & Zhìlěi Zhāng vs. Scott Alexander RBR

120-108 through 118-110 is the range, all reasonable.

If anyone finds themselves itching to not have it a shutout and MUST find just a single round for Canelo, it ought to be the ninth where he successfully unloaded more power shots than in any other stanza. If you feel compelled to find him another, it must be the 1st simply because it took a minute or two for Bivol to wake up and get his motor going.

If you feel like you're going to lose your marbles if you can't find a third round for Canelo - well, too bad, so sad, you can't/shouldn't do that. Stone is bloodless, and you're now marbleless, accept it.

 

A little surprised tbh at this climbing to #7* all time in the RBR thread reply volume rankings (*probably going to, before all is said and done sometime during today's customary morning-after cool-off and postmortem, overtake Mayweather vs. Guerrero for #6). Yes, it was the present biggest name in the sport and someone championed for a while as being at or near the "pound for pound" top spot, taking what anybody with a brain/fundamental understanding of stylistic challenges/knowledge of Bivol knew was a big risk - but the undercard was just so utterly lacking in any starpower. Hell, even before Hrgović pulled out it barely had any - then it was a bunch of so-so matchups involving fighters that, if you've only very casually followed the sport for a few years now (say, during Covid) it would be totally excusable to have never heard of.

Halfway into the main event it was only sitting on about twelve hundred posts, just about doubling since then...which tells me that had Canelo gotten a robbery dub or scored a late stoppage, in line with mainstream expectations - then all of the buzz over Bivol's early successes would have fizzled over and this might well have fallen short of 2k. Pretty much all of that added bulk is because they gave Bivol the decision - and the obvious ensuing game of badminton with the respective gloating and excuse-making birdies whacked over the net with zeal.

Here are the current top 15, with some interesting observations:

1. AJ (1) vs. Usyk (1)
2. Pac vs. Bradley
3. Fury (1) vs. Wilder (1) III
4. Canelo (1) vs. BJS
5. AJ (2) vs. Parker
6. PBF (1) vs. Guerrero
7. Bivol vs. Canelo (2)
8. Ruiz vs. AJ (3) II
9. PBF (2) vs. Maidana I
10. PBF (3) vs. Cotto
11. Kovalev vs. Canelo (3)
12. Usyk (2) vs. Chisora
13. GGG vs. Canelo II
14. Wilder (2) vs. Fury (2)
15. PBF (4) vs. Berto

So the forum popularity leaders are:

• PBF & Canelo tied for #1, at four epic top fifteen RBR threads apiece.
• AJ in second place with three, and
• His fellow heavyweights Usyk/Fury/Wilder trailing just behind with a pair each.

Here's something wild - all but ONE fight card in the above listed top 15 fifteen was headlined by at least one boxer, if not two, from among that marquee sextet. Pacquiao vs. Bradley is the only holdout, firmly and stubbornly ensconced at number two all time.

Speaking of Pac, it amuses me to no end that despite being its era's superfight, him versus Mayweather isn't even on this list (while it does contain four of Floyd's other bouts). Even crazier is that Mayweather's highest post grosser was versus ...the Ghost???

 

Best since ...?

Sergiy Dzinziruk, maybe?

Ike Quartey?

 

Even if we don't, you can't possibly have forgotten the mighty "T.K.O. in 6"!

 

Yeah, he only really turned full "heel" as of the switch from Pretty Boy to Money. I think circa when he fought Hatton, then a massively over babyface - and internationally, not just with Brits.

 

I wonder (would be interesting to check the dates and watch footage to track) if there was a correlation between his dad getting out of jail and again becoming an influence and his publia persona turning increasingly repellent. Roger could of course be outspoken and inflammatory at times but when his was the dominant voice in camp Jr. the vibe seemed more professional and chill.