To beat Bivol at 175lbs you either need to be faster than him and capable of outboxing him at long range (e.g. RJJ & Spinks) or an iron chined, heavy handed pressure fighter, with fast feet (e.g. Saad Muhammed & Qawi). A prime Beterbiev was certainly heavy handed enough, though I'm not sure his feet were ever fast enough to close the distance. I'd heavily favour Bivol over the current, past prime Beterbiev.
All of that is sort of true but only to a certain level. He looks good when he is fighting opponents who sit back and let him do his basic things very well, but I don't think he is anywhere near as effective on the back foot. His combinations are not very selective and primarily left and rights to the head, he does not mix in body shots very well at all, so when he lets his hands go you know what to expect and defend. That stuff would just be bouncing off Davids high guard like Andrades stuff was. His power is respectable and enough to hold off most fighters but not real killers who will just walk him down. It also looked like he was hurt to the body in his last fight although some say he was clowning, I'm trying to find a replay of it. If he was actually badly hurt then that changes everything. You should check out the final rounds vs Craig Richards, its on youtube and look at the success Richards had from round 10 controlling Bivol with the jab and nailing him with great body punches. He swept the last 3-4 rounds, and that is just a british level C fighter, so you can imagine someone like Benavidez doing that from round 1. Andrade looked like he could do as pleases vs all his opponents but once he got in the ring with David he looked powerless and extremely hittable, he has great range control, speed, unorthodox high ring iQ everything you listed for Bivol, he was supposed to out box David and school him, but look how fast he was neutralized and how all that went out the window in a few rounds.
Beterbiev is a very good boxer with great footwork. He was winning the boxing match with Gvozdyk on my card, he can keep up with Bivol as well.
Craig Richards was having success because he swarmed bivol. Forced him inside, roughed him up. You are not winning a boxing match with Bivol, atleast not the current crop. Benavidez hasn't shown anything that suggests that he can slug and spoil to take Bivol out of his comfort zone. Besides, Bivol was coming off a 15 month layoff for that fight. He might've been rusty, that's all.
That's why Opetaia is dangerous. Fast hands, swift feet, great distance control, damn good power and a solid chin combined with his fearless approach make him a deadly opponent for Bivol no doubt.
Thank you for posting this this is exactly as I see it, and I couldn't have said it any better, excellent post.
Benavidez said - All Bivol has is the ole' 1, 2 and that's all he did over and over during sparring , its a really good 1,2 though - Bivol is so good that everyone knows he's coming with the 1,2 and he still pulls it off. Beterbiev Vs Bivol in 2024 Edit: I Think Beterbiev with raw power has the best chance, eventually but after being boxed up for a while by Bivol though.
But you can’t take away Opetaia’s power, can you? That’s the whole point, the question is “how to beat Dmitri Bivol” and the answer is have Jai Opetaia’s power. And given this exact fight has been mooted it is a reasonable response. Opetaia beats Bivol. He’s too big and he’s too strong. Plus he’s technically brilliant, very quick and has dynamite on both sides. He isn’t just some cruiserweight version of Deontay Wilder. Opetaia is a legitimately magnificent fighter. In fact, there’s very little between him and Bivol in terms of skillset but Opetaia has world class power and Bivol doesn’t.
Benavidez would be trash at 175 too. He is a classic weight bully that can feast on smaller fighters after boiling himself down to 168.
Yup, like Callum Smith. There will come a tipping point where he will be forced to move up and then he'll come apart unless all the big names have already retired by then.
I never done a full break down of Bivol's style but my first impressions on how to beat him would be... 1 - Obscure his vision with the lead hand when he uses the high guard, then step around to create a new angle of attack which he doesn't expect. Also do this on the way out, he can hit what he can't see. 2 - Volume, keep him behind that high guard and score points, doesn't matter if most don't land because it's not all just about landing shots but also about minimising Bivol's out put so you can win rounds on volume alone. So when the opportunities arises and he is in that defensive shell throw combinations. 3 - Don't square up in front of him like Canelo did, he pushes, posts and frames and in a squared stance you'll be bullied and pushed around by his lead hand. 4 - Levels. Don't head hunt, mix shots up to head and body to keep him making adjustments in his guard. 5 - Variation in power. Mix in lighter punches designed to create openings in his guard for harder punches. So a fast light straight to create am opening for a hard hook and vice versa. 6 - Feints, make him open up with feints and then counter his counter.