I watched half the Sullivan Barrera fight but I did not get a complete read as I was a little drunk lol. What are his strengths? Power? Handspeed? How do you define this dude fighting wise.
Power is good, but not great, likewise his handspeed. But it's his shot selection, timing and fundamental understanding of the sport that sets him apart. If I were to liken him to another fighter I would probably say Mikey; there's nothing game-changing in his arsenal, he doesn't have Wilder-power, or Loma-angles or Roy-speed, but there's nothing missing from his arsenal either and he very, very rarely puts a foot wrong. He's just very good at punching people.
He's fairly fast, tidy, has good timing, technique and footwork, and has pretty good power. In short, he does everything well.
I think bivol is exceptional in hand speed and accuracy. Other rarity is his combination punching going forward.
He is very technically sound and light on his feet. He has great reactions and doesn't make mistakes in the ring so he is very hard to punish. Because of his technique and beautiful in and out game he has good initiations and can punish you safely and seemingly effortless. In the spite of the way he fights he has very solid power which I don't fully understand because he doesn't appear to load up on anything ever and he isn't a big guy for the division. I'm assuming it at all has to come from his balance which may be his best asset and the most underrated attribute in boxing at the moment. I rarely hear people talk about how good someone's balance is and what effects it has. Right now the flaws I see in him are all physical ones. He gets cut and bruised up easily it seems and because he has a smaller frame that most in the division I wonder how well he would do against an opponent that tries to "bully" him. Making it a rough physical fight on the inside is a natural counter to how he boxes and I think his body type would put him at an even greater disadvantage. I think whenever he meets someone like that it will just become a matter of whoever can employ their gameplan better with Bivol being at the disadvantage if you think of it in terms of probability.
thats a good question! he is very well-rounded actually. not too many chinks in his armor. power, footwork, inside and outside game, good stamina, good chin.
Balanced fighter. Elusive, Shot selection. Speed timing and power. He's disciplined, motivated and patient. I am expecting big things from Bivol.
