Eh i wouldn’t say Beterbiev was ducking Bivol, but Canelo going up to LHW is like Beterbiev going to cruiser. Beterbiev is an absolute beast but he’s never dared to be great like Canelo has.
I've always thought Canelo was overrated given he lost to GGG twice and had dubious cards in his Trout/Lara fights, but I don't know if you can say losing at LHW "exposed" him given how small he is.
He hasnt even dared to fight Bivol. Thats the Marquee fight at 175 and has been for years. Hopefully we get to see it soon because i want to see Bivol beat Beterbiev then see what the tinman says after, if he can find his heart.
Lmao. The man fought Bivol because he thought he was the easier mark. And it backfired big time. The alternative would have been to fight Beterbiev. Canelo would still be in hospital if he fought Beterbiev.
What this guy said. Canelo beats most light heavies around now, despite that he'd be operating in the fourth weight class of his championship career. He just took on one of the top two or three guys in the division, which ended up highlighting the reality that he's dealing with naturally bigger men. His body of work over the last decade testifies that he's one of the very best P4P out of the current crop, whether one put him at #1 prior to last night or not. He's handled enough solid guys across three weights.
I think people are being way too harsh on Canelo. Yes he was a beneficiary in some fights that were tipped in his favor by the judges but what boxing star wasn't given the benefit of the doubt constantly? And it's not like he's lost to chumps. We all know FMJ is an ATG fighter and Bivol is a legit LHW Champ that Canelo had no business with. Losing is part of the game and I think people are rejoicing the fact that Canelo lost big time again, not taking into account that the guys he lost to happens to be master boxing technicians. Canelo is an ATG fighter without a doubt, he just has his flaws like many fighters do. This loss isn't going to hurt him that much legacy wise.
Why wouldn't Canelo, entering the fourth weight class of his championship career, with his only prior excursion to light heavy being three years back against a faded force, test himself against the #2 before going after the #1? It's not as if Bivol ever represented an easy night. One guy called him a cherry-pick, which is a heck of a stretch — 2019 Kovalev, sure, you could call that somewhat of a cherry-pick, but an undefeated technician in his prime? It's not reasonable to lambast Canelo for not going straight to Beterbiev, even in a P4P conversation. (Bivol was also an easy fight to make promotionally.)
This....., Canelo knew that Bivol, while a fine boxer, hasn't the power to really hurt him. Beterbiev and Joe Smith on the other hand have the juice to hospitalize him.
I don't think Beterbiev ducked Bivol either. Dude has fought Gvozdyk, who also had great boxing skills and power to go with it. That's pretty much just boxing politics getting in the way. As much as I like Bivol, a guy like Beterbiev would probably AT LEAST knock down Canelo. The difference is, Canelo would probably win some rounds (legitimaly) and look good for a while against Beterbiev and get the nod if he doesn't get KO. Bivol was probably the safest route (between him and Beterbiev) but it was still a big challenge. He thought he had a chance and was outclassed. It happens. As for Beterbiev, I don't think he's in a position to dare to be great. You can only do it when you are super famous (like Canelo) or when someone gives you a chance (like Bivol who won the lottery by being offered the fight). He holds 2 wins over Usyk in the amateurs. If Usyk ever offered him a chance to fight at HW for the titles and declined, then yeah we could say he's not daring. One thing too. Bivol's jab seemed to hit much more harder than Canelo ever expected.
Canelo looked like a 5 year old kid with his pink shorts. I felt sorry when big man Bivol was beating him. And his training team looked ridiculous in pinks...
