Bivol’s assessment on fight with Beterbiev, compares Canelo’s and Beterbiev’s power (video)

Very true, but on the other hand, Beterbiev paced himself better. Canelo expended a lot more energy in the first 4 rounds against Bivol than Artur did. And lets face it, Canelo did better against Bivol in the first 4 rounds because of it. But that caused him to gas and Beterbiev obviously did much better over the last 8 rounds.

Canelo typically starts a lot slower than he did against Bivol. Usually Canelo starts slow and gives away the early rounds then gets cookin by the mid to late rounds. Against Bivol it was a very different strategy than usual, he came right out of the gate aggressive and took the fight to Bivol, which was surprising. He applied consistent pressure, loading up on big shots early on. It worked for those first 4 rounds but due to that and due to the fact that he was carrying more weight it caused him to gas and Bivol took over from that point on. If Canelo would have been more patient early on vs Bivol, maybe he would have ceded those early rounds to Bivol but then could have been more competitive in the later round.

Just because Canelo gassed against Bivol when they fought, doesn't mean he would gas to that extent again in a Bivol rematch or against Beterbiev. If he fought Bivol again he would know he has to focus on stamina training and improving his conditioning which I think he has since the Bivol fight. Against Beterbiev I think his defensive skills, counter punching, body punching and ability to come forward and land meaningful shots could be the difference. Like you said, he's always had trouble vs defensive movers. That's Bivol to a large extent, though he moved laterally more against Artur than he typically does. But Beterbiev isn't that which is why I think he'd do well against him. I also think that maybe with Bivol losing to Beterbiev and maybe taking a rematch and taking more punishment from Beterbiev, it could affect Bivol's psyche going into a Canelo rematch down the line. Bivol had the aura of invincibility when he fought Canelo and that was a big reason why he won. Now he's been beat, controversially or not, and now self doubt could starting creeping in.

While Canelo isn't getting any younger either, Bivol looks like he's maybe slowing down as well. And in another year or two, maybe Canelo has more left in the tank. Here's why I say that. Is Bivol as dedicated to training and staying in shape as Canelo is? Who do you think works harder in the gym, Canelo or Bivol? I'm not saying Bivol doesn't take training seriously but Canelo's training regime is on another level. And remember when Canelo fought Bivol the first time, he was suffering with a hand injury and he said he couldn't train at full intensity. Not using that as an excuse for why he lost at all, but that is a legit factor. Now Canelo appears to be at 100% physically with no injuries, and in a rematch I like his chances against Bivol. That said, it's always going to be difficult for Canelo to beat Bivol, and I think many would agree that Canelo might have a better chance to beat Beterbiev due to styles, but I do think that people to this day tend to over exaggerate the ease of Bivol's victory of Canelo. While it was impressive and while Canelo did gas and clearly lost the fight, a rematch could be a different story especially given how each fighter's career trajectory seems to be going. Bivol has a lot of obstacles to overcome, from his personal life, with his wife bad moutning him and influencing his kids. That's got to weigh a lot on Bivol's psyche. Compared to Canelo's who's a happily married family man with kids who love and respect him, that's a big diffence when it coems to what each guy is fighting for. Bivol is only fighting for himself, his wife and kids seemingly have abandoned him and are rooting against him. Canelo is fighting not just for himself but for his family and for a enthusiastic boxing country like Mexico. I just think there's a lot of factors working against Bivol which is why I don't think he'll be keen to seek a Canelo rematch.

 

I am watching that right now. Great insight.

Just noticed that the video has "Canelo hits harder than Beterbiev" in the title. What dishonest BS. Trash journalism right there. Bivol repeated multiple times what he meant.

 

So are we to infer from what he said about Canelo and Beterbiev's power that, he was hit harder by Canelo than Beterbiev hit him last night?

 

He reads a lot, it's one of his main, if not his main hobby. He's been reading psychology books a lot lately.

You know the Korean genes in him is working overtime in the intelligence department on what he can do to improve for his next fight, I got Bivol by super wide if they fight again

 

Agreed! Really great interview, with a very good outlook on where he goes next.

Frank, honest (especially on the last 3 rounds) and insightful. Really enjoyed it, and would give him every chance in the rematch.

 

I didn't get that at all, he clearly said that nearly every punch Beterbiev throws is compact, heavy and his combinations ALL are hurtful. And unlike Canelo, Artur did not gas early (probably due to Canelo putting everything into his shots)

I felt Bivol was just being honest, but he was clearly saying that Artur had much heavier hands, and was more dangerous, whilst still giving Canelo props. My 2c

 

I believe he did say that Canelo hit him harder but he specifically said that it may be because Canelo was putting everything into his punches while Beterbiev wasn't.

 

My reading was he was saying it wasn't exactly Apples v Oranges - Canelo fully loaded single shot maybe a bit harder than Artur.

Later he did clarify that if Artur did load up (not his style) then he'd be harder for sure.

He also was very clear that every one of ABs shots are heavy, and in a combo of 5 all ABs would have the same weight, but Canelo's would only be the first one.

But yeah maybe Shadow can take something from it