Why was Bivol able to beat Canelo? Was 175 just a bridge too far for Canelo, was Bivol a bad style matchup, is Canelo overrated, or is Bivol underrated?
Canelo is not #1 (not before, not after this fight) Bivol is underrated for sure, but not that great(as Canelo fans are trying to say now, after that loss) Canelo lost simply because he is not skilled enough for Bivol and don't have enough power to bother him all 12 rounds at that weight.
Bivol fought a perfect fight, fighting by his strengths and refusing to fight by his weaknesses. He had all the advantages (power was the only question mark, imho, before the fight) and he used them perfectly and wisely to win a fight that proves that he's a better fighter than canelo at 175. I dont understand the rematch, and I dont want it, there is no question marks after this fight. Canelo has not the tools to disturb bivol at 175. Size matters guys, that's the reason why there are divisions and fighters kill themselves to make the weight to stay in one division and not in another one.
Brief recap Bivol looked great. Underrated by many. Proved he’s every bit a champion. He beat Canelo mentally, physically and strategically. Canelo was exposed against a full fledged, young champion Canelo was frustrated, outgunned, outboxed and bullied at times Canelo didn’t hurt Bivol once Canelo couldn’t mentally break Bivol Bivol stuck to a game plan and didn’t take the bait for Canelos traps. Instead, took his time and measured his attacks Bivol broke Canelos rhythm as soon as he tried to land more than 2 shots Canelo was scared to throw at times and didn’t want to trade Bivol won 9-10 rounds Canelo was up 4 rounds on all 3 cards through 4 rounds. Even though he arguably only won 1 of those rounds All scorecards were identical. Although Bivol won 9+ rounds, they tried to make it tied going into the championship rounds to gift Canelo a draw, or Win. Bivol finished strong and eliminated the risk of draw/loss PED excusers now praise Canelo for his bravery Canelo wants to activate the rematch clause and have 5+ round advantage in the rematch
All I know is there's a max of 3 rounds you could have gave Clen, and the scorecards still only had Bivol up 2 rounds
What happened is what I said might happen. Bivol has a great jab. canelo struggles with great jabs. Bivol has light feet and Canelo is a plodder. Ginger was reaching for him all night. Bivol has fast (if not faster) hands and a high workrate. canelo excels at picking off slower punchers and guys that take rest breaks. Bivol gave him few chances. Bivol is also much bigger and Canelo's power was largely nullified by a beefier, young opponent who is defensively responsible. Bivol also hits harder than all the ignorants around here were saying; his punches snapped Canelo's head back and moved him. Boxing is a game of inches and Bivol had a few inches too many.
I would put it simple. Canelo bad work rate is even worser at 175, he was losing rounds against zombie Kovalev because of that. Bivol is durable fighter with good control of distance, excellent foot work and more importantly high punch volume. Another important thing is that Bivol didnt run, you can outwork/outbox Canelo, but still lose because running is an excuse for Canelo's judges to screw you.
He simply figured out Canelo and fought the smarter fight. No fighter is unbeatable and Bivol definitely exposed some flaws in his style.
