Just want to add the people picking Zurdo are picking based on the 20lbs+ weight advantage he will have If they weighed the same on fight night Bivol stops him but with Zurdo rehydrating 29lbs each shot is going to feel like getting hit by a Cruiserweight
It will be a similar fight as Usyk vs. Joshua II, Zurdo will have his moments and will look good I have no doubt about that, but Bivol will convincingly win...
Even with the size advantage I don't think Zurdo hits as hard as Joe Smith Jr, and Bivol's defence is extremely good, so Zurdo will really impress me if he manages to really push Bivol hard
The problem with Zurdo is that he rehydrates a minimum of 25 pounds, more like 30 pounds. Bivol rehydrates about nine to 10 pounds. So while Bivol will weight about 184 pounds on fight night, Zurdo will come in more than 200 pounds. And I have a huge problem with this. It's a huge problem . In my opinion, this is cheating, and we keep seeing boxers rely on size rather than skill to win their fights. (I'm looking at you too Devin Haney.) Heavyweight is the new light heavy and cruiserweight. Super middleweight is the new middleweight. Junior welterweight is the new lightweight. We keep seeing this again and again for the upcoming boxers, and something needs to be done to put a stop to this. We need rehydration caps in all the sanctioning bodies or, better yet, placed by the commissions. We as boxers and boxing fans need to force the sport to be a sport of skill and not brute strength. Not only are people weighing more come fight night but they are also fighting like wrestlers rather than boxers. For Bivol to win, he's going to have to hurt Zurdo early. That's personally one of my biggest strategies to dictate the tone of a fight and make the opponent fight to you and not you to him. You have to hurt the guy early. You have to put fear into his heart. When you can do that, you've won half the battle. I'm concerned that Bivol might not be able to do that to a man who weighs as much as a heavyweight. So the question is whether Bivol can move around the right and avoid Zurdo's pressure. Zurdo will be immediately going to the body. Watch how many body shots Zurdo throws in this fight. I guarantee it will be an all time high. That should allow Bivol to really bust his face up, but can he hurt Zurdo? I don't know. I have Bivol winning but this is going to be a very difficult fight for him. Zurdo is so big and aggressive that I have concerns that Bivol might not get caught in the back half of the fight. TL;DR: Bivol wins in a 60/40 matchup, favoring Bivol, but not without some significant dangers, such as Zurdo's enormous size and weight.
Zurdo is fkin huge & awkward... this fight will be competitive and I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled it off but I'm favouring bivol and if he does win he's top 5 pound for pound for me & FOTY.. I just hope the decision is fair and there is no corruption
But Joe Smith Jr is a one punch at a time slugger Zurdo is very busy and targets the body it will be about if he can break Bivol down it wont be a one shot stoppage I don't rate Zurdo too highly but the weight advantage could make it 60/40 to Bivol
I see it like you do. And Bivol's team may not be super confident as they asked the WBA to approve a Buatsi fight instead; Buatsi is decent but less of a threat than Zurdo. However, I do wonder what the market knows when the odds are more like 80/20 or 85/15.
Bivol 9-3, or 8-4. Twenty pound weight advantage for Ramirez but at the cost of speed, he looked slow & sluggish last time out, plus he's hasn't fought anyone with Bivol's skill. He gets exposed.