Dmitrii Yuriyevich Bivol vs. Joshua Buatsi

50-50 fight, people forget that a green Richards gave Bivol all sorts of problems. Buatsi is the puncher in the fight with the far superior amateur pedigree.

 

Agreed. Andre Ward was special right from when he was a young teenager, he always had a smart head too so I give Virgil little credit.

 

I like Buatsi too but no way this is 50-50 tbh

 

Eddie has plans for Bivol and Buatsi is on the last fight of his deal, so I don't see the fix coming this time. They'll try to make it look like a very close fight if they can though.

 

Bivol did not handle the spirited Richards with ease. Did you watch the fight which was surprisingly closer than envisaged going in.

 

I know Ward does not agree with your assessment of his trainer Virgil Hunter who has trained him since he was a child.

 

Virgil is a good trainer. He knows how to motivate a fighter and how to teach them the basics.
And to Virgil´s credit, he did train Ward to become an inside fighter, which served Ward really well.

But under Virgil´s tutelage, no one seemed to improve, besides Khan. And IMO, Khan just reverted back to his older style which he had in 2010. Mares, Angulo, Berto... Buatsi and Barrios; none of them showed improvements.
There are levels, and Virgil is just a high level, local area trainer. If he were as good as Ward made him look, he would have had several more high level amateurs or even pros.

 

Buatsi theoretically has a lot of tools at his disposal but seems reluctant to use them even against lower level opponents. You can't beat Bivol by being a low output fighter, fiddling your way through rounds (bad stamina?) with fleeting moments of activity - he's hard enough to hit without limiting the chances of doing so. Bivol gets hit, on average, seven times per round across his pro career, I understand.

This fight is an awful match-up for Buatsi. He has decent power but not JSJ kinda power, not remotely close. And he's not busy enough to win enough rounds on points against a very active fighter with incredible judgment of distance and a good jab to dictate the flow.

So how exactly does Buatsi win this fight? Answers on a postcard, or... corrupt scorecard...

 

I thought Richards won 5 rounds against Bivol. Buatsi was just fatigued for large portions of the Richards fight. His best against Richards was better than Bivol’s best against Richards, it just wasn’t as consistent. If Buatsi sorts that conditioning out it’s going to be a very competitive fight.

 

I think this will be a very good fight and potentially Bivol’s toughest fight alongside Beterbiev’s. I really like the fact that Buatsi has gone to the US and stayed there learning from Virgil Hunter. I have confidence in him in a way I just don’t have in Yarde despite U.N.C.L.E. Tunde’s so called System 9.