A prime Artur is all wrong for Bivol stylistically but Artur is old, even if he doesn't rely on reflexes there is no way he hasn't declined in some way shape or form, and Bivol will likely be on some serious juice for the biggest night of his career. Expect the unexpected
Depends on what you call skill. If it’s all encompassing then skill for skill they are fairly evenly matched with the levels of strength varied of course. I think AB boxing skills are quite underrated. Positioning is everything and they are both excellent position boxers one offensively and the other defensively
Bivol will outbox Beterbiev handily until Beterbiev closes the gap and lands a few body shots that will slow the pace RIGHT down. Then Bivol will lose the snap his in his punches and his legs won't be as nimble anymore either. BTW Beterbiev is far superior at setting traps. Bivol has an excellent rhythm and tempo that he uses to win all his fights but I saw him pushed back many times to the ropes by inferior fighters to Beterbiev Short answer - Beterbiev TKO
I think that's what's most interesting about this fight - Bivol has dominated the distance in pretty much all fights he has had so far, and he clearly had enough pop to deter Zurdo, Canelo, Pascal, Smith and others along the way - invraiably they have all ended up fighting Bivol's fight, at the tempo and distance that he dictates. However, on the flip side, Artur has shown elite skills at cutting off the ring, and eventually being able to hurt and slow down his opponents with underrated shot selection and IQ coupled with his thudding power. So it's the classic immovable object v unstoppable force question - at least on paper. I think everyone would agree it's fairly obvious that Artur can hurt Bivol - if he can get past that stellar defence. However, I'd say it's also not beyond the realms of possibility that Bivol can catch Artur with something he doesn't see or a fluid combo, that even if it doesn't 'hurt' him, it gains his respect, nullifies his offense and keeps him on the back foot. The real trick for Bivol is whether he can execute a game plan that can nullify Arturs offense for all 12 rounds - as we know he only needs a sniff to get his opponent in serious trouble - it's a tall order for Bivol to be sure, IMO he has to do the following:- Sit down on his punches a bit more than usual - especially early to get into a rythym than blunts Arturs offense as much as possible Still be defensively sound and alert, being wary of traps Keep an ice-cold mentality at all times, and avoid getting into trading situations Really make Artur work for every inch of ground and keep him mobile and constantly thinking I guess most of the above plays into what Bivol excels at, but if he has to sit down on punches more, it may have downsides to his stamina and defence that Artur can exploit. Before the knee issue for Beterbiev, I had it 55/45 for AB, but now I feel it's more 50/50. Very hard for me to pick, but if pushed I'd have to go with Beterbiev, as I feel he can make more mistakes than Bivol can
Bivol probably has power, but that's not his style, somehow I don't believe he can stop Beterbiev, whose style is to knock out his opponent...
Probably. With a punch he doesn't see. But I don't think he will because he will not be fully committing to his punches.
Attrition strategy generally works best when you have an opponent who stands in front of you and accepts to exchange. Bivol is not a good candidate here. And I don't think it's fair to assume everything Beterbiev will land on Bivol will hurt him. You have to give Bivol some credit and benefit of the doubt that he can be tested a fair bit before losing complete ability to box effectively. And I don't think it's fair to assume either that Beterbiev will just roll over Bivol without respecting his power as if he was hit by a feather fist woman. I think the truth is somewhere in between. Beterbiev will need to box too, and connect his jab, if he doesn't win some boxing session in the middle of the ring there will be no attrition, he will be dominated.
Maybe he has not the power to create particular troubles to Beterbiev but he has a so high IQ ring he can make gas out him in the middle and win by decision.
Yes, he has the power to hurt Beterbiev. Bivol has decent power, but he rather throw punches at 50% with precision than 100% and miss. He hurt Canelo enough to make him retreat and Canelo has a great chin. He hurt Ramirez enough to make him take multiple steps back when Bivol lands. Obviously there is a huge gulf in power between Bivol & Beterbiev, but Bivol's punches do sting. Bivol's leaping left hook is very strong and he's hurt fighters with it when landed at full power. Check out the Zinad fight when Bivol sat down on his shots more. Beterbiev has been hurt by left hooks, so that's an interesting punch to keep an eye out for.
