[url]https://www.*******.com/bivol-surprised-he-announced-being-from-california--166090[/url] Bivol Was Surprised When He Was Announced as Being From California This content is protected BY [url]******* STAFF[/url] Published Mon May 09, 2022, 01:04 AM EDT WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol had no idea how the ring announcer would present him in the main event on Saturday's big pay-per-view bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Bivol, a Russian boxer who spent most of his life in St. Petersburg in Russia, was already notified that he was not allowed to display the Russian flag - and the Russian national anthem would not be played. When he was presented in the ring, the announcer made no mention of Bivol's birthplace of Kyrgyzstan or his residence of St. Petersburg in Russia. Bivol was announced as being from Indio, California - which is where the boxer trains with veteran coach Joel Diaz. All of these exclusions are a direct response to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Despite all of that, Bivol pulled off a massive upset when he outboxed 5-1 favorite Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez over twelve rounds to retain his title. Initially, retired world champions Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko - who are from Ukraine - were openly calling for Bivol to be pulled from the fight. In their opinion, all Russian athletes should be banned from competition until the invasion is over. The event organizers, the WBA, and more importantly Canelo, disagreed with pulling Bivol, who doesn't support the ongoing war. Bivol was not bothered by all of the controversy. “At first they were saying that I can’t box, then they say, 'let’s do it but without the [Russian] flag,' then they say, 'let’s play different music [when you walk to the ring],' then they asked how I should be announced. It was a surprise for me how they announced me. They didn’t say that I was from St. Petersburg or Kyrgyzstan, they somehow said that I was from California," Bivol told Igor Lazorin. “I don’t blame the organizers, I treat them with a level of understanding, but for me the main thing was the fight. It’s nice when you get to represent your country, but I think everyone understands everything [that's going on]."
I think he was announced as fighting out of California not being from there. Usyk and Bivol winning has restored my faith in judging. People used to say you have to knock Canelo out to get a draw. This may have been true while Canelo was under Oscar. But recently it looks like Hearn has been putting more effort into rematch clauses over paying off judges.
Glad Bivol gave a huge middlefinger to all of these politics. Maybe they should have changed his birth certificate too before the fight while they were at it.
How can it be? He is Korean and Russian. Born in Kyrgystan. What's up with these Korean Russo sluggers they are a mean breed.
They tried to rob Bivol though. Giving 3 rounds to Canelo is a reach, giving 5 rounds to Canelo is criminal. There should be an investigation, people should be calling for it. But nope, it'll all be forgotten in a day or two and back to the cycle of bad judging
