Via Jim Calfa: Boxing legend Ray ‘Boom Boom’ Mancini is picking Dmitry Bivol to retain his WBA light heavyweight belt by defeating Canelo Alvarez on May 7.
Mancini feels that Canelo’s problems dealing with mobile fighters will be emphasized against Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs), who is large, highly mobile and can punch.
He is a much different type of fighter than the ones Canelo has fought with recently from the UK, Turkey and the US.
Canelo hasn’t fought anyone mobile since his 2014 fight with Erislandy Lara, and many boxing fans feel he should have lost that bout.
Bivol is training a lot for this match and he wants to beat Canelo as this is his chance to add his name to his résumé. Also, a win for Bivol will increase the chance of a rematch with Canelo.
Mancini chooses Bivol over Canelo
“Now, that’s interesting. I think Bivol will [a problem]. I like Bivol, “Boom Boom” Ray Mancino told iFL TV when asked if anyone could beat Canelo Alvarez. “I’m choosing Bivol just because he’s a light heavyweight that can really fight.
“People say, ‘Canelo knows how to pick them.’ No, he’s fighting the top guys out there. For me, the person who will cause Canelo the biggest problems is David Benavidez.
“I chose David Benavidez over Canelo because Benavidez is a young guy, fast pace and he can punch like a son of a gun, and he can move. Canelo has always had a problem with guys who can move.
“You see these guys he’s fighting, big, strong people, but they don’t move. Bivol can also move a bit. Bivol will be different from Kovalev. When he beat Kovalev, I was surprised, but Kovalev is clearly a shooter.
“The way he went down. When you go down like that, they call it ‘partial descent.’ He went down like a sack of rice. He just went down.
“So that’s over the years of accumulation. Bivol can fight; he’s a big, strong guy. So that would be very interesting. I can’t wait to see this match,” Mancini said.
Former light heavyweight champion Kovalev was past his prime against Canelo in 2019, and he looked like he wasn’t even trying to win.
Bivol will put in the effort, and he’s on a different level than recent Canelo rivals Caleb Plant, Billy Joe Saunders and Avni Yildirim.
Boom Boom says Canelo is a counter fighter
Mancini said: “I admire Canelo more than anyone because he challenges greatness. “He is challenging himself. No one is doing what he is doing. No one challenges greatness anymore.
“Nobody is out there to see if they can take it to the next level to go outside their weight class. This guy, what he’s doing is unbelievable. I admired him.
I have become a huge fan. I hadn’t been sold years before. I don’t think he beat Golovkin earlier in the first match. I don’t think anyone [thought Canelo won]. In the second teamfight, I still think he lost. It was closer, but I think he lost.
“They should run for a third time immediately. Now they were talking about how if he was defeated by Bivol, they would fight Golovkin again. Golovkin did not often fight. Canelo has.
“I don’t think Golovkin can beat him now, no. He’s older and doesn’t fight much. The way Canelo is walking, he is going through people. He’s cutting them down to the left and right.
“What he is doing is huge. He reminds me of an old counter fighter who could have fought in any generation. Some boys are generational. They can fight at any time. Canelo is one of those people,” says Mancini.
