Via John Tornay: Dmitry Bivol said he plans to take the risk against Canelo Alvarez on May 7 because he is up against the best fighter in boxing and he knows he will need to try his match to get victory.
Bivol (19-0, 11 KO) defended his WBA lightweight title against superstar Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KO) on DAZN pay-per-view at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
This was the fight Bivol was looking forward to because he wanted to compare his skills with Canelo.
If Bivol can beat Canelo, it will mean a lot to him because it will show he is a better fighter in the skill department.
Obviously it would help if Bivol got rid of the umpires altogether by removing Canelo so he wouldn’t suffer the same fate as Gennady Golovkin and Erislandy Lara when they faced the Mexican star in Las Vegas. Both guys have had to accept controversial decisions.
Bivol uses his power when necessary
“You think I’ve got a weak punch?” Dmitry Bivol said to Against TV Hub. “Of course, I have good strength. I’m a light heavyweight and I have nineteen wins. I have good power, but I don’t use it every time.
“I find I can punch harder, I use my strength, but sometimes I want to use my skills and hit the big punch. Of course, I will use all my good sides. Power, speed, movement, everything I should use.
Bivol has played safe in his recent matches against Umar Salamov and Craig Richards, trying minimally to win, but not attempting to score by knockout.
Those are the opponents that Bivol could have prevented if he had gone all out in search of an equalizer.
“If I feel I can hit him harder, I will. I’m bigger but not as big as Sergey Kovalev,” said Bivol. I think I’m about the same size as Canelo because I haven’t lost too much weight in the light weight class.
“We all know about Sergey Kovalev. He did not have enough time to prepare. He was empty-handed after his last game and he was up against Canelo and he is not confident he can go 12 innings because his previous game was too close. He didn’t have time to recover.
“Of course, you have enough power to stop your opponent in the early rounds,” said Bivol. Bivol said of Canelo: “If you don’t have enough power, he will come to you, he will keep coming and coming, and he will eat you.
If Bivol doesn’t get Canelo to respect his strength, he’ll knock him down and score a knockdown the way he did against non-Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant.
Dmitry takes risks
“Of course, this fight is a fight against the best boxer in the world, and you have to use everything,” Bivol said of fighting superstar Canelo. “When you see, you must accept the risk.
“In this fight, of course, I will take more risks because the opponent is better,” said Bivol when he learned that he has a reputation for playing safe in skirmishes. “This is an opportunity for me to show my skills to everyone,” says Bivol.
It is clear that Bivol needs to take the risk in this fight if he wants to because he will never get a decisive victory unless he defeats him in a one-way street.
As we saw with Gennady Golovkin, beating Canelo 8 to 4 rounds doesn’t guarantee you’ll raise your hand.
“He looked good at light heavyweight, but it was just one bout with Kovalev who was a bit tired,” Bivol said of his thoughts on what he saw of Canelo in the fight. with Kovalev.
“I think he is qualified in light heavyweight because he is undisputed 168. That means he is ready for light heavyweight. Who has better skills? That is an interesting question for me. That’s why I’m so excited about this fight. I want to test my skills. I want to challenge myself against the best boxer.
“Size doesn’t matter because in most matches I am smaller than my opponent. It doesn’t matter who is bigger. Bivol said.
Size will obviously help Bivol against Canelo, but he will need to use his shot if he wants to win as that is the best way to beat him.
People overestimate Canelo’s abilities
“Of course, he has good strength and good skills, but most people think of him as untouchable either he’s unstoppable or he has enough power to beat super heavyweights,” said Bivol.
“Sometimes it’s funny to hear people talk about him. First of all, he’s a good fighter, and he’s a man. He has a loss and a draw. If you believe in your skills and you are a good fighter, you can give him another loss.
“Of course, I watched those fights. They are different fights against Mayweather and Golovkin,” Bivol said when asked if he watched Canelo’s fights with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Gennadiy Golovkin or not.
“Mayweather is Mayweather. He has better speed and he has more boxing skills. Golovkin was more confident in their first fight, and I think Golovkin should have won the first one.
“It was close, but I think Golovkin is better. As for me, it’s just my opinion and nothing more. It doesn’t matter,” Bivol said of Canelo having signed to face Golovkin on September 17.
“I am very happy to have had this match and it was a lot for me. That’s enough for me, I still have a chance. Everything depends on me. I just think about May 7. I just have to do my job, I have to do a good job, and we’ll see what happens,” Bivol said.
Kovalev gave Bivol advice about Canelo
“We don’t talk often, but he said to me, ‘Dmitry, you can beat him, trust me. The point is not to overdo it in the preparation. Canelo is a human being. Let’s train like another fight. Do not overestimate his abilities. Don’t overestimate Canelo’s abilities. He’s a regular fighter,” Bivol said of what Kovalev told him about Canelo.
“I believed in him when he played against Canelo, I really believed in him. Regarding my score, he won until he got the punch. But this is boxing, this is why I love boxing. It can be done in any second.
“Honestly, I’ve never counted skill for skill stuff, but he’s very good at what he does and I’m very good at what I’m doing. We are both skilled and that only matters to the preparation and who will prepare well for this fight.
“I believe I have all the skills needed to beat him. I believe I have all the skills to properly prepare for the fight and be ready. Every camp is different, with different participating partners, different locations, different people around you, and different times of the year.
“Every camp is different, but the basic pattern of preparation is always the same. Same team, same plan, same goal, and just change of opponents and partners and training place,” said Bivol.
