Antonio Tarver feels that Canelo Alvarez has a chance to beat undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev at 175 if he can avoid being beaten by him like he did to Dmitry Bivol last Saturday night in Riyadh.
Tarver feels Canelo’s mobility issues could make him an easy target for Beterbiev if he can’t shake Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) to escape him. He notes that Canelo is slow on his feet and nowhere near as fast as Bivol.
Beterbiev Holds the Crown Jewels
If Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) can avoid getting knocked out by Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs), he can knock him out of the box if he can do that for the full 12 rounds as the former WBA 175-lb. champion Bivol did so last Saturday.
Bivol would have won if he didn’t move so much and forget to throw punches in the second half of their fight. Canelo will not make that mistake. He will throw and won’t try to spoil his way to a controversial win like Bivol did. He is a fighter and will look to block Beterbiev’s shots and counter him throughout the night.
Canelo and his manager, Eddy Reynoso, haven’t talked about challenging Beterbiev for his next fight, but if they say they want him next, Honorable Turki Alalshikh would readily agree.
No matter how much interest there is in a rematch between Beterbiev and Bivol, there will be a lot of fan appeal in a Canelo-Beterbiev clash. That would attract a lot of people, and it would be a lot of fun to watch because Canelo wouldn’t be moving for 12 rounds, trying not to get hit like Bivol did.
“I don’t know. Canelo would have said that if Bivol had won [against Beterbiev]he was going to Bivol,” said Antonio Tarver speaking to FIghthype about what Canelo Alvarez needs to do to defeat undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev.
“I don’t think Eddy [Reynoso] he liked that fight the first time, and now Canelo is pushing to leave. If Canelo goes to 175 and no longer fights at 168, fine, we like that. But if he’s going to campaign at 168, and with David Benavidez moving up, we’re completely lost now. As a fight fan, I would have liked to see Canelo-Benavidez. “
Canelo has already said he wants $200 million for the Benavidez fight, so it’s a waste of time to keep whining about that fight. If Canelo is going to fight a light heavyweight, he’s going to want to fight the best, which means Beterbiev. Sorry, Bivol, but you lost your chance by fighting shame last Saturday night. You may have to wait your turn if Canelo decides to fight Beterbiev next.
Canelo’s Travel Issues
“Now that we have set the table with Beterbiev-Canelo,” said Tarver. “Canelo doesn’t travel in ships like Bivol. Even though he moves, he doesn’t move that much anymore. Again, you hear Bivol say that the power to strike is still there [against Beterbiev]even though he holds a lot of those things in his gloves. Look at his face later. The one or two times he drove her, it was very painful. If he had been able to take a few more shots, I think he would have stopped him a long way.”
There were still more shots from Beterbiev coming at Bivol, hitting him in the head, and that took a lot of the fight out of him. It was the right hand that Beterbiev hit Bivol in the seventh round during their exchange that made him want to fight.
Bivol showed no heart after being beaten hard by Beterbiev, and the rest of the fight was like a track meet. It wasn’t remotely attractive without a doubt that Bivol would be locked up and kicked out.
“Now, with a slower Canelo coming up and a smaller Canelo, I would hate to see Beterbiev shoot Canelo,” Tarver said. “In terms of height, he probably won’t be as big compared to Canelo. Canelo is really thick. In terms of size, they may be looking at each other. But in terms of punching power, I think Beterbiev hits hard, and it’s a challenge for Canelo. He’ll probably go into that fight as the underdog, but Canelo is a top-class fighter, a top-class player.”
The oddsmakers could make Canelo the favorite over Beterbiev like they did Bivol, who was wrong. They will probably favor Canelo because he is a star, and they will pick the way Beterbiev fought last Saturday. Let’s face it, that wasn’t old Beterbiev.
“I know one thing. Bad night that he [Beterbiev] he had it, I thought he had it, if he fights like he fought Bivol, I think Canelo has a chance,” said Tarver. “If he can’t stay strong against Canelo, Canelo has got his chance. If he can avoid the big shot, like Bivol did, and get him far, he has a chance. But when Beterbiev starts to crack, and starts hitting him, that’s a force that changes the fight. “
Canelo has got a very good chance to beat Beterbiev if he gets the same kind of performance that we saw against Bivol. The only question is whether Canelo will be able to block or drown the shots that Beterbiev will throw if he has him on the ropes as Hie repeatedly faces Bivol.
“If Father Time wasn’t the instigator of that fight with Bivol, and we won’t know that until it happens again. How about him [Beterbiev] he feels when he returns to training camp. Can he regain his balance? Can he find his perfect timing because he missed so many punches in that fight that could have changed the game.
“I think Benavidez does because of size. He’s a natural light heavyweight, a big guy,” Tarver said when asked who poses the biggest threat to Artur Beterbiev between Canelo and David Benavidez. “He will have the height and reach over Beterbiev, and he can punch. Yes, if he can avoid the crack because, I’m telling you, Beterbiev is still the hardest puncher in the game. I believe in his power until I see otherwise.
“The reason he didn’t get Bivol out there, and maybe it was all Bivol, but he couldn’t shoot a hot shot where he measured him and went in there. I didn’t see that shot all night. And the top spot was crazy. It wasn’t breaking like you usually see. The two words above showed that “They didn’t knock him down, and that’s Beterbiev all night, he missed a little bit,” said Tarver.
Beterbiev landed uppercuts on Bivol, and put him in a state of panic from the 8th to the 12th round. Bivol looked scared and stopped fighting. His promoter, Eddie Hearn, was convinced afterward about his loss, seeing Canelo’s fight money disappear before his eyes. Bivol was hit with enough shots by Beterbiev that he didn’t want to throw them in the second round. So, he lost, and now there is an opportunity for Canelo to come in to face the King, Beterbiev, if he wants to.
“I think so because of his size, length, and reach,” Tarver said when asked if Benavidez would have a better chance against Beterbiev than Canelo. “The way Benavidez is aggressive, I saw him supporting Beterbiev with that player. So, David has something *** with him. “So is Canelo, but I think the height and reach will give Canelo problems,” said Tarver.
Benavidez is very easy to beat, and can try to go to war with Beterbiev. That will end badly for Benavidez, who was knocked out in his fight with former WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15. Benavidez won that fight by a 12-round decision, but it looked like he was hit by a car. Beterbiev would be all over Benavidez, hitting him with shots to the head that would break his weak body.
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