Ryan Garcia is convinced that Canelo Alvarez can beat undefeated four-time light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev after watching his fight last Saturday against Dmitry Bivol.
Garcia isn’t saying how the diminutive 5’8″ Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) can find a way to knock out undisputed 175-lb champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) because he’d be giving it away. a lot of size in that fight.
In Canelo’s last fight against Edgar Berlanga, he dominated the fighter who reportedly went back to the water 193 lbswho is in the same ballpark as Beterbiev. Canelo showed in that fight that he can easily handle the size of a true light heavyweight. Berlanga looked bigger inside the ring against Canelo and bigger than Beterbiev.
Beterbiev’s slower hand speed and work rate could be too much for Canelo, who has faced faster fighters during his career. Canelo, 34, is five years younger than 39-year-old Beterbiev and should have plenty left in the tank.
It’s interesting that he never expressed his desire to fight Beterbiev, which is strange because it’s a style he’s better suited to fight than pure boxer Dmitry Bivol.
I think canelo beats Arthur
— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) October 13, 2024
“Look at the years. Look at the old man from Beterbiev. At the end of my career, I knew my speed was not going to match anyone else’s,” Johnny Nelson in Boxing King Media about Dmitry Bivol starting fast, getting the better of Artur Beterbiev in the first half of their fight.
“Beterbiev went as fast as he started and at the same speed as he finished. His pace did not change. Bivol arrived faster, which is why he won the first part of the battle. What Beterbiev did was consistent.”
Beterbiev increased his pace significantly starting in the sixth and continued to fight at a faster pace as the fight wore on. He didn’t stay in the same position because if he did, Bivol would have continued to knock him out like he did in the first to fifth round. Beterbiev wasn’t throwing punches in those early rounds, allowing Bivol to dominate as there was no return.
“If they had given it in equal measure, I wouldn’t have complained. I think if they fight again, Bivol hits him with his hand. “I think some of the scorecards were ridiculous, but they were consistent,” Nelson said.
“Like Johnny said. If Beterbiev had gone out and tried to run with Bivol in the first few rounds, he would have let out a breath because that’s what happens,” said coach Dominic Ingle. “What he did was silence everywhere, and Bivol came in at a high speed, and pushed him back.”
I disagree with Ingle. If Beterbiev had come out quicker in the first half of the fight, he would have worn Bivol down just as quickly and he would have taken him out. It was a mistake on Beterbiev’s part to start slow and allow Bivol to take an early lead as he almost milked it to win by decision.
Beterbiev can’t get off to a slow start in the rematch, if at all, because Bivol has already said he wishes he could serve more. In the rematch, Bivol will make it difficult for Beterbiev to get to him if he takes the goal early.
“Now, if you were a video game. “The heavy shot that Beterbiev was throwing would have exhausted him,” said Ingle. “Bivol is very good and a boxer who is good at scoring goals. The judges will score points based on the weight of the boxing. When someone clicks and someone shoots hard. They will score against a heavy player.”
It wasn’t just Beterbiev’s heavy shots that were noted by the judges. Bivol’s move showed that he did not want to get involved and was trying to avoid being kicked out. When the judges saw that, they understood that Bivol could not withstand the power and pressure of Beterbiev. He was trying to get a cheap win.
“I thought that Bivol would take him out of the box and win, but you can see there is an argument as to why Beterbiev did it. [win],” said Ingle. “The guns he was shooting hurt Bivol a lot, but Bivol is a strong fighter. It’s no surprise that out of all 20 fights that Beterbiev had, he won them all. Now that he has reached a fighter as high as Bivol, he has come a long way.
“Bivol is not a big striker. He always beats everyone by points, or less, and beats them in his boxing. Second, Bivol will have a better idea of what to do because it was close, depending on what you like to see. Beterbiev destroyed Bivol’s sources of power. If it was a video game, it would be out of control when we play Beterbiev.”
Some of the hard shots Beterbiev hit Bivol with in the seventh and eighth rounds wore him down and killed his will to fight. Bivol looked much like he did in his match last December against Lyndon Arthur. He was injured in that fight and was on the defensive for the entire second half. Bivol has shown in those two fights that he is not the type to come out with his shield. When he gets hurt, he defends himself, rides his bike, and boxes. You stop throwing too much and play it safe.
“So, you can see why Beterbiev won that fight. “For me, Bivol was winning the fight because I was driving a boxer who got out of the way,” said Ingle. “Although the gun was weak, it looked to me like Bivol was punching him out.
“If Beterbiev takes him out, it’s fair play. But to me they are the ones who seem to be in control. “It seemed to me that Bivol was ahead in the boxing match,” said Ingle.
I would say Bivol in the round or in the draw,” said Nelson. “No,” Nelson said when asked if the result was a robbery.
“They have to do it again, and if it’s the same again, that’s fine,” Ingle said of the Beterbiev vs. Bivol. “If Bivol wins, they can make a third fight with it. The level they are in, is only a small percentage of who will win or lose. It’s not a big gap. Therefore, it is not surprising that they would go that way.”
Beterbiev vs. Bivol rematch will not be as close as Ingle thinks because Artur already knows that he can dominate with pressure by chasing Dmitry. In the second half of the contest, Beterbiev showed that Bivol could not handle his strength and showed no willingness to stand and fight. That won’t change in the game either. Bivol will run under pressure from Beterbiev because he doesn’t like to be hit and can’t handle body or head shots.
“Because of how the war went. One fighter ended up being stronger than the other,” said Nelson about why none of the three judges voted for Bivol. “It’s because of how the war went, that’s why I think it was a seesaw effect.”
Beterbiev walked in the seventh round, seemingly sweeping the final six rounds of the fight. If you combine those six rounds with one or two Beterbiev wins in the first six rounds, it’s understandable why the judges gave him a decision over Bivol.
“There is a reason why Beterbiev is a triple belt champion and he is still in charge. It’s because he protected them from everyone who was against him,” said Ingle. “It’s hard to keep three belts, especially if you have the IBF because they always force you that maybe you don’t want to fight because you don’t deserve them,” said Ingle.
It was no big deal for Beterbiev to hold on to his IBF title until now because he has a huge cash offer that could happen in the first half of 2025. A rematch wouldn’t have much meaning without an uncontested championship. line, which means Beterbiev will need to pay his mandatory challenger Michael Eifert a step or fight him.
That shouldn’t take long for Beterbiev to get Eifert out of the way. That would be an easy first round win for Beterbiev if he wants to face him in January or February. Beterbiev could face Bivol in a rematch in May or June unless Honorable Turki Alalshikh prefers to defend against the winner of the David Benavidez-David Morrell fight.
