By Lourence Alturino
Image from DAZN
Canelo Alvarez, in his last fight, became the first ever Undisputed Super Middleweight World Champion. Alvarez chases greatness once again as now he takes the big risk at jumping back up to 175 in hopes to reclaim another championship in the Light-Heavyweight division. The man standing in his way however is the undefeated WBA World Champion, Dmitry Bivol. Who wins this marquee 175 title bout and how?
Saul Canelo Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs)
The #1 Pound-For-Pound boxer in the world. Canelo Alvarez has become an absolute boxing phenom in recent years. The Undisputed King of the 168 division makes a jump to 175 for the 2nd time in 3 years. Last time, he defeated Sergey Kovalev via KO in the 11th round back in 2019. Canelo is widely regarded as the best boxer alive as his skillset is unmatched. His power, defense, and his ability to counter are some of the reasons why Canelo is at the top. Will this all be enough to add another title to his collection?
Keys for Canelo:
- Attack the body
- Make Bivol miss and counter
Dmitry Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs)
I'm sure plenty of people are completely counting out Bivol since he's fighting Canelo, but Dmitry Bivol is no slouch. At the end of the day, he's undefeated and a world champion for a reason. And that's because he's one hell of a boxer. Fast hands, great footwork, and is patient and smart with his punches. This will be no easy task for Bivol, but he definitely has what it takes to pull this one off.
Keys for Bivol:
- Get Canelo's respect early
- Beware of the body shots and protect
Breakdown:
Early on, Bivol needs to get Canelo's respect with his power. Use that power jab and make sure that Canelo knows that he can't just walk over him. Alvarez is a bit of a slow starter to calculate information, so Bivol should take advantage and win the early rounds.
For Canelo, the body will be his best friend. Alvarez is already an incredible body puncher and given that Bivol is the bigger guy, the body will be wide open a lot of the time. Those shots to the body will break down the WBA champ and open up for more shots up top.
Final Prediction:
The WBA World Championship is on the line this Saturday night and it's not an easy fight to predict as many are suspecting. Canelo going up against the naturally longer and bigger guy is something he's used to, but to do it against a guy as skilled as Bivol is going to be a difficult puzzle. However, it's one that I believe he can solve. Bivol can get the big upset and will win early rounds, but Canelo is going to overwhelm him and put him in the deep waters. Officially predicting Canelo via unanimous decision. And new WBA Light-Heavyweight World Champion, Canelo Alvarez.
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