Dmitry Bivol shocked Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, his devastated army of fans, all of Mexico and boxing itself when he retained his WBA light heavyweight title with an absolute points victory in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Buffalo, the 31-year-old Russian, improved his record to a perfect 20-0, but none of his previous victories has come close to the scale of this completely dominant victory over the glorious Alvarez. Buffalo received the decision on all three result cards with a scandalously small difference of 115-113.
Alvarez’s bruised, cut and swollen face and dejected demeanor for most of the battle told the true story. Bivol’s significant advantages in terms of size, power and speed made the difference. He was just too big, too fast, too skilful and too focused for Alvarez, who won his first world title at 147 pounds – 28 pounds lighter than the division in which he suffered such a painful defeat at the T-Mobile Arena.
The buffalo, the champion, was made to head to the ring when the first resounding chants of “Kan-el-o… Kan-el-o… Kan-el-o” echoed through the arena. It was an insult to Buffalo, but Alvarez, at least until Saturday night, was the king of boxing. Even as his whistles rained, the closer he got to the ring, the Buffalo remained calm. The smile played on his features with a hood, and even when the arena was lit by fireworks and shaken by noise, when Alvarez was raised on a plinth before his alley began, Buffalo seemed intangible. He just slammed his brown gloves with obvious pleasure.
As if suddenly realizing how difficult a task he was facing, Alvarez said a small prayer in his corner just before the first bell. Alvarez came out on purpose and his first blows were aimed at Buffalo’s hands, reproducing a tactic he used against Callum Smith in 2020. In this super-middleweight battle, Smith’s hands were so badly injured that it became easy for Alvarez to punish him round by round. However, the buffalo is a great light heavyweight. He took out his quick punch and unhooked the smooth combinations that set the pattern for the battle.
Already in the second round, it was remarkable that Buffalo used his strength to push Alvarez back so that he could go far enough for him to cut off the smaller contender with his sharp blows. As Buffalo’s authority was immediately obvious, Alvarez tried to disrupt the champion’s rhythm in the fourth round by trying to turn the match into a dog fight. Buffalo remained relentless, leaving his blows to pour in quick, sharp volleys that discouraged Alvarez. At the bell, the huge Mexican contingent in a crowded arena roared when Alvarez struck his characteristic blow – a cruel uppercut. The buffalo seemed unshakable, while, unlike them, ordinary super-mediumweights usually shake from such a blow.
Alvarez loosened in the fifth round, and swelling appeared under Buffalo’s left eye. But his eyesight was clearly not impaired, as the dazzling combinations came from the champion. Álvarez really hit a big right hand with 30 seconds until the end of the round and after the break, when they came out for six, the audience resumed their “Can-el-o… Can-el-o… Can-el-o” sing with more urgency. Buffalo responded by nailing Alvarez with combinations that were much more effective than single strikes by the Mexican.
Buffalo opened wounds under Alvarez’s left eye in the seventh. It was clear that Alvarez was in trouble, and fatigue began to spread across his flushed face. Buffalo cruised, but finally in the ninth round Álvarez began to gain some momentum. For the first time in battle, he seemed capable of harassing Buffalo. It was the best round of the evening for Álvarez, but in the 10th it looked as if his great efforts had paid off. Alvarez could not withstand this surge of momentum. He barely struck when Bivol returned to his stylish dominance in the race.
Alvarez looked so desperate and disappointed in the penultimate round that instead of looking for the knockout blow he seemed to need, he lifted Buffalo from his feet and carried him briefly on his back. It was useless and useless. Buffalo tattooed him with the blow to win another round.
Although the judges still had ridiculously close official results, it seemed as if Alvarez knew he had little left. The fight ended with Buffalo again in the offensive. Alvarez withdrew to the certainty of defeat, which in the resulting card of the Guardian and others in the ring was 118-110.
Buffalo worried about Alvarez’s size and length during Saturday’s match. Photo: Étienne Laurent / EPA
Throughout the week, there were doubts that Bivol would get a decision against Alvarez in Las Vegas. It was rightly thought that Alvarez, who generates so much money for Vegas casinos and the often corrupt boxing business, would be preferred by the judges. In 2017, when most reasonable and fair observers thought that Gennady Golovkin had defeated him in the same arena, Alvarez was saved from a dubious tie. There were additional controversies in the T-Mobile Arena exactly a year later, in September 2018, when many people thought that Alvarez was again lucky to win the rematch by points. This decision was less murky, but it was another beneficial reminder of how difficult it is to win a decision against Alvarez here.
When I asked Buffalo a few days ago if he was worried about the odds against him, he just smiled. “I look forward to Saturday night and never think about judges. I’m not saying, “Oh, I’m in Vegas, against Canello, all against me. No.'”
Buffalo remained true to his word and in a composed and deeply impressive demonstration made it impossible for the judges to save Alvarez.
The champion remained in the shadows for most of the week. He was happy with most of the attention to the Alvarez swamp, and stoically and patiently Buffalo answered a few questions. Most inquiries about Alvarez’s apparent greatness, and Bivol became embarrassed only when he was asked to comment on his status as a Russian amid Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine with unbridled brutality. Bivol admitted that the war in Ukraine saddened him, but avoided criticizing Putin, trying to argue that sport and politics do not mix. Putin will no doubt try to declare Buffalo’s victory a Russian triumph – but the fighter has made a fine but sharp distinction. He describes Kyrgyzstan, where he was born and lived for the first 11 years of his life, as his “homeland”.
We can only hope that Bivol’s remarkable victory over Alvarez will be due to his own courage and skill – not to the fact that he lives in St. Petersburg and carries a Russian passport.
Alvarez will regret the fact that despite his protests that his focus is on Buffalo, he allowed himself to look forward to a proposed match in September this September against his main rival Gennady Golovkin in the super middleweight category. In addition to emphasizing his disregard for Golovkin, Alvarez even dared to challenge Alexander Usik in the future, who currently holds three versions of the world heavyweight title.
All the big talk fell apart against Buffalo. “I proved myself today,” he said immediately after the match. “I’m sorry I broke your plans with Gennady Golovkin. Thanks to Canello and his team. He is a great champion and I respect him. “
Buffalo said he felt Canello’s strength from the first round, pointing to his hands, which blocked so many of the Mexican’s blows. “He beat my arm, but not my head, which is better. He has good speed, good power. “
“You have to accept it, it’s boxing,” Alvarez said through an interpreter. “He is a great champion. Sometimes you win in boxing. Sometimes you lose. Without excuses. I lost today and he won. “
Before leaving the ring, Alvarez promised to exercise his rematch clause. “Of course I am [want a rematch]”he said.” It doesn’t end that way. “
Buffalo replied coolly. “No problem,” he said. “I’m ready for the rematch, I just want to make sure that now I can be treated like a champion.
Álvarez is a remarkable fighter, but his pride was revealed by the exemplary champion in Dmtiry Bivol, whose life was transformed by this stunning victory.
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