Disciplined Bivol stuns Alvarez to retain world title

May possibly 8 (Reuters) – Canelo Alvarez suffered a shock defeat on Saturday as Russia’s Dmitry Bivol successfully defended his Planet Boxing Affiliation light heavyweight title with a win by unanimous final decision at Las Vegas’ T-Cellular Arena.

All three judges scored the battle 115-113 in Bivol’s favour at the stop of 12 rounds as the Mexican was handed only the second reduction of his vocation, 9 several years after he was overwhelmed by Floyd Mayweather in November 2013.

Bivol silenced the offer-out crowd to get his file to 20 wins from 20 fights while Alvarez, extensively regarded the very best pound-for-pound fighter in the globe right before the bout, slips to 57-2-2.

“I’m glad I proved myself nowadays, I’m the best in my division and I preserve this belt,” stated Bivol. “He’s a excellent champion, I regard him and all his crew.

“If you do not imagine in by yourself what do you do? You attain very little. I believe and my workforce believed in me.

“I felt his power. You can see on my arm, he beat my arm up but not my head. That’s improved.”

Alvarez, the too much to handle pre-battle favorite, was almost never capable to discover a way by means of Bivol’s defensive guard as the 31-12 months-old place on a disciplined display screen.

The Russian regularly employed his jab to maintain Alvarez on his heels, unloading flurries of punches to redden the more compact man’s encounter and convince the judges to award him the struggle.

Alvarez had formerly gained at lightheavy body weight, defeating Sergey Kovalev by knockout to get the Environment Boxing Organization version of the title in Nov. 2019, but Bivol proved also good to succumb.

“You have to acknowledge it, its boxing,” Alvarez reported of the loss. “He’s a wonderful winner. From time to time in boxing you get and lose and I’m not giving excuses. I lost right now and he received.”

Alvarez stressed he preferred the pair to struggle once more.

“Yeah, of training course I do,” he stated when questioned about a rematch. “This would not close like this.”

Bivol, much too, is keen to confront off after much more.

“Let’s communicate about a rematch,” he mentioned. “I preferred this combat since I wished to get the chance and I respect this option.

“I am prepared for a rematch, I just want to be handled as the champion now.”

Reporting by Michael Church in Hong Kong, Modifying by Michael Perry

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