RBR ***Official*** Sherdog Sanctioned Beterbiev vs. Bivol: IV Crown Showdown 10/12 12PM ET (ESPN+)

[BoxingMMA]

I definitely respect Al Bernstein's opinion. I've said repeatedly that it could go either way but some are acting as if it's the general consensus that Bivol should've gotten the decision. This is false. Public opinion is pretty much split down the middle. When I checked media scores they were even and many outlets scored it a draw. It could've gone 7-5 either way or been rendered a draw. There were some close rounds and scoring is subjective.

Bivol did falter late so I agree with Bernstein. He blew it by giving up the last 3 rounds. That's a quarter of the fight that he lost there alone. While he did get off to a better start (than Beterbiev) he needed to finish strong. Going into this fight Beterbiev's boxing ability was really underestimated. Even by Bivol. I noted that he was actually a more decorated amateur than Bivol was. A senior-level world champion & 2x Olympian. A lot of people thought he was just a big puncher but I knew better. I followed his amateur career.

I think both guys proved they were more than a lot of people thought, just like there were those that thought Biev was just a big puncher (stupid, considering how good he sets up his short right, the Callum fight is a good example) there were those who thought Bivol was going to get destroyed the moment he fought someone like Biev, yet both proved everyone wrong, Biev did amazing and Bivol was nowhere near getting stopped.

When a fight is this close down to compubox, it really needs to happen again, that's all there is to it, both guys could have won and the loser would have felt there was a period in the fight where he could have done better. If Bivol had won, Biev would have felt bad for letting so many rounds go early, just like Bivol let those rounds in the end go, but Bivol was pressing like a maniac and he had no more gas, just like Bivol was boxing beautifuly at the begining and Biev had no answer.

I am not going to lie, I do see more people siding with bivol, but this tends to be the case with the loser of a close fight, if Biev had lost, more people would probably side with him, I really take no issue, my only problem is that retarded score card, it ruins the whole thing.

I just hope that rematch happens before age catches up with Artur.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

I think both guys proved they were more than a lot of people thought, just like there were those that thought Biev was just a big puncher (stupid, considering how good he sets up his short right, the Callum fight is a good example) there were those who thought Bivol was going to get destroyed the moment he fought someone like Biev, yet both proved everyone wrong, Biev did amazing and Bivol was nowhere near getting stopped.

When a fight is this close down to compubox, it really needs to happen again, that's all there is to it, both guys could have won and the loser would have felt there was a period in the fight where he could have done better. If Bivol had won, Biev would have felt bad for letting so many rounds go early, just like Bivol let those rounds in the end go, but Bivol was pressing like a maniac and he had no more gas, just like Bivol was boxing beautifuly at the begining and Biev had no answer.

I am not going to lie, I do see more people siding with bivol, but this tends to be the case with the loser of a close fight, if Biev had lost, more people would probably side with him, I really take no issue, my only problem is that retarded score card, it ruins the whole thing.

I just hope that rematch happens before age catches up with Artur.

The rematch will probably happen early next year. I don't think several months will matter as far as his age. If anything Beterbiev will have more time for his knee to recover/rehab. Before he only had like 5 months or less which is a very quick turnaround to go into an undisputed title fight. Most people initially thought that it wouldn't be until at least early next year.

 

[Sinister]

@Sinister we’d be interested in your take !

Hey there! Havent been around here in a while so I appreciate the ask.

I actually picked Bivol to win a close one, but IMO he made it a lot closer than it needed to be. I wonder if the win over Canelo actually effected his confidence in what would seem like a positive way to his people, but could work against him with Beterbiev. Against Canelo Bivol showed almost a frantic determination to not let Canelp get close to him. In this fight he seemed much more content to let Beterbiev into close quarters than I'd have liked. When you have the skill and athleticism to remain mobile, hes definitely the guy you want to do it with.

One thing Beterbiev is very good at that he doesnt get much credit for is gauging distance. If you notice he doesnt wait until he is chest-to-chest to start working like many pressure fighters seem to need to. He will start a bit further out, and because of his punching power the opponent either runs and gets nothing done, punches and opens themselves up to his counters, or shells up and gives him the pick of whatever he wants to do. This gives opponents a very small window of time with which to hit him, and then they have to worry about the fact that he doesnt give a f*ck about that. One thing I dislike A LOT is he throws looping rabbit punches. And I dont mean he accidentally throws a looping shot and the opponent steps in and accidentally gets hit on tje back of the head. I mean they're already close to him and he does it and the shot goes around the back of their neck. That could kill someone.

All in all a good fight that I felt was a draw, that seemed like Bivol's fight to lose given he had moments where he displayed a pretty distinct advantage in skill. In the rematch we'll see of Beterbiev just has his number.

 

[RichardHarrow]

Hey there! Havent been around here in a while so I appreciate the ask.

I actually picked Bivol to win a close one, but IMO he made it a lot closer than it needed to be. I wonder if the win over Canelo actually effected his confidence in what would seem like a positive way to his people, but could work against him with Beterbiev. Against Canelo Bivol showed almost a frantic determination to not let Canelp get close to him. In this fight he seemed much more content to let Beterbiev into close quarters than I'd have liked. When you have the skill and athleticism to remain mobile, hes definitely the guy you want to do it with.

One thing Beterbiev is very good at that he doesnt get much credit for is gauging distance. If you notice he doesnt wait until he is chest-to-chest to start working like many pressure fighters seem to need to. He will start a bit further out, and because of his punching power the opponent either runs and gets nothing done, punches and opens themselves up to his counters, or shells up and gives him the pick of whatever he wants to do. This gives opponents a very small window of time with which to hit him, and then they have to worry about the fact that he doesnt give a f*ck about that. One thing I dislike A LOT is he throws looping rabbit punches. And I dont mean he accidentally throws a looping shot and the opponent steps in and accidentally gets hit on tje back of the head. I mean they're already close to him and he does it and the shot goes around the back of their neck. That could kill someone.

All in all a good fight that I felt was a draw, that seemed like Bivol's fight to lose given he had moments where he displayed a pretty distinct advantage in skill. In the rematch we'll see of Beterbiev just has his number .

Thanks for the detailed breakdown and blind spots some of us have missed. Very true about Bievs looping punches.

 

[RichardHarrow]

Hey there! Havent been around here in a while so I appreciate the ask.

I actually picked Bivol to win a close one, but IMO he made it a lot closer than it needed to be. I wonder if the win over Canelo actually effected his confidence in what would seem like a positive way to his people, but could work against him with Beterbiev. Against Canelo Bivol showed almost a frantic determination to not let Canelp get close to him. In this fight he seemed much more content to let Beterbiev into close quarters than I'd have liked. When you have the skill and athleticism to remain mobile, hes definitely the guy you want to do it with.

One thing Beterbiev is very good at that he doesnt get much credit for is gauging distance. If you notice he doesnt wait until he is chest-to-chest to start working like many pressure fighters seem to need to. He will start a bit further out, and because of his punching power the opponent either runs and gets nothing done, punches and opens themselves up to his counters, or shells up and gives him the pick of whatever he wants to do. This gives opponents a very small window of time with which to hit him, and then they have to worry about the fact that he doesnt give a f*ck about that. One thing I dislike A LOT is he throws looping rabbit punches. And I dont mean he accidentally throws a looping shot and the opponent steps in and accidentally gets hit on tje back of the head. I mean they're already close to him and he does it and the shot goes around the back of their neck. That could kill someone.

All in all a good fight that I felt was a draw, that seemed like Bivol's fight to lose given he had moments where he displayed a pretty distinct advantage in skill. In the rematch we'll see of Beterbiev just has his number.

Reading this again - what do you mean by “remain mobile” ? Wasn’t Bivol too elusive ?

Also do you think it was a strategy of the Bivol team to be on the back foot ?

Would you say Bievs aggression was sufficiently effective to get the nod ? I watched it on mute and imo Bivol wasn’t as phased as people make him out to be. Dare I say when he asserted his will he even appeared to be the stronger fighter.

 

[Sinister]

Reading this again - what do you mean by “remain mobile” ? Wasn’t Bivol too elusive ?

Also do you think it was a strategy of the Bivol team to be on the back foot ?

Would you say Bievs aggression was sufficiently effective to get the nod ? I watched it on mute and imo Bivol wasn’t as phased as people make him out to be. Dare I say when he asserted his will he even appeared to be the stronger fighter.

Bivol stood his ground a lot more in this fight compared to how hard he worked to keep Canelo at the end of his punches. Canelo isnt as forward-moving as Beterbiev so it may have been a stress response. Meaning he moved more because he was more comfortable to.

You kind of have to be on the back foot with Beterbiev. Otherwise you're playing into his hands.

No, I dont score for a guy who is just marching forward and getting hit. Also defense is one of the scoring criteria that people only paid attention to if it was Floyd.

 

[MMALOPEZ]

 

[Breaducce]

What a great fight! I had it 115 -113 Beterbiev but could see a draw. The idea that this result was a robbery is insane. I watched the fight 3 times and for Bivols short periods of accurate offense and standing his ground Beterbiev's more consistent workrate was landing a lot more then many are willing to acknowledge splitting and looping shots around Bivols high guard. Bivol looked good when he held is ground and landed punches but spent too much time circling away and moving without throwing a punch, while Beterbiev continued to press the action which made Beteriev look good. I would like a rematch as I think both guys can make the changes necessary to have an even better fight. I still have Biev by late stoppage as Bivol is tougher then I thought. If not then its time to take a scalp of next gen guys either Benevides or Morrell. Whatever fight happens needs to happen fast because defying age only lasts so long.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

What a great fight! I had it 115 -113 Beterbiev but could see a draw. The idea that this result was a robbery is insane. I watched the fight 3 times and for Bivols short periods of accurate offense and standing his ground Beterbiev's more consistent workrate was landing a lot more then many are willing to acknowledge splitting and looping shots around Bivols high guard. Bivol looked good when he held is ground and landed punches but spent too much time circling away and moving without throwing a punch, while Beterbiev continued to press the action which made Beteriev look good. I would like a rematch as I think both guys can make the changes necessary to have an even better fight. I still have Biev by late stoppage as Bivol is tougher then I thought. If not then its time to take a scalp of next gen guys either Benevides or Morrell. Whatever fight happens needs to happen fast because defying age only lasts so long.

This is exactly how I saw it. Same score too for Beterbiev though I'd also be fine with a draw or even Bivol 115-113. I went back and rewatched it myself. Bivol's guard was often penetrated by Beterbiev's punches more than many observers seem to realize. I think this is because Bivol has the reputation for being so hard to hit. However, in this fight his guard wasn't airtight and he also was being hit to the body. Cleanly.

Just rewatched the fight. Beterbiev was able to consistently split Bivol's guard jabbing through the middle (many of these weren't caught), occasionally come up underneath it, and he often just hooked around it. The latter punches were landing on the side of the head and on Bivol's ears. His left ear in particular was red from them frequently making contact.

 

[MMALOPEZ]

 

[BusterKeaton]

meh team bivol are turning into poor sports.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

meh team bivol are turning into poor sports.

Anyone else in particular besides Hearn? He's been whining since but I haven't really heard anybody else on his team doing it.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Holy shit

PS. Correction: Bivol's left hand

 

[Jonny Ninja]

Anyone else in particular besides Hearn? He's been whining since but I haven't really heard anybody else on his team doing it.

Ironically frank warren backed him up and agreed with what he was saying straight after the fight. This really was a fight that could be scored either way depending on what you like. Clean punches from bivol, and volume/power from beterbiev.

I actually didn’t think this was a difficult fight to score, theres only 1 round where i struggled. If I gave that round to bivol he wins, and a draw if it’s scored the other way. In hindsight This is was a fight where I probably feel a draw was the correct decision.

 

[pugilistico]

After watching the fight again and scoring it, I think the right guy got the decision. There were definitely some really close rounds though. I was wrong about Beterbiev. I was wrong about both guys actually. I think chasing Bivol tenaciously as he did forced Bivol to move around a lot more than he'd like in the later rounds. I felt he controlled the pace of the fight more than Bivol did. Beterbiev generally finished the rounds stronger too. Bivol let Beterbiev take the momentum back after having successful moment too often. Also Bivol just let Biev bash his guard on the inside.

Bivol definitely looked a bit tired but Beterbiev did too at times. Both guys didn't give each other space to rest. Bivol did a cool thing but catching Aurtur every time he tried to make some space by stepping to the right with and L step and caught him with a combination in that small window where Artur wasn't in position to fire back. But he stopped doing that later in the fight as Beterbiev gave him less space. I was surprised by the relative lack of body shots from both guys throughout the fight.

Man that was a good fight though. I really hope to see a rematch.