Dmitry Bivol says he studied former five-division world champion Sugar Ray Leonard’s fights to use his fighting style as a template for his undisputed light heavyweight match against Artur Beterbiev last Saturday night in Riyadh.
Where Bivol’s strategy of morphing into Leonard 2.0 failed was forgetting to engage with Beterbiev during the championship rounds from 9 through 12. The Sugar Ray-esque style that Bivol copied didn’t allow him to throw enough to win any of the final four or even the final six rounds. That style ruined Bivol’s chances of winning.
Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) believed that the 1976 Olympic gold medalist Sugar Ray’s approach to fighting, using movement and quick combinations, would neutralize the knockout artist Beterbiev’s punching power. To Bivol’s credit, it came close to succeeding. He lost a narrow 12-round majority decision to IBF, WBC, and WBO 175-lb champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs)
For the entire fight, Bivol moved, threw jabs and fast combinations, and didn’t allow Beterbiev to have a stationary target for him to unload his nonstop power shots. Beterbiev was forced to follow Bivol around, and it was difficult for him to land anything in the first six rounds.
Bivol Used Leonard’s Fighting Style
“My favorite fighter is Sugar Ray Leonard. My plan was moving a lot because I was watching a lot of Ray Leonard fights before this fight, repeatedly,” said Dmitry Bivol to Fight Hub TV on how he prepared for the Artur Beterbiev fight by watching Sugar Ray Leonard’s fights.
“Hagler Vs. Leonard, Duran vs. Leonard 2nd fight. I was impressed by how Leonard was moving all 12 rounds without stopping. Sometimes, if he stops..he does a combination and then moves again. He wasn’t standing [stationary],” said Bivol.
The Leonard approach would have worked for Bivol if he had the same judges that Sugar Ray had for the Marvin Hagler fight because those guys ignored the pressure that was being applied and the much harder shots that he was getting hit by. Hagler was robbed in the eyes of many fans.
Conor Benn Saw Beterbiev As Winner
“I’m watching and going, ‘Beterbiev is in control of the fight.’ Nothing that Bivol was throwing back was effective. He [Beterbiev] was applying pressure. He’s not the fastest of starters, but he breaks his man down,” said Conor Benn to iFL TV, discussing why he saw Beterbiev as the winner against Bivol.
The nonstop pressure from Beterbiev wore Bivol down, and his movements drained his batteries. If Bivol had fought like he did against Canelo Alvarez, he’d have had a better chance of defeating Beterbiev.
Against Canelo, Bivol strictly used the in-and-out style. He wasn’t moving around the ring in endless circles, wasting energy. Bivol was still fresh in the championship rounds and finished strong. In the Beterbiev match, Bivol used up his energy with his movement and had nothing left in the tank after six rounds. That’s why Beterbiev took over.
“I believe he done enough and definitely won the second half. Bivol had a few good moments, but you could definitely see the wear and tear,” said Benn. “He was slowing down. I do think Beterbiev won by a round. I think Beterbiev is a killer. I think he’s patient. I think he’s disciplined.
“The way he managed to stay the course. He may be losing rounds, but he stayed the course, and he stayed disciplined to do what he’s got to do. Quite a few of his fights have started that way. He starts slow and wears his man down.
“I thought Bivol did great early on, but you could see him slowing down. I think there were three rounds where he barely threw. His work looked more flashy. His work looked more flamboyant and more eye-catching when he threw. But I don’t think he threw enough to the aggressor. I don’t think Bivol done enough to take the belts off him,” said Benn.
Bivol highly mobile Sugar Ray Leonard style came back to haunt him in the championship rounds against Beterbiev, as he ran out of gas, and what little power was gone due to his fatigue. All the movement that Bivol did emptied his gas tank.
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