Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez v Dmitry Bivol - 7th May 2022

[Spicoli]

Combing thru my thick skull I cannot remember a time I've seen a fighter willfully look passed his next opponent with some of the silly shit Canelo and Hearn are spouting. Just a franchise and champ with so much smoke blown up its pant leg they just walk on clouds? The Golovkin is 'light work', the Usyk talk etc. Or head games? Draw Bivol into more of a machismo game early. Bivol will have to come harder than he's shown recently regardless as that in-out pogo fencing won't quite get it done. I'd love to see Bivol look to strike very early, he has the mix of accurate power to keep Canelo on the reset in big gaps ..I think. No draws, no drunk judges, no Laurence Cole and no NC and we're good, let's have a top notch fight!

[palmerq]

I'm actually quite surprised people arent giving Alvarez a hard time here, especially considering his last run of opponents..bivol is nearly a super middleweight he does have a height advantage and moves well but he's not a big puncher, I'm thinking this is going to be a pretty simple and convincing win for Alvarez. It just seems odd to me that people would savage plant, saunders and Smith as opponents but rate bivol but wotever.. i like both, i rated bivol as the number one light heavyweight in one of baalphas old threads but i changed my mind on him a bit after he looked a bit lightweight. He's still obviously pretty good.

[Spicoli]

I'm actually quite surprised people arent giving Alvarez a hard time here, especially considering his last run of opponents..bivol is nearly a super middleweight he does have a height advantage and moves well but he's not a big puncher, I'm thinking this is going to be a pretty simple and convincing win for Alvarez. It just seems odd to me that people would savage plant, saunders and Smith as opponents but rate bivol but wotever.. i like both, i rated bivol as the number one light heavyweight in one of baalphas old threads but i changed my mind on him a bit after he looked a bit lightweight. He's still obviously pretty good.

Bivol had a quick run there that I don't think any of those guys can claim really. Plant for all the over slicked backfoot he came with was not on Bivols level. Talented for sure, but he was holding that for Canelo I hate to say. And until Bivol comes in off of a coked up fatty bender and being handed a trinket vs a guy named Shefat he's just not the same as Saunders . Holding a clear cut win over a now current 175 champ in Smith Jr has to mean something I suppose. It's a solid fight, all credit to Canelo if he dusts him off impressively which I do suspect via the body work accumulation late. But Bivol is imo his best complete test since 160lb days.

[palmerq]

Well yeah saunders had some crap performances and is a total git but someone like fury does the same stuff as he saunders and looks a bit crap v lesser opponents and then people are ranking him in the top ten heavyweights of all time :S sure saunders has had some crap fights but he's pretty good when he's on form and he was when it mattered, until a Mexican broke his face ...

Is beating joe Smit Jr really that impressive, bivol was also holding himself up on the ropes and the end of a round near the end, that could have been over with a few more seconds .

[Master]

I am hoping that Bivol wins so intend to stay up to watch this fight.

Last time I did that for a Canelo fight was against Smith who I really thought would win. Hope I am not wrong again.

[Primo Carnera]

Well yeah saunders had some crap performances and is a total git but someone like fury does the same stuff as he saunders and looks a bit crap v lesser opponents and then people are ranking him in the top ten heavyweights of all time :S sure saunders has had some crap fights but he's pretty good when he's on form and he was when it mattered, until a Mexican broke his face ...

Is beating joe Smit Jr really that impressive, bivol was also holding himself up on the ropes and the end of a round near the end, that could have been over with a few more seconds .

Ok, we can discuss the merits of each opponent and their weight class etc. But the common denominator is Canelo. So a simple question. Would Bivol beat the Billy Joe Saunders that went in the ring with Canelo? Forget about weights because Canelo is the one fighting both of them.
I say the Saunders that fought Canelo, because that probably isn’t “Prime” Saunders, and was more of a money grab.

[Mark TKO]

Once again I know nothing about a Canelo opponent but reading the comments it seems a few give him a chance. Surprises me

Still won't be watching but will get to early to catch it on YouTube.

[TitoFan]

Everyone's weighing in on Canelo's latest opponents and so will I.

Beginning with Kovalev, who inexplicably fought like a deer in headlights until Canelo put him out of his misery. The type of fight that raises eyebrows, although I tend to dismiss claims of shady dealings behind the scenes for the good of my love of boxing.

Callum was another one. Gave away all his physical advantages and dutifully stood there, taking his beating. After Callum, I was having serious doubts.

Let's skip Yildirim, shall we.

Saunders finally restored my faith in Canelo's opponents. He fought well, maybe even well enough to be on his way to a decision win geez... WTF am I saying?? Must've had a brain freeze there. There is no such thing as a decision win over Canelo. That animal succumbed to extinction many years ago. Unfortunately, one uppercut from a man who started his career at super welter, and all hell broke loose in Sanders' face. Hmm... Ok.

Finally, Plant. Good effort... not the talent everyone had him pegged as. Of course, 168 isn't exactly the premier division in boxing, so there's that.




Which brings us to Bivol. But as has been mentioned here. Not content with having Bivol in front of him, there's all kinds of B.S. legacy-building talk about facing Usyk. After all, it's been clear since Day One that the ultimate goal of the Canelo Hype-Building Machine is to place Canelo atop boxing history as TBE. And I must say... it's been a well thought out, constructed, methodical but careful march toward that goal. With a glitch maybe when they bit off more than they could chew when they demanded and got Floyd... but well carried out nonetheless. Even that glitch was almost erased by one judge. Maybe if CJ had had a twin sister... history would now be different. But alas... the other two judges didn't get the memo.

I too, think Bivol should win this fight. I applaud that there are no catchweights or diva demands as with all other Canelo fights. But there is that one lurking factor that keeps me from being overconfident in Bivol.

I keep thinking about Kovalev and Callum.

[Ron Swanson]

I think Bivol is basic and Canelo makes this easy. Hope I’m wrong.

How amazing is it that Floyd whitewashed this guy and make him look impotent? And made Manny look impotent. And..