Dmitry Bivol has not felt the way he probably is right now, ever before. Bivol finally tasted defeat for the first time in his boxing career last weekend, getting edged out on points by Artur Beterbiev in a fight for all of the light heavyweight belts. Although many believed Bivol did enough to win, the judges didn’t see it that way.
Now, Bivol must go back to the drawing board. Losing to an unbeaten Beterbiev shouldn’t affect Bivol’s reputation much, but it likely puts him out of the running for a mega fight. There’s always the possibility of a rematch with Beterbiev, especially given how close the first one was. If that does come to fruition, Bivol knows what he has to do to come out victorious.
Bivol was interviewed by Fight Hub TV shortly after suffering his first loss, and revealed what he wishes he would have done differently.
I want to improve more with my movements, I didn’t do move enough. I felt I had to move more, I had to do more counter punches. I just need to add more. I felt some moments where I could do it, but I was a little bit careful… I was just trying to find perfect moment. I was trying, but I couldn’t. I just had to act. Not just waiting. I just had to act, but I didn’t.
Dmitry Bivol says Canelo Alvarez punches harder than Beterbiev
Bivol was also asked about Beterbiev’s punching power. Although he wasn’t taken aback by it, he did admit that he was a bit surprised that all of Beterbiev’s “punches in the combination are heavy”.
Surprisingly, Canelo Alvarez came to mind for Bivol while answering that question. He concedes that Canelo has more power in a single punch than Beterbiev, but the Russian was “born strong” and can sustain his punching power for longer in a given combination.
Beterbiev may have the power advantage in the end, but Bivol believes he doesn’t use all of it due to his strategy.
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