[Boxing] Beterbiev vs. Bivol - Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship

[Dave1]

I guess it started with the heavyweight fights, it was successful and now they are seeing this venue and Alalshikh as the key to generate more money. After all, the boxing industry is more on money now, fighters cherry picking their opponents to remain undefeated but if the promoter itself would not allow, then it will not happen because these champions will be force to fight a decent challenger and their undefeated record is at risk, real-risk.

Yes, it started with the HW boxers being promoted with the likes of Fury and AJ. Here is the picture of his excellency, with the legends of boxing/MMA.



https://www.the-sun.com/sport/9677991/mastermind-fury-usyk-legendary-boxing-photo-tyson-lewis-khan/

Yes, Saudi started hosting huge boxing events again after the AJ-Ruiz rematch. At first I thought the Saudis will be doubtful again because it was a boring fight where AJ was too awkward running backwards and outboxing a very fat Andy Ruiz.

But Saudi generally has the plans to become a sporting capital in the world. It is starting to diversify. Soccer superstars are also playing in Saudi. Even in e-sports, Saudi is now hosting most likely the biggest DOTA 2 and Mobile Legends prize pools. And boxing is a big sport which Saudi cannot just surpassed.

There are still cherry pickers. Promoters can either follow the superstars demand or it will leave to another promotion just like what Mayweather did when Bob Arum wanted him to fight then WBO champion and feared Antonio Margarito.

If that is the case then it huge for any support to be host by the Saudi, I know soccer but I'm not familiar with e-sports. But if you says that they are also on that young sports then good. Boxing is lucky though that the boxing broker in Saudi, Alalshikh is a big fan of boxing.

So interesting that the winner of this fight is going to fight Benavidez. Canelo should change his stance though and grow a balls to fight David even if the money is not big. He says about cementing legacy, but then again, talking about retirement money here.

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[Kemarit]

There are reports that David Benavidez pleaded Turki Alalshikh to make the fight between him and Canelo. But Turki says no, however, he said that he can fight the winner of this fight in June.



https://twitter.com/MichaelBensonn/status/1771550634942111745

Well I can't blame Alalshikh, Canelo is clearly doesn't like no part of Benavidez and that's why he is not a fan of it. And for sure Canelo will command big money here, although the Saudis have that kind of money, I don't think though that they'll simply bow down on Canelo here.

So June perhaps, then after that, Bivol and Beterbiev can have their rematch.

What are your thoughts on this proposal?

This will certainly be a checkmate on Canelo from David Benavidez assuming Benavidez will win the light heavyweight championship hehehe. Benavidez knows that Canelo wants a light heavyweight championship before he retires and he also certainly knows that Canelo is avoiding him in the super middleweight division. The solution is to win the unified light heavyweight championships hehehehee. This will be the perfect fight for the both of them because Canelo wants to fight for his legacy and Benavidez wants to fight to become the next big name in the sport of boxing. Also, the purse for each will be very big hehe.

It's already checkmate for him as he is avoiding David Benavidez like a plague. And I don't think that he will go 175 lbs, those 3 are waiting for him. He only went to 175 lbs when it has a weak champion in Kovalev. And he did try to go up again and thought that Bivol is easy.

And now that the Saudi's has spoken up, he will be left in the super middleweight and fighting in the US and he can't get that $100-$200 M that he wants. He might clean up the division though but not fighting David Benavidez will hurt his legacy.

[Baofeng]

^^ For now, maybe that will be the case for Canelo, if I'm not mistaken, if he is back in the arms of Eddie Hearn for sure can be an intermediary between Canelo and the Saudi. Eddie Hearn is very close to his excellency, maybe he can convince him to make the Canelo fight with either of those LHW boxers.

But for now, still even with this odds between the two, Beterbiev and Bivol.

Fight is getting closer, and Benavidez for sure is going to watch this fight, maybe he will go and travel to Saudi to talk to Turki Alalshikh face to face.

[inthelongrun]

^^ For now, maybe that will be the case for Canelo, if I'm not mistaken, if he is back in the arms of Eddie Hearn for sure can be an intermediary between Canelo and the Saudi. Eddie Hearn is very close to his excellency, maybe he can convince him to make the Canelo fight with either of those LHW boxers.

But for now, still even with this odds between the two, Beterbiev and Bivol.

Fight is getting closer, and Benavidez for sure is going to watch this fight, maybe he will go and travel to Saudi to talk to Turki Alalshikh face to face.

I also believe Canelo if he is not retiring after his fight with Mungia returns to Matchroom. And if that happens, pretty sure Canelo's name will be included in the talks of Eddie and the Saudi organizers.

Benavidez has a tune up at 175 next. I guess he is surrendering his case to pursuit his WBC mandatory position at 168. But I would've love to see Benavidez against the other PBC prospect, David Morrell who is supposed to be the WBA mandatory at 168.

Meanwhile, this event has a rematch clause aside from the many opportunities for the winner.

[bbc.reporter]

There are reports that David Benavidez pleaded Turki Alalshikh to make the fight between him and Canelo. But Turki says no, however, he said that he can fight the winner of this fight in June.



https://twitter.com/MichaelBensonn/status/1771550634942111745

Well I can't blame Alalshikh, Canelo is clearly doesn't like no part of Benavidez and that's why he is not a fan of it. And for sure Canelo will command big money here, although the Saudis have that kind of money, I don't think though that they'll simply bow down on Canelo here.

So June perhaps, then after that, Bivol and Beterbiev can have their rematch.

What are your thoughts on this proposal?

This will certainly be a checkmate on Canelo from David Benavidez assuming Benavidez will win the light heavyweight championship hehehe. Benavidez knows that Canelo wants a light heavyweight championship before he retires and he also certainly knows that Canelo is avoiding him in the super middleweight division. The solution is to win the unified light heavyweight championships hehehehee. This will be the perfect fight for the both of them because Canelo wants to fight for his legacy and Benavidez wants to fight to become the next big name in the sport of boxing. Also, the purse for each will be very big hehe.

It's already checkmate for him as he is avoiding David Benavidez like a plague. And I don't think that he will go 175 lbs, those 3 are waiting for him. He only went to 175 lbs when it has a weak champion in Kovalev. And he did try to go up again and thought that Bivol is easy.

I disagree. It will only be checkmate if Canelo needs to fight David Benavidez for his legacy and win the light heavyweight championships hehehe. However, this is only if Benavidez can win against Bivol or Beterbiev which will ceertainly be very difficult.

But the skeptical me thinks Canelo is only waiting for the timing for this fight vs. Benavidez and the amount of the purse will determine if it is good timing or not hehehehehe.



The long dance between David Benavidez and Canelo Alvarez never resulted in a fight, and Alvarez has taken plenty of heat for "ducking" the undefeated super middleweight champion. In the latest video from Benavidez, he took less than seven seconds to prove why Canelo may be wise to avoid his lightning fists.

Source https://www.marca.com/en/boxing/2024/03/28/6605e043e2704eea518b4570.html

[btc_angela]

^^ But Canelo is the odd man out as far as the Saudi's goes as he doesn't want to fight Benavidez at 168 lbs and chooses an easy opponent in Munguia. So Benavidez just decided it's better to move up in weight and goes after the winner of this big fight.

And it looks like he is the new darling of his Excellency as he answered back and now every boxer fans sees that.

So what's going to happen to Canelo if he wins against Munguia? Will he go up to 175 lbs or stay and remain at his comfort zone of super middle weight and fight Berlanga?

[Finestream]

^^ For now, maybe that will be the case for Canelo, if I'm not mistaken, if he is back in the arms of Eddie Hearn for sure can be an intermediary between Canelo and the Saudi. Eddie Hearn is very close to his excellency, maybe he can convince him to make the Canelo fight with either of those LHW boxers.

But for now, still even with this odds between the two, Beterbiev and Bivol.

Fight is getting closer, and Benavidez for sure is going to watch this fight, maybe he will go and travel to Saudi to talk to Turki Alalshikh face to face.

I also believe Canelo if he is not retiring after his fight with Mungia returns to Matchroom. And if that happens, pretty sure Canelo's name will be included in the talks of Eddie and the Saudi organizers.

Benavidez has a tune up at 175 next. I guess he is surrendering his case to pursuit his WBC mandatory position at 168. But I would've love to see Benavidez against the other PBC prospect, David Morrell who is supposed to be the WBA mandatory at 168.

Meanwhile, this event has a rematch clause aside from the many opportunities for the winner.

Not sure about Canelo anymore if he is still willing to take a risk fighting a legitimate opponent that is close to his skills. Because now, he does look like dodging a potential opponents that people like him to be with in the ring. Instead, he choose an opponent that is not on his level, so he can't blame people if they are not anymore interested in his fights as there are bigger fights that boxers deserves more viewership.

Until Canelo will be back to his old self in terms of taking risk against a strong opponent, people will continue to criticize him.

[inthelongrun]

^^ But Canelo is the odd man out as far as the Saudi's goes as he doesn't want to fight Benavidez at 168 lbs and chooses an easy opponent in Munguia. So Benavidez just decided it's better to move up in weight and goes after the winner of this big fight.

And it looks like he is the new darling of his Excellency as he answered back and now every boxer fans sees that.

So what's going to happen to Canelo if he wins against Munguia? Will he go up to 175 lbs or stay and remain at his comfort zone of super middle weight and fight Berlanga?

What we are missing here is blaming of the corrupt WBA and WBA for the Canelo mandatory case. Almost all fighters wanted the safer route especially when they are already on the A-side. Which is why these sanctioning bodies should be the one imposing their rules to make the right fights and not deprived those fighters that worked hard in order to get shot at the title.

And almost all of us are just talking about Benavidez the supposed WBC mandatory. What about the supposed WBA mandatory David Morrell? Benavidez is the A-side when it comes to the popularity of Morrell and he is ducking the Cuban as well who is much easier to make because they are all under the PBC umbrella.

Canelo will continue the Mayweather way until Eddie or Saudi convince him to fighter the more riskier opponents. But I actually do not mind Canelo sparking that hyped Berlanga.

[coin-investor]

Until Canelo will be back to his old self in terms of taking risk against a strong opponent, people will continue to criticize him.

I don't think he will go back to taking risks after his loss to Bivol which is very ugly, I don't think he wants a repeat of that loss and the one that will likely give him another humiliating loss like that is David Benavidez, on his first loss against Mayweather his excuse is he is still young and learning but on his loss to Bivol he doesn't have a good excuse.

If he loses again to Benavidez that will ruin his legacy and will stop his claim as the greatest Mexican boxer,
Canelo doesn't want to lose to another Mexican he prefers other nationalities than to his fellow Mexican boxers.

[Kemarit]

Until Canelo will be back to his old self in terms of taking risk against a strong opponent, people will continue to criticize him.

I don't think he will go back to taking risks after his loss to Bivol which is very ugly, I don't think he wants a repeat of that loss and the one that will likely give him another humiliating loss like that is David Benavidez, on his first loss against Mayweather his excuse is he is still young and learning but on his loss to Bivol he doesn't have a good excuse.

I agree, I don't see him going back to his old self of risking everything in the line, he is not getting any younger and probably that is the perks of getting mature in boxing. You know that you just have a couple of fights inside of you so why not go for the biggest paycheck with less risk and less damage physically? Specially when he lost to Bivol, he might not want another L in his record.

If he loses again to Benavidez that will ruin his legacy and will stop his claim as the greatest Mexican boxer,
Canelo doesn't want to lose to another Mexican he prefers other nationalities than to his fellow Mexican boxers.

I think Mexicans still consider Chavez Jr as their greatest Mexican boxer. Canelo could be on the top, but him not fighting Benavidez at 168lbs or 175lbs, will really hurt his legacy and even if he said that he will not be affected by what fans and analyst are saying.

[TravelMug]

Until Canelo will be back to his old self in terms of taking risk against a strong opponent, people will continue to criticize him.

I don't think he will go back to taking risks after his loss to Bivol which is very ugly, I don't think he wants a repeat of that loss and the one that will likely give him another humiliating loss like that is David Benavidez, on his first loss against Mayweather his excuse is he is still young and learning but on his loss to Bivol he doesn't have a good excuse.

If he loses again to Benavidez that will ruin his legacy and will stop his claim as the greatest Mexican boxer,
Canelo doesn't want to lose to another Mexican he prefers other nationalities than to his fellow Mexican boxers.

That's what I notice too with Canelo now, after his lost to Bivol, he is taking less risk in his fight. John Ryder? we never heard of him before, and then Jermell Charlo who is a natural super welterweight who has to move 2 divisions north to fight him, and now Munguia, very young fighter and inexperience and a Mexican to boot. He said that he will not be fighting Mexican but I guess if the fighter is less of a threat for him, then he will readily accept it and of course he will get the lion share of the split and then the ppv numbers. Benavidez is a threat for him, so no to another Mexican monster or fellow Mexican boxers.

[Yaunfitda]

Until Canelo will be back to his old self in terms of taking risk against a strong opponent, people will continue to criticize him.

I don't think he will go back to taking risks after his loss to Bivol which is very ugly, I don't think he wants a repeat of that loss and the one that will likely give him another humiliating loss like that is David Benavidez, on his first loss against Mayweather his excuse is he is still young and learning but on his loss to Bivol he doesn't have a good excuse.

If he loses again to Benavidez that will ruin his legacy and will stop his claim as the greatest Mexican boxer,
Canelo doesn't want to lose to another Mexican he prefers other nationalities than to his fellow Mexican boxers.

That's what I notice too with Canelo now, after his lost to Bivol, he is taking less risk in his fight. John Ryder? we never heard of him before, and then Jermell Charlo who is a natural super welterweight who has to move 2 divisions north to fight him, and now Munguia, very young fighter and inexperience and a Mexican to boot. He said that he will not be fighting Mexican but I guess if the fighter is less of a threat for him, then he will readily accept it and of course he will get the lion share of the split and then the ppv numbers. Benavidez is a threat for him, so no to another Mexican monster or fellow Mexican boxers.

That's just an excuse on Canelo part, not fighting any Mexicans along his career. But when presented with a good offer from his former promoter or maybe he is targeting Munguia way before because he knows that he can beat the kid, then Canelo will ditch that excuse of not fighting a countryman. And besides, how can he not when there could be a lot of good boxers that is Mexican in his division? And he believes that he has done enough in his career and has cemented his legacies already that he doesn't want David Benavidez in his resume, but that is for another discussion as it is also one hotly topic for boxing fans and Mexicans too.

[Baofeng]

Here is the kick off press conference for this fight,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08XlncOQ9tY

Which means the fight is getting closer, and as I look at the odds right now,

Bivol - 1.85
Beterbiev - 1.89

[aioc]

Here is the kick off press conference for this fight,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08XlncOQ9tY

It's 45 days to go but the excitement is felt in the boxing community like the excitement that we all felt when Crawford and Spence collided, but is it possible that we will see the same scenario as we saw in the Crawford - Spence when one fighter dominated the other fighter that it's very one-sided.

We don't expect what happened in the Crawford - Spence where it was one-sided, can it happen here, and if this happens who do you think will dominate the fight?

Honestly, I don't see this going with the same scenario both fighters have top-level skill and can take punches, but we never know.

[hilariousetc]

5 vs 5 card just announced:

Dubois Vs Hrgovic
Ray Ford vs Nick Ball
Hamzah Sheeraz Vs Austin Williams
Craig Richards Vs Willy Hutchinson
Zhang Vs Wilder

I like how they did this press conference revealing the fighters one by one all masked up so you still have to guess who is there. Dubois Vs Hrgovic & Zhang vs Wilder are great. It could be make or break for those two now. Both need a big win to get them back into the picture.

[Dave1]

5 vs 5 card just announced:

Dubois Vs Hrgovic
Ray Ford vs Nick Ball
Hamzah Sheeraz Vs Austin Williams
Craig Richards Vs Willy Hutchinson
Zhang Vs Wilder

I like how they did this press conference revealing the fighters one by one all masked up so you still have to guess who is there. Dubois Vs Hrgovic & Zhang vs Wilder are great. It could be make or break for those two now. Both need a big win to get them back into the picture.

There was a rumor already about the Zhang vs Wilder being inserted in this fight. And so this press conference make it official. And I do agree, this fight is very much a crossroad for this 2 boxers. Although Zhang has been thought to make it but Parker stop him in his track, and so is Wilder.

Wilder though name has been in the top of this division for many years until that Fury loses and his eventual mental breakdown.

As fans although it could have been late, we wanted to se Wilder vs Joshua as early as 2018-1019 era.

[inthelongrun]

5 vs 5 card just announced:

Dubois Vs Hrgovic
Ray Ford vs Nick Ball
Hamzah Sheeraz Vs Austin Williams
Craig Richards Vs Willy Hutchinson
Zhang Vs Wilder

I like how they did this press conference revealing the fighters one by one all masked up so you still have to guess who is there. Dubois Vs Hrgovic & Zhang vs Wilder are great. It could be make or break for those two now. Both need a big win to get them back into the picture.

There was a rumor already about the Zhang vs Wilder being inserted in this fight. And so this press conference make it official. And I do agree, this fight is very much a crossroad for this 2 boxers. Although Zhang has been thought to make it but Parker stop him in his track, and so is Wilder.

Wilder though name has been in the top of this division for many years until that Fury loses and his eventual mental breakdown.

As fans although it could have been late, we wanted to se Wilder vs Joshua as early as 2018-1019 era.

The biggest contribution made by Saudi and Alalshikh to boxing was making the biggest promoters in the world to work together which made these great fights possible. Hopefully, PBC is also willing to offer all its fighters and stop ducking against the best.

Thought Beterbiev vs Bivol card will be fully Matchroom vs Queensberry but it's more like Matchroom vs Queensberry and Top Rank. And there's also Wilder and Zhang inserted. I can see Zhang beating Wilder. Zhang's 2 defeats were also close decisions so he is still mentally sharp and hungry while Wilder has minimal skills unless he lands his haymakers.

Then undefeated and champions Wilder and Joshua could be one of the biggest fight that did not happen. It would've been for the undisputed belts. But Wilder and PBC were always trying to cherry pick and avoided the best. Wilder has never been in the top of the division.

[Dave1]

5 vs 5 card just announced:

Dubois Vs Hrgovic
Ray Ford vs Nick Ball
Hamzah Sheeraz Vs Austin Williams
Craig Richards Vs Willy Hutchinson
Zhang Vs Wilder

I like how they did this press conference revealing the fighters one by one all masked up so you still have to guess who is there. Dubois Vs Hrgovic & Zhang vs Wilder are great. It could be make or break for those two now. Both need a big win to get them back into the picture.

There was a rumor already about the Zhang vs Wilder being inserted in this fight. And so this press conference make it official. And I do agree, this fight is very much a crossroad for this 2 boxers. Although Zhang has been thought to make it but Parker stop him in his track, and so is Wilder.

Wilder though name has been in the top of this division for many years until that Fury loses and his eventual mental breakdown.

As fans although it could have been late, we wanted to se Wilder vs Joshua as early as 2018-1019 era.

The biggest contribution made by Saudi and Alalshikh to boxing was making the biggest promoters in the world to work together which made these great fights possible. Hopefully, PBC is also willing to offer all its fighters and stop ducking against the best.

Thought Beterbiev vs Bivol card will be fully Matchroom vs Queensberry but it's more like Matchroom vs Queensberry and Top Rank. And there's also Wilder and Zhang inserted. I can see Zhang beating Wilder. Zhang's 2 defeats were also close decisions so he is still mentally sharp and hungry while Wilder has minimal skills unless he lands his haymakers.

Then undefeated and champions Wilder and Joshua could be one of the biggest fight that did not happen. It would've been for the undisputed belts. But Wilder and PBC were always trying to cherry pick and avoided the best. Wilder has never been in the top of the division.

That is the thing with PBC, perhaps it was there pride right now that they don't what to have their boxers in the Middle East. Even Tank Davis says something negative about the fight going into Saudi.

And how powerful a broker HE Alalshikh is, he was able to bring this two rivals, who would have thought that we can see Matchroom and Queensberry and even Top Rank at the same fight in the same room? Only HE Alalshikh can do that and we could say that everyone listens when money talks. And for Warren, Hearn and Arum, it's all business and so they step aside their personal difference.

[hilariousetc]

The biggest contribution made by Saudi and Alalshikh to boxing was making the biggest promoters in the world to work together which made these great fights possible. Hopefully, PBC is also willing to offer all its fighters and stop ducking against the best.

Funny how large amounts of money can make people do that  . The beef between Hearn and Warren was purely egotistical and it's not difficult to move past that when there was no real issues other than clash of personalities and a bit of jealousy from competition as they're always vying for the same fighter. Nobody can really compete with Saudi right now apart from maybe Netflix but Netflix has a business to run where they need to make money whereas Saudis don't and I imagine they're no where near to breaking even on these fights that they do. These promo videos alone must cost millions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzueDN3YBGc

I think that's the best one they've done so far. Very reminiscent of Early Guy Ritchie films.

Thought Beterbiev vs Bivol card will be fully Matchroom vs Queensberry but it's more like Matchroom vs Queensberry and Top Rank. And there's also Wilder and Zhang inserted. I can see Zhang beating Wilder. Zhang's 2 defeats were also close decisions so he is still mentally sharp and hungry while Wilder has minimal skills unless he lands his haymakers.

My money would be on Zhang too, though Wilder probably knows he can't just show up to this lazily like he did against Parker. It's probably going to be a matter of who lands that huge shot first. Zhang knocked down Parker twice in his last fight but couldn't muster up enough stamina to get the job done. Wilder isn't as good of a boxer as Parker is so they're both going to have to go for that KO. Wilder probably has a better gas tank than Zhang so that's in his favour as Zhang tires easily.

[Baofeng]

The biggest contribution made by Saudi and Alalshikh to boxing was making the biggest promoters in the world to work together which made these great fights possible. Hopefully, PBC is also willing to offer all its fighters and stop ducking against the best.

Funny how large amounts of money can make people do that  . The beef between Hearn and Warren was purely egotistical and it's not difficult to move past that when there was no real issues other than clash of personalities and a bit of jealousy from competition as they're always vying for the same fighter. Nobody can really compete with Saudi right now apart from maybe Netflix but Netflix has a business to run where they need to make money whereas Saudis don't and I imagine they're no where near to breaking even on these fights that they do. These promo videos alone must cost millions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzueDN3YBGc

I think that's the best one they've done so far. Very reminiscent of Early Guy Ritchie films.

Thought Beterbiev vs Bivol card will be fully Matchroom vs Queensberry but it's more like Matchroom vs Queensberry and Top Rank. And there's also Wilder and Zhang inserted. I can see Zhang beating Wilder. Zhang's 2 defeats were also close decisions so he is still mentally sharp and hungry while Wilder has minimal skills unless he lands his haymakers.

My money would be on Zhang too, though Wilder probably knows he can't just show up to this lazily like he did against Parker. It's probably going to be a matter of who lands that huge shot first. Zhang knocked down Parker twice in his last fight but couldn't muster up enough stamina to get the job done. Wilder isn't as good of a boxer as Parker is so they're both going to have to go for that KO. Wilder probably has a better gas tank than Zhang so that's in his favour as Zhang tires easily.

And looking at the odds right now,

Zhang, 1.51
Wilder, 2.45

So odd makers are leaning on Zhang as a clear favorite and I do agree. And Wilder could have issues fighter who is left handed in the early part of the fight against Luis Ortiz. So if by chance Zhang hit him in the first couple of rounds, and soften Wilder, maybe he could take him out in rounds 5-8.

But if Zhang can't score or hit his money punch, Wilder could extend this in a full 12 rounds and Zhang might not have the gas tank to survived.

Let's see how Wilder here will operate. He has been left behind, Fury, Usyk and AJ names are still the hottest in this division that we once thought that he can dominate.