LAS VEGAS — Within the closing moments of the ultimate spherical of the light-heavyweight title battle between Saúl Álvarez and Dmitry Bivol, a ringside official banged a picket clapper to sign that solely 10 seconds remained within the bout.
Álvarez, referred to as Canelo, retreated, exhausted after 12 bruising rounds towards an even bigger opponent.
Bivol, the World Boxing Affiliation champion and a heavy betting underdog, moved ahead, arms excessive,
Certainly one of Bivol’s cornermen clenched his fists, raised his arms and waited for the ultimate bell, satisfied his fighter, who had weathered Álvarez’s energy and responded with authoritative punches all night time, had finished loads to earn a victory.
The judges agreed with staff Bivol.
All three scored the bout 115-113 in favor of Bivol, a Russian who now lives in California, awarding him a choice each closely-contested and convincing.
Whereas Bivol entered as an undefeated champion at 175 kilos, and confronted a fighter in Álvarez who had moved up from a lighter weight class, his win qualifies as an upset. Streaming service DAZN had invested closely in a two-fight cope with Álvarez, utilizing his fights to launch its new pay-per-view program, promoting bouts on high of a subscription service. DAZN had hoped the settlement would culminate in a September showdown between Álvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin, a middleweight champion who has fought Álvarez twice.
However Bivol’s win opens different prospects, together with a rematch with Álvarez.
“Thanks to Eddie Hearn,” Bivol mentioned within the ring afterward, referring to the top of Matchroom Sport, which companions with DAZN on boxing programming. “Sorry I broke your plans with Gennadiy Golovkin.”
Bivol’s win improved his file to 20-0, and can pressure a number of stakeholders to regulate their plans.
Álvarez, who’s the undisputed super-middleweight champion, however who entered Saturday’s mild heavyweight title bout because the challenger, was assured $15 million to battle Bivol. That determine is lower than half of the $40 million he obtained up entrance for defeating Caleb Plant final November, although Bivol figured to current a a lot harder task for Álvarez.
At 6-feet, Bivol was among the many tallest opponents Álvarez had ever confronted, the identical top as Sergey Kovalev, whom Álvarez trailed on the judges scorecards earlier than profitable by knockout in November 2019.
However the 31-year-old Bivol is a greater tactical boxer than Kovalev, sturdy with a powerful jab and sharp timing. He entered Saturday with a 19-0 file and victories over each robust punchers, like Joe Smith Jr., and affected person boxers, like Lenin Castillo.
And he solved Álvarez by controlling the center of the ring, forcing the challenger backward at occasions and standing up underneath Álvarez’s withering energy.
In Spherical 7, Álvarez pounded Bivol’s shoulder with a proper hand, and adopted up with a left hook. Bivol responded with a flurry of lefts and rights, which disrupted Álvarez’s rhythm even when they didn’t land.
Álvarez appeared to win Spherical 9 by urgent ahead, digging a proper hand to Bivol’s rib cage, and connecting with a roundhouse proper to the top. Bivol responded in Spherical 10, spearing Álvarez’s physique with a protracted left jab, and touchdown a brief proper late within the spherical.
Between rounds, Álvarez’s chest heaved with heavy respiratory. Bivol, additionally tiring however much less visibility winded, calmly took directions from his cornermen.
Ultimately all three judges awarded Bivol seven of the 12 rounds. Álvarez, who’s now 57-2-2, mentioned he plans to invoke the rematch clause in his contract, however didn’t complain concerning the scorecards.
“He’s an awesome champion,” mentioned Álvarez, a local of Guadalajara, Mexico. “That’s how boxing is. I’ve to simply accept it.”
The comparatively small assure for Álvarez additionally signaled that DAZN, the streaming service broadcasting the bout, and Matchroom, the promotional outfit that organized the occasion, anticipated sturdy pay-per-view gross sales, which might in flip, bolster Álvarez’s payday.
Client curiosity within the occasion was troublesome to gauge beforehand.
Photos of Álvarez and Bivol plastered the Las Vegas Strip within the days previous the bout, the sidewalks dotted with distributors hawking battle merchandise — T-shirts, Álvarez headbands, miniature boxing gloves within the colours of the Mexican flag. For Friday afternoon’s weigh-ins, a crowd of boxing followers, most of them Álvarez partisans, packed the plaza outdoors T-Cellular Area.
However the crowd contained in the constructing Saturday night time didn’t threaten the venue’s attendance file — 20,062 for an Final Preventing Championship battle between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier in July 2021. The viewers yawned by a lot of the undercard, whistling in derision as Montana Love received a choice over Gabriel Gollaz within the co-main occasion. At occasions they had been so quiet, helicopters might be heard flying over the world’s roof.
The loudest ovation on the undercard got here when Álvarez arrived on the area, sporting a vivid pink tracksuit with a silver zipper and drawstrings, with Álvarez’s initials stenciled onto one facet, and a Dolce & Gabbana brand on the opposite.
By 8:30 p.m., when the primary of Bivol’s cornermen entered the ring to attend for his or her fighter, two sections within the area’s decrease bowl sported patches of vacant seats, which stuffed in inside minutes. When the ring announcer, David Diamante, took the microphone and strode to the ring, the higher deck was nonetheless solely half full.
They bought one thing uncommon on Saturday night time: a spectacle of Álvarez being really challenged relatively than the game’s largest star placing on his regular dominant present. And Bivol, along with his victory, grew to become the primary man in a very long time to make Álvarez rethink his methodical plans.
