Sunday, October 13, 2024

Opinions and Observations: Beterbiev-Bivol

After Saturday's Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol match, which was more interesting than exciting, neither fighter seemed too pleased with his performance. Beterbiev, who was awarded the victory by majority decision, claimed that he didn't box particularly well, which is important because the fight primarily featured boxing instead of brawling or power displays. Bivol might have thought that he won, but he was resigned to accepting the judges' scores. He understood how tough the fight was. 

I scored the fight a draw. That's how it played out round-by-round on my scorecard and I thought that the draw reflected the action (or inaction) of the entire fight. To me the match was a perfect example of a stalemate, where neither fighter was able to assert himself on a consistent-enough basis. 

Beterbiev (right) and Bivol exchanging
Photo courtesy of Mikey Williams/Top Rank

But this will not be a rant at the scores, which were 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112, with the latter two scores favoring Beterbiev, who became the "undisputed" light heavyweight champion with the win. I used the quotes in the previous sentence because technically Beterbiev is undisputed now, but I'm certainly not sure that he won Saturday's fight.

The bout featured plenty of swing rounds, ones were not a ton happened (the third round) and others that had consequential action from both (the seventh). A whole range of scores were acceptable in scoring the fight, but I would have preferred it if more rounds contained real drama, instead of the familiar "someone had to win it" refrain. 

I was surprised by the tactics of both, and not necessarily in a positive way. I thought that Beterbiev was a little too slow to start applying pressure. At 39, he fought like he had some concerns with his gas tank. Although he was the fighter who closed stronger, that might be because he really conserved energy in the fight's first half. And I will have none of the talk that he paced himself perfectly, because when the final scores were announced, I don't believe that he could confidently believe that he won. That there was doubt speaks to the questionable success of his tactics. 

To Bivol's credit or detriment, he fought far more aggressively than I expected. Until the championship rounds, he spent almost as much of the fight on the front foot as he did in retreat. In fact, Bivol might have paid the price for being too aggressive. When he finally unloaded with gripping combinations, he often found a hard counter shot in return that stopped him in his tracks. I think in particular that happened in the 7th and 10th rounds. 

In a theme that appears often in boxing, the fighter who was more aggressive was given a lot of credit, irrespective of how effective he was. Beterbiev was clearly the one who came forward on a more consistent basis in the final three rounds. I thought that the 10th was a toss-up which I shaded to Bivol, but I had Beterbiev winning 11 and 12. That was the difference between drawing and losing on my card, and it was decisive for the judges, who favored Beterbiev down the stretch. Yes, each round does count the same, but in terms of the broader narrative of the fight, there can be no doubt that Beterbiev was the fresher fighter at the conclusion of the match. He had an extra level at the end, where Bivol did not.

Overall, I was a little disappointed in the fight. I was looking for one of the fighters to make a definitive statement and absent that, I was hoping for some thrilling action, but that didn't really happen either, with the exception of a pulsating seventh round. Beterbiev played it a little too safe in my opinion and Bivol was a little too weary by the end of the fight.  

Furthermore, there were few singular moments to remember from the fight. Yes, Bivol had some instances where he landed blistering left hook-straight right-hand combinations and Beterbiev had a couple of thudding counter right uppercuts and right hands, but there was little carnage, few periods of mastery, and a lot of tentative moments from both. 

The two fighters tangling on the inside
Photo courtesy of Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Although I have admired the championship reigns of Beterbiev and Bivol, Saturday's fight felt anti-climactic for me. I can't say that Beterbiev is the definitive light heavyweight of his era. But I also can't buy into Bivol's superior technical brilliance, especially how he faded in a fight that was mostly a boxing match. Although he is the first opponent to go the distance with Beterbiev, I'm guessing that moral victory doesn't feel particularly sweet for Bivol. For someone who has prided himself on being a champion, he certainly didn't close like a champ. And he left enough openings for the score to be in doubt.  

Bivol's defense was still very good on the night, but getting hit with 20% or so of Beterbiev's shots (which is still a very low connect percentage) is not the same as getting hit with someone else's 20%. Bivol somehow needed to be even sharper. 

Surprisingly, Beterbiev's speed wasn't a big disadvantage. He was able to get in range enough. But he rarely landed his best power shots. It seems that he made a clear decision to rely on touch shots that sacrificed power for speed. Despite the victory, Beterbiev didn't look like the big bad wolf in the ring. He did have Bivol on the run at the end of the fight and that did help him win it, but he didn't have too many signature moments. The judges felt that he was a little more consistent throughout the fight. You or I may not believe that, but that's less important right now. He struggled. He persevered. Some felt he had done just enough. 

At 39 and overcoming a slew of recent injuries, I wouldn't expect Beterbiev to be back in the ring anytime soon. And I don't think that he has too many big fights left. When the pressure fighter can't do it for 12 rounds, when the power puncher isn't having the same effect that he used to, the signs of decline may soon become even more apparent. And Beterbiev's aura has been a vital part of his success. His relentlessness has caused many opponents to make mistakes, to burn out, or to help in defeating themselves. If his intimidation factor has lessened, that can only embolden opponents. 

As for Bivol, he certainly has years ahead of him at the top levels of boxing, but I don't think that his speed on Saturday was what it once was either. The guy who defanged Canelo controlled the ring far better than the fighter who was in the ring on Saturday. And Beterbiev is many things, but he is not faster on his feet than Canelo, nor does he have faster hands. Yet Bivol struggled more on Saturday. Size does matter and so does Beterbiev's talent, but I can only remember a handful of big shots that Canelo landed whereas Beterbiev scored with shots more frequently. That Beterbiev was even in range points to a deficiency from Bivol; either his tactics were off, or his speed has lessened. In a perfect world, I don't think that Bivol wanted as many exchanges as what happened on Saturday. 

With so many high-profile fights this year, and others that have featured superior entertainment value, I won't dwell on Beterbiev-Bivol for too long. I will applaud both for making it happen. It was a consequential matchup, one of the best that could have been made in the sport, but the quality of the fight didn't rival its importance. I wanted Saturday to be a confirmation of greatness, but it turned out to be too risk-averse from both. So perhaps two great fighters neutralized the other. This potential reality always existed; it's just not what the public wanted to see. 

To me, this remains the Beterbiev and Bivol era. And if they want to settle it for good, that's fine. And if not, we will move on. They tried. They didn't fully succeed. That's the sport too. They both did some great things in the ring on Saturday, but it wasn't enough from this vantage point. Neither fully sold out for the win. They didn't leave it all in the ring. And however history remembers them, that fact should not be forgotten. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com
He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Panel, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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