BERNSTEIN ON BOXING
scenario is “order.” In several interviews, Bivol has said that he likes order in his life. From how his socks and underwear are folded into drawers to the way his life and career are acted out, he likes things orderly – not messy. None of that means that this 35-year-old Kyrgyzstani-Russian is a cold automaton. On the contrary, he has always exuded a courtly, respectful and genial manner outside of the ring. But when it comes to steering his life and career, he will do it minus an emotional roller coaster, either public or private. What all that has amounted to as a pro boxer is a linear journey to excellence. The unified beltholder has ridden that straight line to a 25-1 professional record that includes a seven-year title reign and a place as one of the best technical boxers of this or any other generation. And now that two successful surgeries (back and elbow) in the last two years have reset his career, Bivol is about to put the finishing touches on his boxing journey with his next few fights. Lest we see too much imminent finality in this, it could be pointed out that Archie Moore, perhaps the greatest light heavyweight, was just starting his nine-year run as champ at about this same age. While it is doubtful Bivol will repeat that longevity, it hints at the possibility of great moments to come. The fight with Smith was ordered by the WBO, and so Bivol complied in order to keep that title along with the IBF and WBA straps he also holds. Smith revived his career with a gutsy and thrilling win over Joshua Buatsi, but when Smith has stepped up to elite competition against Artur Beterbiev and Canelo Alvarez, he has not succeeded. So, even off the elbow injury recovery, Bivol is a substantial favorite in this fight. He is a different kind of challenge for Smith than those other two. The champion doesn’t quite have the same dangerous power, but he brings more movement and guile. Many see Smith as the perfect foe
for Bivol at this juncture – a gritty, respected campaigner who comes in off a thrilling win but has not shown he can rise to this level. The Bivol hand speed and movement could bedevil him. For Smith to deliver his patented left hooks to the body, he needs to be in the right place to do it – something Bivol will make difficult. If the consensus opinion is true and Bivol wins this match, it sets in motion the next round of machinations in the 175-pound division. Still looming is the always tantalizing possibility of a third fight between Bivol and Beterbiev, something that Beterbiev has been lobbying for and once thought he had secured. Both men understand that their legacies will be judged to
Benavidez made a successful move up to cruiserweight, where he lifted two belts from Gilberto Ramirez. He now looks certain to battle Ring champ Jai Opetaia in what would be that division’s biggest fight in some time. There is, however, a way for everyone to have their cake and eat it too. Bivol has hinted at a move up, saying, “I want to win a title at another weight before I retire, likely cruiserweight.” If Bivol did change his stance on the Beterbiev trilogy, after that he could still move up in weight to hunt the Benavidez-Opetaia winner – even if those two end up doing a rematch. Of course, a win over Beterbiev (hardly a given) would be mandatory for that scenario to fully work.
after his Floyd Mayweather defeat. He had become a more complete fighter as he moved up in weight and was still quite a force when he again tried his hand at light heavyweight against Bivol. It was shocking to me that so many pundits who should have known better gave Bivol such little chance at victory. In proving so many wrong, he won a big measure of fame on this side of the world, where he often came to train in Los Angeles and had gotten to know America. I have a kind of unfair habit of measuring great light heavyweights of recent decades against the very high standard set in the 1970s and ’80s, a time when many dangerous and skilled 175-pounders roamed
some extent on their rivalry. The first two fights were razor-thin, and ironically Bivol may have done better in the first match, which went to Beterbiev. But it was the second that Bivol actually won on the scorecards. The proficiency
all corners of this earth. Keeping a championship for more than a year or so was hard back then because any talented new challenger could, and often did, take it away. How would Bivol, for instance, fare in the era that boasted greats like Michael
Historical significance seems to often hinge on some level of fame in America, and that threshold was crossed when Bivol beat Canelo .
and skill level of both men were more than impressive, and they confirmed their positions as the two best in their division. With Beterbiev’s biological clock ticking at age 41, he would like the trilogy fight ASAP. Bivol, it seems, is cool to the idea and has rebuffed advances from the Beterbiev camp. The problem is that from the standpoint of both the fans (they want a meaningful and competitive match) and Bivol’s pocketbook (it is after all called “prize” fighting), there is no great alternative to the third Beterbiev match. That is the big fight that remains possible. Yes, the division has had an infusion of some names inching upward in the rankings, like Ben Whittaker and Imam Khataev, but right now they and others are hardly names that suggest a major fight or even a major challenge. The one man who could solve this dual problem is David Benavidez, but he appears to be quite occupied elsewhere right now. After his brief stint as a light heavyweight,
While we move close to Bivol’s pivotal match with Smith and mull the future, it seems like a good time to also think about Bivol’s career as a whole. No matter what happens in this final chapter, he has cemented his place as a light heavyweight to be mentioned with greats of the near and distant past. And you don’t always get to have a rival also thought of as a talent whose influence goes beyond the time he fought, and Beterbiev certainly fits that category. And added to that is the fact that during the long wait for those matches, Bivol fought everyone available to him, which included many solid light heavyweights with several former or current world titleholders on the list. Whether appropriate or not, historical significance seems to often hinge on some level of fame in America, and that threshold was crossed when Bivol beat Canelo. That win carries with it even more significance because the then-31-year-old Canelo had not lost in 16 fights (at least officially)
Spinks, Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Victor Galindez, Yaqui Lopez, Matthew Saad Muhammad, Marvin Johnson and so many others? Well, I assure you that he (and Beterbiev) would not have been as dominant as they have been in this era. But they would have definitely competed right alongside these greats and won their share of important fights. Bivol has said that he always admired Sugar Ray Leonard, partially for his artistry in the ring. While Bivol’s “ordered” approach to the excellence of his craft makes some believe he lacks panache, I strongly disagree. The beauty is in the perfection of what he does. If his personality or ring flamboyance is not as big as a Leonard for instance, it doesn’t make what he is doing any less artful. Few pure boxers have painted more masterpieces on a boxing canvas than Bivol. Don’t blame him if he’s organized about it – after all, most men don’t have the perfect sock drawer like he does.
ORDERLY DEPARTURE By Al Bernstein
W hen Dmitry Bivol steps into the ring with Callum Smith in December, it will be the beginning of his last chapter in boxing. If this were a different fighter, we might be thinking of it as an uncharted and unpredictable step, as is so often the case with a boxer’s final act in the
sport. With the reigning Ring light heavyweight champion, though, it may be anything but that. How long this chapter lasts and how it will close out Bivol’s almost perfect run may simply be an extension of the steady, ordered excellence that we have seen through a 21-year amateur and pro career. The key word in that possible
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