WBA Championship: Bivol defeats Alvarez in a surprising setback

Dmitry Bivol of Russia retained his WBA light-heavyweight title in Las Vegas, defeating Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez on points.

Alvarez, 31, is the undisputed world super-middleweight champion, but he had to step up in weight for the fight and was defeated for the second time in 61 fights.

Bivol, who is also 31, won by unanimous point’s decision, extending his undefeated streak to 20 bouts.

Bivol won the bout 115-113 on all three judges’ scores.

“I’m delighted I proved myself,” Bivol said. “I’m the best in my division, and I keep this belt.”

“He’s a terrific champion, and I admire him and his entire team.”

“What do you do if you don’t believe in yourself? You accomplish nothing. “I believe in myself, and my team believes in me”

“I sensed his strength. He banged up my arm but not my head, as you can see on my arm. That’s an improvement.”

Alvarez is the world’s best pound-for-pound male boxer, and his only loss came in 2013 at light middleweight to Floyd Mayweather.

“You have to accept it because it’s boxing,” Alvarez remarked of his defeat. He’s a fantastic fighter. In boxing, you can win and lose, and I’m not making any excuses. He won and I lost.”

“Of sure,” he answered when asked if he wanted a rematch.

“This isn’t going to end well.”

“Let’s speak about a rematch,” Bivol continued. “I wanted to fight because I wanted to receive the chance, and I am grateful for the opportunity.”

“I’m up for a rematch; all I want now is to be treated like the champion.”

Since 2016, Bivol has held the WBA light-heavyweight belt.

Because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the WBA’s decision to allow Bivol to compete was criticized.

“It is crucial that this boxer [Bivol] is prohibited from fighting in America, just as other Russian athletes are prohibited from international competition,” former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko told.

The WBC, WBO, and IBF, the world governing bodies of boxing, issued a united statement in response to Russia’s conflict, pledging to stop “championship contests featuring boxers from Russia and Belarus.”

However, the WBA did not impose a similar sanction.