Dmitry Bivol produced a punch perfect display to cause a massive upset and claim a unanimous points victory over Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Bivol, the WBA light heavyweight champion, was awarded the decision after earning a 115-113 points win on all three judges scorecards to improve his professional record to 20-0 with 11 knockouts.
It was only the second defeat of Canelo's remarkable career and first since a majority decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr back in 2013. Between then and now, the Mexican had won 16 of 17 fights - a draw with Gennady Golovkin the only blemish - and unified the super middleweight division.
He had fought at light heavyweight before, stopping Sergey Kovalev in the 11th round to win the WBO 175-pound title in November 2019.
But the step up to face Bivol proved a step too far on the night for Canelo, who struggled to break down the guard of the Russian champion and was visibly fatigued by the end of the bout.
"He hurt my arm," Bivol said, displaying a bruised upper arm that absorbed a string of punches. "I felt his power, you can see on my arm. He beat my arm up, but not my head."
While Alvarez struggled to find a way to trouble Bivol, the Russian found plenty of success throughout the bout at T-Mobile Arena, using his size and reach advantage to consistently land his shots.
"I prove myself today, I'm the best (in the division)," Bivol said. "I'm the best in my division and I keep this belt. He's a great champion, I respect him and all his team. If you don't believe in yourself what do you do? You achieve nothing. I believe and my team believed in me."
It was a massive disappointment for the pro-Alvarez crowd,, who were pulling for a Mexican victory on the Cinco de Mayo holiday weekend.
Bivol said the crowd's partisan cheers whenever Alvarez seemed to be gaining ground gave him "more energy."
“Doesn’t matter which one, first or second, doesn’t matter to me — I just wanted this fight,” Bivol said of the ring entrance. “Doesn’t matter which sound he has, which sound I have, how he went in. And when he was going to the ring, and I heard the crowd, I really enjoyed how the crowd was yelling.”
Alvarez landed a big uppercut to Bivol's chin to end the fourth round, but his aggressive start to the fifth yielded little as Bivol turned the tables with a big flurry in the middle of the round and closed with a punishing left hand.
Bivol fought a disciplined fight, keying a steady attack with a piston-like jab that opened the door for powerful combinations.
Alvarez was put on the defensive, and the naturally lighter fighter couldn't find a way to respond. By the seventh round his face was bruised, his feet looked slow and as the fight wore on his punches lacked their usual power.
When a weary Alvarez ducked his head under Bivol's arm in the 11th round, the Russian leaned over and let himself be lifted off the ground.
Alvarez tried to pour it on in the 12th, but his combinations made little impression on the remorseless Bivol.
"He's a very good fighter," Alvarez said. "He comes in, goes out. He managed his distance really well. That's boxing. He's a great champion. I lost. He won."
Although he had no complaint with the decision, Alvarez said he wanted a rematch.
"Of course, I want the rematch," Alvarez said. "This doesn't end here."
Bivol said he was happy to face Alvarez again, stating: "Rematch? No problem. Let's talk about that. I want respect as the champion."
The shock loss shouldn't impact Alvarez's plans for a trilogy bout with Gennady Golovkin, with the long-time rivals expected to meet at middleweight or super-middleweight, although the fight could be pushed back from its planned September date if a rematch with Bivol is arranged.
Coming 2 America
Directed by: Craig Brewer
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones
3/5 stars
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
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FA Cup semi-finals
Saturday: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, 8.15pm (UAE)
Sunday: Chelsea v Southampton, 6pm (UAE)
Matches on Bein Sports
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West Asia rugby, season 2017/18 - Roll of Honour
Western Clubs Champions League - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons
West Asia Premiership - Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership Cup - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
