Like Him Or Not, It’s Time For Dmitry Bivol To Get A Big Fight!
WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (19-0, 11KOs) is one of boxing’s best fighters, but also one of the most frustrating to watch. The unbeaten Russian champion has all the skills in the world to dominate the light heavyweight division as well reign as one of boxing’s top pound for pound fighters.
However, he lacks the big fight opportunities to support this writer’s claims. Making things increasingly difficult for him is the fact that he also lacks that killer instinct inside the ring.
In his young career, he has faced and beat some really good fighters. Such names include former light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal, current WBO light heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr and former world title challengers Sullivan Barrera and Isaac Chilemba. None of those victories have catapulted him into the big money, legacy fights he’s seeking.
HIGH RISK LOW REWARD FIGHTER!
To be quite blunt, the WBA champ is a high risk/low reward fighter. Names uttered out of the long-reigning WBA champions mouth have been Canelo Alvarez and Artur Beterbiev. Bivol even went so far as to express his willingness to drop down in weight to the super middleweight division to accommodate Alvarez.
Then there’s an all Russian showdown with WBC and IBF unified champion Artur Beterbiev. Both possible opponents know the huge dangers in facing him. Moreover, they also know that while he’s extremely talented and has a title, he comes with little to no fanfare or demand for such fights.
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Obviously the easier fight to make, you’d think, would be between him and Beterbiev. However, until now, that hasn’t happened. As much as he deserves a big fight opportunity, it’s up to him to go out there and show it with his performances inside the ring. Winning is winning, but the way he needs to win is something that needs to change.
Like it or not, in today’s boxing, it’s not about being a champion. It’s about how many butts can you put in the seats and how many tickets and pay-per-views can you sell. It’s time for Bivol and his handlers to realize that.
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By: Jerrell Fletcher
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