Multi-division world champion Canelo Alvarez was shocked by WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, losing to him via unanimous decision in their highly-anticipated May 7 showdown at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Although Canelo took the fight to Bivol, he appeared to have bitten off more than he can chew as he was unable to hurt the naturally bigger Bivol with any of his vaunted punching power. Over the course of 12 rounds, Bivol did a masterful job of sticking to his game plan by keeping the jab in Canelo’s face and using good ring generalship to keep him at bay.
By the later rounds, Canelo appeared to be tiring and his punches didn’t have the same type of steam on them. Bivol was able to close the show down the stretch by being more active with his punch combinations. In the end, all three judges scored the bout 115-113 in favor of Dmitry Bivol, handing Canelo only the second defeat of his career.