Via Allan Fox: Tim Bradley feels proud of being one of the experts who foretold that Dmitry Bivol was one of the rare boxers capable of defeating superstar Canelo Alvarez.
Bradley wants Canelo to get a win under his belt before returning for a rematch with Bivol in 2023.
In September, a three-part battle for Canelo against Gennadiy Golovkin would be an ideal confidence boost, and then a soft defense against John Ryder in December. After beating those two boxers, he will be ready to fight Bivol again in 2023.
Bradley felt that if WBA lightweight champion Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs played a proper match, he could beat Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KOs).
That’s what Bivol did to win a surprisingly easy 12-round unanimous decision match against Canelo at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“I was the first to tell everyone, the whole world, that if there was a guy who would beat him, I said [David] Benavidez had a chance and Bivol. I said Bivol has a big chance to beat Canelo,” Tim Bradley told Fighthype about how he predicted that WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol would probably beat Canelo Alvarez.
Bradley is not the factor that makes Canelo’s poor teamfights. The Mexican star looked flushed and windy in the second half, and he never got a second wind after his early release.
The real problem for Canelo is the excessively fast pace Bivol sets, as he pushes the superstar to fight quickly, and he doesn’t allow him the rest he demands.
“The footwork, all nine, as I told you. He executed the game plan perfectly, man,” Bradley continued on Bivol about his dominance over Canelo.
The combo punch from Bivol seems to upset Canelo the most as he is being severely suppressed when attacked with four to seven punch combinations throughout the fight.
When you have Bivol peeled off the Canelo way, your system loses a lot. Although Canelo blocked a number of shots from Bivol, many of them went through during his intense runs.
“He fought bravely. Part of me feels he can do it, he can’t,” Bradley said of Bivol. “He had what it took, but if xyz, he would win the fight, and he did exactly xyz and a little more to win the battle.
“It’s all good. It’s excellent, good for him [Bivol]. Going forward, let’s see if Canelo has a rematch with him at 168. Do I believe Canelo should? Yes, he should, but he can take his time and review that. No problem. I have no problem with that.
“Run again, I don’t know if that interests Canelo. He needs to get back to the winning column first and then come back a year later,” Bradley said.
