(CNN Spanish) — Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez was defeated by the Russian Dmitry Bivol, who gave the Mexican the second defeat in his entire career.
After 12 rounds, Bivol won the fight via unanimous decision (115-113).
“Today I proved that I am the best, I kept my belts, Canelo is a great champion and I respect him a lot. If you don’t believe in yourself who are you going to believe in, I believed in myself, I felt better than ever in the fight, I enjoyed it all,” Bivol said after the fight, as reported by Archyde.com.
“There is no excuse, he is a great fighter, you win and lose and you have to accept it as it is, but it doesn’t stay that way,” said the Mexican.
Álvarez and Bivol met this Saturday, May 7 for the World Boxing Association (WBA) belt in the light heavyweight category.
The fight at the T-Mobile Arena in the city of Las Vegas had an approximate bag of US $ 17 million. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
The fight, at the T-Mobile Arena in the city of Las Vegas, between “Canelo” and Bivol had an approximate purse of US$ 17 million.
The Mexican has triumphed in the middleweight category and has achieved the four belts of the different organizations (WBO, WBA, WBC and IBF). In this 2022 he wanted to compete in a higher category to challenge himself against Bivol for the WBA (WBA in Spanish) light heavyweight title.
Until this Saturday’s fight, “Canelo” only accumulated a loss in his professional career as a boxer. The man from Guadalajara had a record of 57-2-1, that is, a record of 57 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. Of the total of victories, 39 have been by knockout and technical knockout, the rest have been by decision of the judges.
This is just the second loss for the Mexican in his entire career. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
His only loss until this Saturday was against boxer Floyd Mayweather in September 2013. The Mexican boxer was 23 years old and came to the ring undefeated, he still did not know what defeat was. The American faced the Mexican from the beginning and the man from Guadalajara could not find the opportunity to connect. After reaching 12 rounds, the jury was the one who put Floyd’s name at the top.
Dmitry Bivol was proclaimed interim champion in 2016 after beating the boxer Félix Valera and after making two defenses of the crown “he was elevated to monarch of the pioneering body”, according to highlights the AMB.
The Russian has a great record in his professional career, and, although he did not start as the favorite, he surprised the Mexican during the fight.
Dmitry Bivol won the fight via unanimous decision. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
In February the WBA announced a series of measures “in his support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”, among which the exclusion of fighters from Russia and Belarus from the organization’s rankings stands out, but he made an exception for current champions like Bivol. So the boxer born in Kyrgyzstan and of Russian nationality could fight the battle against the Mexican but would not be allowed to enter the ring with his flag, the Russian anthem would not be played and his country would not be named.