LAS VEGAS – Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez is no longer undisputed…at least among the light heavyweights.
Dimitri Bevol delivered the biggest upset of recent years in boxing, defeating Canelo Alvarez in the main event on “5 de Mayo” in Las Vegas, at T-Mobile Arena packed with Mexican fans.
Bevol always went to the front, trying to be the aggressor, gaining more and more confidence in his abilities as he himself warned all week. He sounded fast, technical, and with great accuracy, even throwing more punches than his own records expected.
Canelo Alvarez struggled throughout the fight to eliminate the obvious difference in size, but above all in distance against the Russians. His punches were of little strength and come with dispersed power.
The unanimous decision of the judges was 115-113, which is all in favor of the champ who is still Bevolley.
Thus, Alvarez (57-2-2) lost his first fight since 2013, when he failed against Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the second of his entire life tonight, when the 5-1 favorite started the fight.
The desire to become the first Mexican to be crowned £175, having defeated Sergei Kovalev in the same arena in 2019, also left him to be the only Hispanic in history with two light heavyweight titles.
Bevol’s punches (20-0) were always her punch and made Canelo uncomfortable, who looked desperate in the second half of the fight, when the Russian seemed to dominate the fight and even the fans more and more.
I started early
Perhaps in an effort to turn the crowd off early, the Russian hero started aggressively, beyond what many would have imagined, making the punch his best ally, in the face of Canelo’s expected patience, to see how far the opponent’s reach and strength could be.
For the second time, the Mexican started participating and with good combinations of uppers and soft-zone hits, the Russian made his power feel, to the sentiments of the vast majority of the roughly 20,000 fans in the arena.
Bevol was never shy about fighting; He was always quick to try and put in a jab, while Canelo seemed to find territory and rhythm, in a lighthearted fight with both fighters trying to attack and taking some hits in the attempt.
When it seemed that in the fourth episode, the hero added more points, Canelo took out the upper right that shook the whole humanity of Bevol, who could feel his legs burning.
Rounds advanced to the middle of the agreed-upon limit and the Russian seemed to grow and feel more comfortable based on those fast punches; Canelo took several hits, without being able to respond with force, when the opponent’s reach and size seemed to be obvious factors.
By the eighth round, Bevol looked like a non-stop machine trying to move forward, confident in his speed, head punch, and especially punch position, against Canelo who felt punished every time, without making contact with strength.
In the ninth inning, Canelo managed to make a solid lead again but they seemed harmless to Bevol, albeit with good points for the referees.
They entered the final round with a clear advantage over Bevol, according to the vast majority of analysts in the arena. Canelo knew that only a knockout could give him the WBA Championship tonight, but he never managed to deliver the final knockout.
Bevol ran that last round and calmly showed that he’s one of the toughest champions today. Even in that final chapter he made the call and made Canelo’s legs shiver, which was booed from the same people who praised his amazing arrival.