Bivol Wins Easily In Atlantic City
As Dmitry Bivol continues his quest for light heavyweight supremacy, veteran and experienced foes like the one he faced on Saturday will be in his way of doing so.
In a fight that may bring detractors and make opposing light heavyweights feel less fear in facing him down the road, Bivol dominated, but not in typical Bivol fashion.
Dmitry Bivol (15-0, 11 KOs) defeated Jean Pascal (33-6-1, 20 KOs) by unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Mark G. Etess Arena in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino to retain his WBA title.
Two judges scored the fight 119-109 while one judge scored it 117-111, all in favor of Dmitry Bivol.
In a performance that was more of a display of Bivol’s tactical brilliance, the Russian kept Pascal on the back foot early and often with the jab and the threat of his blinding hand-speed in the light heavyweight division.
At times he would open up with a sharp combination of punches, working well with the left hook against Pascal, who tried to counter throughout the fight.
It was a rough night for Jean Pascal, who couldn’t find the range and would grow increasingly frustrated with Bivol’s tactics, standing flat footed at times with his hands down as a ploy to get the champion to come in so he could counter.
Wild overhand rights and bull rushes by Pascal were easily snuffed out by Bivol, who continues to show defensive prowess and mannerisms beyond his years.
The most action-packed round of the fight would be the eighth round, which saw a desperate Pascal, down big on the scorecards, for broke after landing a right hand shot on Bivol.
He chased Bivol around the ring with wild shots, but soon found himself getting chased with thudding combinations by Bivol against his guard. Pascal would end the round with a flurry.
Pascal would come on late, but never seemed to do enough besides show a good chin to take the punches from a fighter who suddenly doesn’t look as frightening as advertised.
It wouldn’t take much for Bivol to breeze to a decision victory, as he was easily the more active fighter throughout the night and utilized his jab as such.
Bivol landed 217 out of 678 total punches (32%), landing 127 out of 287 power punches (44%). Pascal would land only 60 out of 357 total punches (17%), and throughout the fight landed a grand total of six jabs.
A hard fight to watch at times due to the dullness in action or lack thereof, Bivol’s second title defense is also his second straight victory by decision after only going the distance twice in his first 13 career fights.
Questions of his punch power may surface now after allowing a 36-year-old who’s suffered significant damage in the past to Sergey Kovalev and others to make it through 12 rounds with him.
From a fan’s perspective, Bivol fought a true boxer’s fight, perhaps showing the world he’s much more than a intimidating knockout machine that can blister his opponents with punch speed seen at 147 pounds, not the 175-pound weight class he’s currently in.
A fight down the road with IBA and WBO title holder Eleider Alvarez may happen in 2019 as neither fighter has ever backed down from a challenge, and if so, who wouldn’t want to see that bout?
What are your thoughts on Dmitry Bivol’s victory on Saturday night? Leave your comments below!