Friends, I might disappoint you by saying that Bivol vs Beterbiev fight is not going to happen in nearest future. The reason is simple - Dmitri Bivol is representing Russia. In November 2022, Mauricio Sulaiman, world boxing council,
has removed Russian and Belorussian boxer from ranking and dont allow them to participate. So either the war ends before their potential fight (not likely), or he will make an exception for Bivol (also not likely), or Bivol would have to change his passport. Probably both will have one more fight before they might possibly meet.
I don't think all those options will happen. Damn war and politics affecting our beloved sports. Thanks for clearing that out though, it seems like we forgot there's a war happening out there.
Also according here, he has not approached WBC yet for an exemption.
“Bivol has not approached the WBC (to ask for an exemption)," Sulaiman told reporters and Izquierdazo. “At our last Convention, we were very clear about our position in relation to fighters from Russia and Belarus. And that is the case with Bivol."
Well, I guess we have no choice but to wait for that war to end.
We almost forgot it since it's been a year since these 2 countries are still bombarding with each other. Many Ukrainians are affected, heritages being destroyed and at the same time, sports has been affected on these 2 countries and that includes the boxers from Russia and Belarus which is a bit unfortunate if you are a boxing fan. I just hope that this war will end soon or maybe this year, and I also hope that this war between between 2 countries will not escalate anymore to the point that other countries will join the war.
I guess the best option for Bivol with the 3 options that he shares is to change his passport. I don't expect the WBC to make an exception for him just for the sake of money. Very disappointing, but understandable and it's beyond his control anymore.
Recently I have watched a short video of Beterbiev being interviewed in the airport on a return home. He has said that he is interested in unifying belts, but he has added (figuratively, not saying directly) that "a fight can not happen if one boxer wants to fight, but other dont want to fight". He did not say directly that Bivol refuses, nor he refuses to fight Bivol. But he has made it clear that it is not easy to make this fight. There is something in between. Management, money, politics, tactics. So guess we just need to wait.
Well, that's a great detail, I also think the same, although now the contracts surprise me because of the clause that they always make them sign so that if or when the fights take place, even if the boxer doesn't want to, he has to make use of activating said clause, I I am more of what they think that if the boxer does not want the other to always try to find a way to convince him, now there are many things like social networks, then there is no need for an apparent clause, I imagine that such a clause is to ensure the spectacle, but I don't see it very clearly is my way of seeing it, things are now handled on another level.
I agree, it is better for Magsayo to be slick, and quick and must launch a scoring punch rather than a knock-out punch. This way he can compete against Vargas in scoring. Besides not putting much of force on the punches can render him more mobile and quick. He should know when to launch heavy knockout punches and the scoring punches. Sadly, Magsayo is all brawn and not using his brain during the fight against Vargas.
For sure Magsayo's camp is already aware of those problems. If ever given a chance again to face Vargas, those problems will surely be addressed. Let's also consider the fact that Magsayo isn't really outscored in the match as he won the one judge.
Surely Magsayo has learned a thing or two about Vargas's strength and his weakness especially recently when Foster revealed how to defeat Vargas, although I'm not sure that Magsayo can use that one because they have a different fighting style and Foster is quite slick, that is why Vargas failed in his attempt. This time, Magsayo should level up his game because he will get embarrassed for sure if he didn't learn something from their first encounter.
Magsayo stated the he expected to win that match but decided to respect the judge's decision. It means Magsayo didn't really being overwhelmed by Vargas' strength. Also new to Magsayo's experience fighting against a long reach and much taller compared to him.
Figueroa has the same specifications as Vargas with height advantage and long reach. Magsayo will use his experienced fighting Vargas in his fight against Figueroa.
One difference though is that Brandon is more of a brawler type of boxer, face first and are not afraid to engage his opponents in the middle of the ring or even in the corner. We have seen him in that Fulton fight wherein he narrowly lost.
And if Magsayo is looking for a rematch with Rey Vargas, and so is Figueroa against Fulton. Same mindset of Mark, he thinks he win and he disagree with the judges score. But he can't do anything for now. So this two are looking for a big win in their clash.
Both are in a same mission to take back their loss glory and if given a chance for sure they will really aim for another title fight, I like he idea that both of them will be aggressive and will do all the best that they can do to win the fight, the outcome of the fight is the entertainment to all the fans who are waiting for another great view when watching fighters inside the ring.
We will know or conclude if who will be the one that will earn that chance to move to another fight and chase for the belt.
This fight will be very unpredictable for sure. Although I'm obviously rooting for Mark Magsayo, if he performs the same way as he did in his last fight, then I won't be very hopeful that he can win this one. This is a redemption fight for him since he was once an undefeated fighter but suffered losses against Vargas. The way for him to climb back up is to start winning again.
I think we all want Magsayo to win in some way, what I think is that if he has trained very hard he has a good chance, otherwise if he is training little without trying very hard he will lose, because even if it is an unpredictable fight to fight after training very hard. he can give very good results if he works hard because it is the only way to have a level.
