In the world of Boxing, Dmitry Bivol is the only man other than Floyd Mayweather who has handed boxing’s golden boy Saul “Canelo” Alvarez a loss inside the boxing ring. The two fought for the WBA‘s light-heavyweight title when Alvarez decided to move up a weight class. Bivol came into the fight as a 400+ underdog, but he managed to outland Alvarez in every round, walking away with a unanimous decision.
Bivol has won three more fights since his showdown with Alvarez, snatching the IBO light-heavyweight title along the way. Bivol has gained popularity since his successful title defense against Alvarez, and his fighting style is worthy of a detailed analysis.
Analyzing Dmitry Bivol’s Effective Boxing Style
Bivol started boxing when he was six, and he went on to have a decorated amateur career, winning two world championships and two Russian national championships. He compiled a 268-15 record on the amateur boxing scene before turning pro.
This article will explore the techniques and attitudes that have led to Bivol’s success as a boxer. Some of these techniques and tactics might be equally effective for you inside the boxing ring.
Some of the little things that make Bivol one of the best boxers around today include:
1) A High Guard
You will rarely see Bivol using fancy defensive techniques like the Philly shell. Instead, the Russian prefers to keep it simple and primarily uses a high guard. The high guard provides effective defense coverage as it makes it easy to block incoming punches and minimizes the damage they cause.
However, using a high guard also has some drawbacks, like making it harder to counter your opponent’s attacks.
2) Powerful Jab
Dmitry Bivol relies heavily on his phenomenal jab to keep opponents at bay and control the pace of the action. He uses a snappy, powerful jab that rarely misses its target, making it challenging for opponents to get past his long hands. It’s one of his main offensive tools inside the ring, and his hands go right back to his face after each punch, limiting his opponent’s opportunities to land counters.
3) Sharp Pivots
Watch a few of Bivol’s fights, and you’ll quickly notice how effortlessly he pivots out of the way of punches. Bivol has excellent footwork, as is often the case with boxers trained in the Russian boxing style, and he uses his feet to pivot out of the way of punches by creating angles that make it challenging for them to land punches while he’s able to land his.
4) Ability To Fight While Moving Backward
While many boxers prefer to march forward toward their opponents during their fights, Bivol prefers fighting off his backfoot, goading opponents into committing to their combinations while he uses his feet to create openings for counterattacks. It’s somewhat similar to how Mayweather could dominate opponents while moving backward for the entire duration of a fight.
5) Excellent Boxing Fundamentals
Bivol is as fundamentally sound as any boxer who has ever laced up a pair of gloves. He typically keeps things simple inside the ring, preferring to stick to the basics, like keeping his hands high and using a jab-centric approach to pick his opponents apart.
He’s not a fan of flashy boxing techniques and prefers to stick to the tested and proven fundamentals of the sweet science. That mentality has dramatically contributed to his success inside the ring.
6) Using Jabs To Build Combinations
Most of the combinations Bivol throws inside the ring start with a jab. Many boxers make the mistake of viewing their jab as a means to an end, but Bivol makes it a substantial part of his offense.
He loves to pepper opponents with his jab throughout his fights, using it to establish control and keep opponents at the distance he wants them to be. Bivol also uses his jab defensively to break up his opponent’s attacks before they get going.
Regarding his offense, Bivol uses his jab to start his combinations. One of his favorite combos is the jab and cross, which he lands on most of the opponents he faces. He likes to keep opponents preoccupied with his jab while he fires a hard right hand right down the middle. His jab being so powerful often gets opponents to overly focus on it, opening other options.
7) Varied Jabs
Another cool thing about Dmitry Bivol’s boxing style is how he varies the speed of his jabs. He doesn’t throw the punch the same way every time, but instead, he likes to vary the speed and power behind each jab.
This makes it a lot trickier for opponents to anticipate and counter his jabs. Bivol sometimes throws his jab slowly as a distraction to get his opponent to think he’s slowing down before firing a hard one right down the centerline. His ability to mix up how he throws his jabs makes it challenging for opponents to evade them.
Bivol sometimes shows how experienced he is by using his slow jabs to push his opponents off-balance so he can land hard shots on them. Pushing is illegal in boxing, but savvy boxers know how to hide the push behind a punch.
8) Discipline
From the same video at 8:08s. You can see that one of the most impressive things about Dmitry Bivol’s fighting style is how emotionless and composed he is during his fights. That was evident when he went against Canelo as he managed to outland his decorated opponent in every round. It was the biggest test he had faced as a professional boxer, and he passed with flying colors.
Bivol avoids engaging in unnecessary brawls during his fight as he’s adept at noticing and avoiding traps his opponents set for him.
Dmitry often prefers to start his fights by peppering opponents with jabs, adding more combinations as the fight progresses.
Dmitry Bivol Highlights How Effective The Russian Boxing Style Can Be
How Bivol fights inside the boxing ring is reminiscent of how other boxers from the region, like the Klitschko brothers, fight. It’s a scientifically developed boxing style proven highly effective at all levels. Watch some of Bivol’s fights and see which of his strategies you can add to your fighting style.
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