Looked like it
The RedCafe Boxing Thread
- Thread starter CLK_FPC
- Start date
Looked like it
Looked like him, knew the face from somewhere
Glad I wasn’t going crazy, Sky commentators throwing me right off with their preference for Bivol because of a flurry or two per round.
Draw for me. Bivol with better skills but Beterbiev looked as if he hurt him more.
I had it level with Beterbiev winning the last 2.
116-112 is very harsh on Bivol.
116-112 is very harsh on Bivol.
Bivol what a great sport no grabbing the mic and being a bell end like joshua,no excuses at all.
Yeah very gracious there despite clearly being hugely disappointed.
Thought they both spoke well was no agenda they are both classy guys.
Judging in boxer is archaic and so, so sus.
Hard fight to call, draw would have been fair but it's how the judges view aggression compared to clean boxing.
Surprisingly, I thought Bivol tired more than anticipated down the stretch but his movement kept him competitive.
116-112 is despicable however I can see Beterbiev with a 115-113 which is still quite favorable or Bivol at that same score.
Must be the first fight in Saudi where the judges will get some critique compared to what we see on a regular basis in the US.
Surprisingly, I thought Bivol tired more than anticipated down the stretch but his movement kept him competitive.
116-112 is despicable however I can see Beterbiev with a 115-113 which is still quite favorable or Bivol at that same score.
Must be the first fight in Saudi where the judges will get some critique compared to what we see on a regular basis in the US.
Last edited:
Don't get the controversy tbh. Bivol was clearly on the back foot most of the fight. 116-112 is complete rubbish but I do think the correct fighter won.
Really good fight that.
Really good fight that.
Great fight and an intriguing match up.
I thought Bivel edged it by a round or two but thought it could go either way with the judges. For it to go the other way by 4 on one judges card is insane.
I thought Bivel edged it by a round or two but thought it could go either way with the judges. For it to go the other way by 4 on one judges card is insane.
Great fight, would love a rematch.
I think the only issue would be the wide card, but honestly I wouldn’t have issue with any result- fight was super close.
I had it a draw, but felt Bivol may get the win on the cards. But have no issue with Beterbiev winning, kept the pressure the whole fight and definitely hurt Bivol more.
I think the only issue would be the wide card, but honestly I wouldn’t have issue with any result- fight was super close.
I had it a draw, but felt Bivol may get the win on the cards. But have no issue with Beterbiev winning, kept the pressure the whole fight and definitely hurt Bivol more.
Yeah he definitely was the heavier hitter and quite often forced Bivol back without necessarily landing. he was quite clever, in that he went for Bivol for the last 40-50s of practically every round, which can catch the eye of the judges.
I love seeing Hearn pissed off he's a chump.
Amazing to hear Hearn and Warren completely agree with each other - that must be a first
Both are leaches. Owned totally these days by the Saudi cash that's more important than them fighting each other anymore.
Everyone is. Every single fighter…..”thank you to his excellency”.
I’m torn between finding it absolutely nauseating……but actually being impressed with the quality of the overall cards, rather than just a bunch of unknown before the main fight
Ah let's be honest it's pretty grim and while the matchups have been good, it's completely devoid of atmosphere.
Why are people surprised at the shady scorecards? You had a literal warlord enter the ring after the fight.
The cards are good, but the atmosphere just ruins it for me. Somehow it feels absolutely soulless even though we've still got the fight. There'll never be a fight considered as one of the greats over there. Best thing they've done is AJ and Dubois over here, they should stick to that.
116-112 is too wide, didn’t see the first three rounds as I was at work but thought the rest of the fight was great, hope they run it back.
@pocco @Withnail
Fully agree and there was at least one fighter, can’t remember who, who praised the atmosphere and the crowd- saying how much these people loved their boxing.
It felt like a pre-ordered line
Anyway, feck it. Exciting fights coming up for Wardley and Opetaia. We’ll finally see Benn and Eubanks. Whittaker is the cnut many suspected he was. Bivol got the GGG-Canelo 1 Adelaide Bird treatment (though maybe not quite as harsh). I’ll never forget that card. But we’ll get to see them run it back, hopefully with non-bent judging.
A good night for boxing overall
Fully agree and there was at least one fighter, can’t remember who, who praised the atmosphere and the crowd- saying how much these people loved their boxing.
It felt like a pre-ordered line
Anyway, feck it. Exciting fights coming up for Wardley and Opetaia. We’ll finally see Benn and Eubanks. Whittaker is the cnut many suspected he was. Bivol got the GGG-Canelo 1 Adelaide Bird treatment (though maybe not quite as harsh). I’ll never forget that card. But we’ll get to see them run it back, hopefully with non-bent judging.
A good night for boxing overall
Last edited:
1-3 were unquestionably Bivol, Beterbiev hadn’t got started
I would have given it to Bivol comfortably so that will be an interesting match to rewatch. Beterbiev was the one coming forward but Bivol controlled the pace of it for 9 rounds or so. Definitely started to fade in later rounds, shelling up more frequently but I feel Beterbiev revving up started one or two rounds too late.
Less dramatic than Usyk-Fury but looked like really elite boxing to me all throughout.
Less dramatic than Usyk-Fury but looked like really elite boxing to me all throughout.
Does back pedalling count as controlling the pace ? Hmmm. Fight of two halves. Loved it, that was a case study of a fight in boxer vs puncher.
On reflection I don’t think the result was that bad to be honest. The one card was odd and too wide, and I personally would have gone with a draw, but in a tight fight like that you have to finish strongly and Beterbiev did just that, whilst maintaining forward pressure throughout. That certainly swung it and you can’t take away from him in that regard.
Agree with this if there was a few extra rounds I could see beterbiev stopping him he was breaking through.
Bivol took more damage and all. He said he his own gloves caused the bruising around his eyes due to Beterbiev punching his gloves or at least partially. But yeah draw would've been a fair result. Great fight regardless.
You can control the fight on the back foot, Floyd made an art of it. Stay on the outside or just move around and be too quick and elusive, give them nothing, in and out whilst putting a few nice combinations together etc. I think the turning point was Beterbiev working the body, good advice if it came from his corner. As soon as he did that, Bivol slowed right down and allowed Beterbiev to get inside and start working.
How do people see Bivol and Beterbiev against Kovalev? It was the first time I've seen Beterbiev fight and I actually wasn't that impressed if I'm honest. I didn't see the power his record would suggest.
These 20 KOs, are they from wearing an opponent down or has he shown one punch KO power?
These 20 KOs, are they from wearing an opponent down or has he shown one punch KO power?
In a weird way I'm hoping for a bit of a lull in boxing, in the hope that they lose a bit of interest and move on to something else. The whole thing just feels wrong, it's like they're trying to buy culture at the expense of the fans. Just feels tacky as hell.
You could almost guarantee they have been told to say things like this. They must think the boxing fans watching are idiots. Absolutely nobody is buying it.
Out of interest, what's the script with the Saudis who turn up to these fights? They friends/ family/ associates of the royal family? Paying public? It just feels like it's probably one big flex from the royal family, as though they're putting a bit of evening entertainment on for their friends, who have no real interest in boxing.
Nicely done!
Fight felt draw-ish to me, and 116-12 instinctively feels wrong, but many of those rounds were razor-thin, both on the initial eye-test and according to the stats. I wouldn't put that as a robbery, personally. From the Ring Magazine website:
Last edited:
Aye, great as these fight cards are there's quite a bitter aftertaste. The sycophancy, the shite atmospheres, fecking Kadyrov rocking up to celebrate with Beterbiev
Outside of general sportswashing, feck knows. Pick a popular western pastime and invest in it. If his excellency says you love boxing then you love boxing
Ironically, with a nod to the above, at least Kadyrov is a genuine boxing fan. Probably the most genuine fan in the whole buildingAye, great as these fight cards are there's quite a bitter aftertaste. The sycophancy, the shite atmospheres, fecking Kadyrov rocking up to celebrate with Beterbiev
Not overlooking the mass-murdering aspect of course, but still……
I think to around R9 his distancing, placement and defense mostly frustrated Beterbiev of opportunities and Bivol was often the most efficient for 2 minutes out of three in most rounds.
On a rewatch I might see things differently but in the moment I genuinely thought he was well ahead.
People frame it as a "do you value more activity or accuracy" thing but for the first half of the fight Beterbiev wasn't all that active (or more accurately did not tons of openings).
What I'll say is that I'm not sure there was a lot you could change to Bivol's game plan and I don't see a lot of ways he could improve his performance that was already very high level... So I'll think a rematch will have the same problems for him unless Beterbiev ages out of that form (and he was fresh post recovery !). Save of course for an insane flush counter perfect punch.
As an aside, the Japanese card this morning (headlined by T.Inoue vs Tsutsumi) was very good.
Another good Japanese card currently underway.
Junto Nakatani is now in action against a Thai boxer with a good record in home country.
Assuming Junto comes through he will be on a collision course with Naoya Inoue which would be a massive fight in Japan and in the trade but overlooked by casuals.
Hope Turki is paying attention
Junto Nakatani is now in action against a Thai boxer with a good record in home country.
Assuming Junto comes through he will be on a collision course with Naoya Inoue which would be a massive fight in Japan and in the trade but overlooked by casuals.
Hope Turki is paying attention