By Brian Webber: Joe Smith Jr. says he visualized the Canelo Alvarez vs. Dmitry Bivol combat in his head beforehand and wasn’t stunned on the final result of the competition.
Smith notes that Canelo Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs) had fought numerous aggressive fighters in his profession that got here on to him and have been there to be hit.
WBA gentle heavyweight champion Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) used motion, jabbing, and mixture punching to outwork Canelo.
It was predictable going into the combat that Canelo would have issues with the mobility of Bivol. We’d seen his current opponents, Caleb Plant & Billy Joe Saunders, give him suits with the little little bit of motion that confirmed of their fights in opposition to him.
The one cause Canelo beat these two champions is that they received drained and stood in entrance of him. When Bivol did stand in entrance of Canelo, he used a good guard to select off his pictures.
“I believed Bivol had an important likelihood to win the combat simply with their types,” Smith Jr. mentioned to DAZN about his combat with Canelo.
“Canelo is used to going through aggressive guys, continually making an attempt to knock him out and coming ahead. Bivol just isn’t that sort of man; he’s going to select his pictures and transfer; I pictured the combat the best way it went.”
It’s truthful to say that Canelo made a silly mistake by focusing on Bivol’s left bicep along with his punches, throwing many pictures to that arm, hoping to weaken it.
If Canelo had directed these punches to the pinnacle of Bivol as an alternative of his arm, he might need harm him. He in all probability thought he was coping with one other Callum Smith sort of fighter, and that was a mistake.
Bivol is gentle years forward of Callum within the expertise division, and he was by no means going to be crushed by Canelo’s scatter-brained plan of focusing on his bicep.
Hopefully, Canelo learns a lesson from this loss and doesn’t try the identical tactic in a rematch with Bivol or in his fights in opposition to David Benavidez and Jermall Charlo.
“I imagine at this level I’m able to face the very best; I imagine I’m top-of-the-line and may beat numerous the very best,” mentioned Smith.
Joe Smith is going through top-of-the-line subsequent months in his unification combat in opposition to IBF/WBC gentle heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs) on June 18th at Madison Sq. Backyard in New York.
Whereas Smith has believed for a while that he can beat Beterbiev, it’s simpler mentioned than executed. Beterbiev would possibly show loads higher than Smith envisioned.
“I’m at all times ready to go 12 rounds, however I can get him out of there early; that’s one factor I wish to do. I don’t wish to go 12 rounds,” mentioned Smith about his combat with Beterbiev on June 18th.
