"I think Canelo probably miscalculated" - Andre Ward reacts to Canelo Alvarez loss against Dmitry Bivol
Former two-weight division world champion Andre Ward believes Canelo Alvarez underestimated Dmitry Bivol and was expecting a straightforward victory against the Russian.
Alvarez lost to Bivol last Saturday via a 12 round decision after being outmanouvred and outworked throughout the contest. The Mexican was unable to find a way through the Russians' defense and seemed to gas half way through the bout.
Watch the fight highlights between Alvarez and Bivol:
Bivol retained his WBA Light Heavyweight Championship and is now ranked as the eighth best fighter in the world by Ring Magazine.
Here's what Andre Ward said about the fight in an interview with Fight Hype:
"I think in taking the fight Canelo probably miscalculated, number 1. I think that Bivol has been a bit inactive, he's won his fights but he hasn't done anything that was polarizing. He just miscalculated and he took that lead and that's what it takes to beat a Canelo, you have got to be a hybrid. You can't just be a good boxer, you can't just be a fighter. Today, right now you got to be a hybrid"
Watch the full interview with Andre Ward on Fight Hype:
Andre Ward believes Canelo Alvarez was shocked with Dmitry Bivol's toughness
Andre Ward continued by stating how Canelo Alvarez seemed surprised by Bivol not being phased by his power punches and his ability to exchange shots with the Mexican. He said:
"That's what Bivol did, he got hit and he hit Canelo back and you can see Canelo, it's always a look that guys who are dominant and they're not dominant in that moment. He was throwing all his signature shots, the left hook, all the heavy shots he likes to throw. Bivol was taking them and hitting him back and you can see that look on his face ' oh this aint how this is supposed to go'."
It remains to be seen if Alvarez chooses to invoke his rematch clause and face Bivol a second time. Many boxing experts do not believe the former pound-for-pound king has what it takes to defeat the much bigger Russian. Regardless, Alvarez has options and may opt with his original plan of a trilogy bout with Gennadiy Golovkin in September.