Dmitry Bivol—six months removed from a convincing win over Canelo Álvarez—arrived at a press conference this week looking and sounding a lot like Dmitry Bivol … six days before he shared the ring with Alvarez. He wore dark pants and a loose-fitting white shirt. He smiled sheepishly when questioned about his recent success. He praised his next opponent, Gilberto Ramirez, while shrugging off attempts to bait him into criticizing him.
“I have a lot of respect for [Ramirez],” Bivol said. “Boxing is a gentleman’s sport. I like when people respect each other. I don’t want attention for trash-talking. I want attention in the ring.”
Bivol-Ramirez is a good fight. A great fight. Bivol, fighting for the first time since out-pointing Álvarez, will defend his 175-pound title. Ramirez, a former 168-pound champion, is undefeated, including a 5–0 run (with five knockouts) at light heavyweight. Bivol is the superior boxer. Ramirez, who will likely outweigh Bivol by more than 20 pounds Saturday, is the bigger man. Bivol will attempt to win with movement and accurate punches. Ramirez’s strategy is to cut the ring off and swarm Bivol in the corners.
