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As 2022 winds down, Sports Illustrated is looking back at the themes and teams, storylines and throughlines that shaped the year.
If Dmitry Bivol’s career had wrapped up in April, before the Russian expatriate scored a decisive win over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, prior to a one-sided whipping of the then-undefeated Gilberto Ramirez, it would have been a laudable one. A decorated amateur run fueled a rapid rise in the pro ranks, one highlighted by a world title and a handful of credible defenses. Not bad for a Kyrgyzstan-born kid who credits his interest in boxing to old Jackie Chan movies.
It didn’t end in April, of course. In May, Bivol was in Las Vegas, outworking Alvarez to hand boxing’s then pound-for-pound king his first loss in nearly a decade. Seven months later Bivol was in the Middle East, in Abu Dhabi, battering Ramirez, a light heavyweight rival, on his way to a lopsided decision. The wins didn’t earn Bivol any extra hardware—both, officially, were title defenses, bumping Bivol’s record to 21-0. But they did earn Bivol a place on the pound-for-pound lists—and Sports Illustrated’s nod for 2022’s Fighter of the Year.
By his own admission, the start of the calendar year for Bivol was a challenging one. In the ring, Bivol, a light heavyweight titleholder since 2017, was struggling to secure a significant fight. Sergey Kovalev wasn’t interested. Artur Beterbiev had other plans. There was buzz about a matchup with Canelo Alvarez but Canelo, as always, had other options. To stay active, Bivol was forced to face Craig Richards in the UK and defend his title against Umar Salamov on a small card in Russia. Outside the ring, Russia’s conflict with Ukraine was percolating. When they invaded in February, Bivol found himself connected to a war he had little knowledge of—and nothing to do with.
“It was,” says Bivol, “very difficult.”
Ed Mulholland/Matchroom
For years, Bivol had chased a fight with Alvarez, dangling a light heavyweight title in front of him. An alliance with Eddie Hearn—who recently created an alliance with Alvarez—increased his chances, though, says Bivol, “it never really felt close.”
Suddenly, in 2022, it was. After cleaning out super middleweight, Alvarez had options. Hearn presented him with two. A fight with Bivol, and a chance to make history again at light heavyweight was one. A blood-feud-ending fight with Gennadiy Golovkin was the other. Alvarez accepted. Bivol was in.
In May, Bivol entered the ring as a 4-1 underdog. Funny thing—he didn’t feel like one. He respected Alvarez. Admired him, really. “He’s a very good boxer,” says Bivol. But Bivol knew he was, too. He was a veteran of more than 300 amateur fights. He was a career-long light heavyweight. As he made his ring walk, he could feel the energy from the pro-Canelo crowd against him. “It made me more confident,” says Bivol. “I tried to think positive and believe in my skills.”
Alvarez is a rare talent, fast and powerful with a deep in-ring playbook. Within 30 seconds, Bivol says, he knew he could beat him. He knew he could blunt Alvarez’s attack with a stiff jab. He knew he could overwhelm him with accurate combinations. By the third round, says Bivol, he could see flickers of frustration in Alvarez’s eyes. “He was uncomfortable,” says Bivol. “He didn't like what's going on in the ring. And I tried to make it more and more uncomfortable for him.”
Ed Mulholland/Matchroom
And he did. Round by round, Bivol racked up the points. “I had a game plan,” says Bivol, “and I stuck with it.” His jab was sharp; Bivol landed 46 of them, per CompuBox, to Canelo’s ten. His punches were accurate; he landed 152 to Canelo’s 84. In each round, Bivol touched Alvarez with double-digit punches. Canelo succeeded in doing that in just two. The scorecards—all three judges saw the fight 115-113 for Bivol—suggested it was close. Most who watched it didn’t.
In November, after Alvarez elected to bypass an immediate rematch, Bivol took another opportunity. Ramirez had been chasing Bivol for nearly as long as Bivol pursued Canelo. He promised to bully Bivol. To overwhelm him. He didn’t. For 12 rounds, Bivol pushed back the physically superior fighter. He controlled the ring with his jab. He frustrated Ramirez, who landed just 12% of his punches, with his defense. This time, the three wide judges scorecards were more reflective of reality.
Ask Bivol if he is happy with his year and you are met with a shrug. His bank account is bigger. His profile, too. The legends he grew up watching, like Sugar Ray Leonard and Evander Holyfield, were now eager to meet him. “For a boy who was born in a small city, that’s cool,” says Bivol. But Bivol is quick to point out that he didn’t add any new titles to his collection. “I can’t say it was my dream to beat Canelo,” says Bivol. “My dream is to get more belts, to make boxing history.”
That’s the mindset Bivol will take into 2023, when one of boxing’s most unheralded champions will become its most sought-after. A Canelo rematch is inevitable, though Bivol was clear he prefers to face Alvarez at super middleweight, both to remove any weigh-related excuses and give Bivol a chance to snatch all four 168-pound belts in one fight. A showdown with Artur Beterbiev, a three-belt light heavyweight titleholder, could come after, giving Bivol a chance at a second undisputed crown. The money for both will be huge, though Bivol insists it’s the impact on his legacy that matters.
“If you are motivated only by money, you'll never achieve anything,” says Bivol. “It's stupid. You have to love your job. If you are an actor, you have to have a dream to get an Oscar, not just to earn money. When you get your Oscar, you earn money too. But this is second. When you get a lot of titles, you earn money too. I'm not a guy who works only with the money. I’m not the guy who works on Wall Street. They think about money. I'm an athlete. Maybe it’s a stupid dream, to have all the belts. But it's much more than just a belt. It's a legacy. It's something which makes you more happy, more confident. It helps to put your name in the boxing history.”
Refreshing perspective from SI’s Fighter of the Year who, if you really think of it, is the early frontrunner for next year’s award, too.
