Boxing: Dmitry Bivol defeats 'Canelo' Alvarez to retain WBA light heavyweight title.
Unbeaten Dmitry Bivol retained his WBA light-heavyweight world title with a unanimous points decision over Saul "Canelo" Alvarez on Saturday, handing the Mexican superstar just the second defeat of his career.
Russia's Bivol, 31, improved to 20-0 with 11 knockouts while multiweight champion Alvarez, the pound-for-pound king who went in a heavy favorite, fell to 57-2 with two draws.
His only other defeat was to Floyd Mayweather at light middleweight in 2013.
- Alvarez made boxing history in November when he stopped Caleb Plant to become the first man to unite all four super middleweight world title belts.
It was a massive disappointment for the pro-Alvarez crowd at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, who were pulling for a Mexican victory on the Cinco de Mayo holiday weekend.
- Alvarez landed a big uppercut to Bivol's chin to end the fourth round. But his aggressive start to the fifth yielded little as Bivol turned the tables with a big flurry in the middle of the round and closed with a punishing left hand.
- Bivol fought a disciplined fight, keying a steady attack with a piston-like jab that opened the door for powerful combinations.
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