Bivol achieves victory too soon. His opponent is really capable of causing trouble.

On December 23, the main boxing tournament of the year will be held in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). As part of the event, undefeated Russian fighter Dmitry Bivol will defend his WBA light heavyweight title in a duel with Britain’s Lyndon Arthur.

Bivol is the favorite of this matchup. This is logical and correct, Dmitry does not lose to anyone, crushes all opponents and confidently rushes towards the goal of becoming the absolute world champion. Arthur, in theory, should be a springboard for the next fight, which will probably be with Artur Beterbiev. However, can Bivol afford to relax? Definitely not, his opponent is not a man on the street, but a strong boxer capable of causing problems for the Russian.

Dmitry Bivol – Lyndon Arthur

What is Bivol good for? We know very well that Dmitry relies on speed and movement, he does not need knockouts, he is determined to declassify his opponents and dismantle them into parts. His technique is well known to us. Bivol is light on his feet, he works very well with the jab, in counterattacks and with powerful series of multiple blows. The Russian is an excellent all-rounder, willing to adapt to the style of any rival, as he has repeatedly demonstrated.

Regarding Lyndon Arthur, the information is not as extensive. The first thing to know about the British boxer is his jab. He literally perfected this element to perfection, and it is no coincidence that both experts and Bivol himself notice this. Furthermore, he is considered to have the best jab in the UK. Thanks to blows, Arthur, as a rule, measures the distance in a standard way and hides strong blows behind them. Lyndon has knockout power; of 23 wins, he won 16 ahead of schedule. If you allow him to work freely in his own style, the Brit will definitely punish him for it.

We study the Bivol technique in detail:

Why is Bivol so cool? We study the technique of the Russian champion.

Bivol knows how to fight those boxers. Sulivan Barrera is excellent with the jab and loves to do it, but Dmitry took the keys. The result is 10% accuracy in the hits out of 333 thrown. From a technical point of view and other aspects, Arthur is unlikely to offer something new, he does not break the rhythm, he works in the same style, but he knows how to do it well. In addition, he is always ready to practice “dirty” boxing and tie his opponent in a clinch. This is useful for absolutely any boxer, but when you are the underdog, you can easily make this your main tactic and try to win that way. Make no mistake, Lyndon has the skills to try to pull it off. And he’s disciplined enough to follow the plan and not get caught up in the trades.

Of course, Bivol and Arthur have completely different levels of opposition. Lyndon’s biggest wins are over Anthony Yarde, who was knocked out by Artur Beterbiev less than a year ago, and Brian Suarez, with whom he challenged for the IBO title. Dmitry’s opponents were much more serious, but this could well end in an underestimation of his opponent.

Dmitry Bivol – Lyndon Arthur

Remember how the entire world gave Francis Ngannou a premature funeral, and this finally relaxed Tyson Fury, no matter how much he claimed otherwise. Bivol, as a rule, is always calm, tries to convince everyone that Lyndon Arthur is the best opponent for him today, but Dmitry is also a person and can be influenced by the general background, which rules out his opponent in advance. Under no circumstances should this be done. We remember that Arthur can hit hard. Furthermore, he will be fighting outside the UK for the first time and will be eager to prove himself in a new territory. The Briton has nothing to lose, his victory could be the surprise of the year and world boxing knows cases of this type.

Bivol’s downtime can’t be an advantage either. The last time Dmitry stepped into the ring was on November 5, 2022. It’s been 13.5 months and it wouldn’t be surprising to see a champion a little rusty. Arthur is definitely in better shape as this is already his fourth fight in 12.5 months. Of course, this will not cause a sudden change in the situation of this fight. These are just the factors why the British can cause problems for Bivol.

After all, we are talking about boxing, a sport where a strong, well-connected punch can throw any preliminary setup in the trash, so it is important for Bivol not to underestimate his opponent and avoid all the problems that Lyndon Arthur will try. cause.