Russian boxer Dmitry Bivol on Saturday, October 12, defeated Lenin Castillo in Chicago. Despite the difference in class between the opponents, the duel with Castillo could hardly be called a passing for Bivola. On the eve of the fight, the Dominican was only on the 15th line of the rating of the World Boxing Association, which only complicated Dmitry’s task. So, he needed not only to get the better of his counterpart, but also to do it as confidently as possible. Not the most vivid performance could affect the public’s interest in the following fights with the participation of the Russian and reduce his chances of receiving both unification and money fights.
Unlike his compatriots Sergey Kovalev and Arthur Beterbiev, Bivol was never famous for a knockout blow. In fact, he was the classic boxer who preferred to replay his opponents rather than send them to canvas. Such a style, although often brings the desired result, is rarely popular with viewers. However, not the highest level of skill of his opponent gave Dmitry fans hope that this time he would please them with an early victory.
True, already in the first rounds, it became clear that Bivol did not intend to change his corporate style of warfare. He acted extremely carefully and carefully, but at the same time completely surpassing his counterpart in the number of accurate hits. Dmitry moved well, regularly found gaps in the defense of Castillo and instantly returned to a safe distance. The Dominican clearly hoped for his knockout blow, as a result of which, almost without resistance, he gave the initiative to the Russian and began to wait.
But it was Bivol who managed to deliver the first crushing blow to the enemy. By the sixth round, the Russian had a huge advantage, preferring to act extremely clearly and variably. He literally terrorized Castillo with his quick jab and relentlessly alternated attacks on his head and body, which repeatedly perplexed his opponent. In desperation, the Dominican launched an offensive, but ran into the oncoming right line and ended up on the floor. To the credit of Lenin, it is worth noting that he reacted with a smile to the knockdown and quickly got to his feet.
It seemed that this failure was supposed to provoke him to action, but Castillo was completely desperate. He spent the next two three-minute periods as passively as the previous ones, and only slightly increased his intensity in the ninth interval. The Dominican tried to approach the close range and accentuate to hit the opponent, but Bivol confidently defended himself and quickly seized the initiative. It is all the more noteworthy that the most colorful moment of the round was the combination of a Russian of eight hits, which ended with a powerful right-handed straight into the corps.
The last three rounds also went completely under the dictation of Bivol and did not leave any questions regarding the name of the triumphant. The judges were almost unanimous, seeing in the ring his dominant victory. One of them even gave the Russians all 12 rounds, and the other two decided to cheer Castillo at least a little and determined a draw in one of the three minutes. So, Dmitry for the sixth time defended the WBA light heavyweight world title and extended his successful series to 17 fights.
Nevertheless, the spectators who were in the stands of the Wintrust Arena were not too enthusiastic about the success of Bivol. At the end of the fight, the fans booed the Russian, pointing to the fact that the battle was not the brightest.
“Maybe someone can call me a boring boxer, but try to beat me,” the Russian replied.
At the same time, he admitted that he was not upset by the fact that in the last four fights he could not knock out his counterpart, and told who he wanted to measure his strength in the future.
“Be that as it may, but I have a champion belt and the opportunity to fulfill my dream. I would like to fight with the winner of the battle between Canelo Alvarez and Sergey Kovalev. I won today and can fight one of them. Beterbiev or Carnation? Why not? We are from the same weight category, ”concluded Bivol.
The main event of the show was the debut fight of Alexander Usik in heavyweight. As in the case of Bivol, the opponent of the Ukrainian could hardly be called equal in level, but for the first fight in the new category this was the best option. Chazz Witherspoon never missed the stars from the sky, and his main career achievements are the fight for the North American WBO title and a meeting with the once-famous Chris Arreola.
At the same time, Usyk was supposed to fight against ex-world kickboxing champion Tyrone Spong, but banned substances were discovered in the Dutchman's body. He was removed from the fight, but did not agree with the verdict of the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) and demanded to open two more samples. It is noteworthy that both gave a negative result, but the chance to fight with the Ukrainian was already missed.
In the first fight, Usyk in heavy weight was attracted not only by his skill level, but also by his appearance. So, in the ring, he appeared in unusual white-green shorts, with the words "Simferopol", "Ukraine", as well as the name of his daughter Lisa. In addition, Alexander seriously gained weight and looked much more massive.
This slightly affected his speed qualities, considered his main weapon, but against the background of Witherspoon he still remained extremely fast. The antennae reached the required distance without any problems and “shot” his opponent with both direct and side impacts, practically not allowing him to respond. The beating continued for seven rounds, at the end of which the corner of the American decided to refuse to continue the battle.