Size and Technique
If there’s one thing Ramirez lacks, it’s speed. In our team's opinion, this is his main drawback. He compensates for this disadvantage with superiority in size, but that doesn’t always work. Bivol is not afraid of big rivals. Before the fight with Canelo, he fought with Umar Salamov, a Russian boxer. Salamov had a very solid advantage in both height and arm span, but this did not help him in the ring, even with some of his “questionable” moves.
Why does a size advantage not work with Bivol?
The answer to this question lies in his boxing school: it’s Soviet. He received it from his second coach Isaev Nikolai Petrovich, who trained him from 2002 to 2010.
Isaev's school mainly promotes boxing “at a distance”. The priority is given to the footwork in its "pendulum" technique. The body in combat is relaxed, and punches are more "ballistic". That is, the fist flies like a stone that is tied to a rope. The punches aren’t always strong, but instead are fast, biting, and have the effect of a whip, which gives its striking power. The balance of the body between the lead foot and the back foot is also important so that when you hit, you do not “fall” forward, but have time to retreat to a safe distance.
A relaxed body in combat gives fighters advantages such as high speed, endurance, and mobility. The footwork in the "pendulum” mode allows the opponent to attack with the lead hand. Initiating an attack, a rebound can occur at a safe distance, and when the opponent's punches "cut through the air", the fighter can counterattack.
A closer look at Bivol’s boxing
Bivol's style is built on a relaxed, fast, and mobile technique. During their coach Gennady Mashyanov’s pro career, it was slightly modified in order to match the conditions of modern professional boxing. A great example of this work is the Bivol vs Barrera fight:
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Nevertheless, even larger boxers find it hard to reach Bivol because they simply aren’t quick enough. Even if they land a punch, there’s no accent in such punches. Together with well-developed timing, experience, and discipline, Bivol becomes an invulnerable target for an opponent's accented strikes. He blocks a lot of punches when he wants to wear down his opponents: that’s how pros handle it.
Understanding Ramirez’s boxing style
Ironically, a boxer as slow as Ramirez technically still has something to offer with his inconvenient style. Take a look at Ramirez vs. Barrera below:
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Ramirez responds to his opponent's "provocation" without many accents in his attack. He doesn't really try to hit because he understands that this is a "provocation" and he will be "picked up" after any misses. Instead, Ramirez saves his energy and waits, and when Barrera tries to “catch” him with his counterattack, Ramirez delivers with a classic uppercut. If he somehow manages to catch Bivol in such a position, then all that remains would be to finish him off.
We believe this would be one of Ramirez’s many technical features in this upcoming fight. Ramirez has a wide arsenal of combinations, great body shots, and strength to top it off. We believe his chances are higher than for any of Dmitry's past rivals unless we talk about Canelo, which makes this fight very intriguing.
November 5th: Bivol vs Ramirez
Our team expects an exhilarating fight on November 5th between the champion Bivol and Ramirez. It’s a colossal fight in the world of boxing. Moreover, there is a very good coach in Dmitry’s corner, Mashyanov, who is a "techie" that analyzes the fights thoroughly and provides match-defining recommendations.
Dmitry can take a punch, and Ramirez does not send his opponents to the floor with one punch. He needs several accurate hits to put someone like Bivol down. Hard-pressing tactics from Zurdo will most likely not work as the opponent is very mobile and knows how to keep his distance.
Of course, all of our technical analysis is based on the condition of optimal form from both boxers. So, with a high degree of probability, we predict that Bivol will win this bout by decision.
Image Credit: CBS Sports