By: Hans Themistode
Eddy Reynoso beamed with pride and confidence as he watched his fighter, Canelo Alvarez, make his way to the ring late last night.
As a jam-packed crowd in T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, roared vociferously, Reynoso remained steadfast in his belief that his Mexican star would keep his staunch supporters on their feet.
While pegged as a considerable underdog, Dmitry Bivol was both unfazed and undaunted by the task at hand. In the opening round, the Russian native appeared content and willing to allow Alvarez to bully him against the ropes. As the rounds slowly ticked by, however, he slowly began finding his rhythm.
At times, Alvarez’s backers sat quietly as Bivol blasted his man mercilessly. A visibly tired Alvarez admitted that during the championship rounds, he was running on fumes, something Bivol would take full advantage of.
Despite languishing against the ropes for long stretches, Alvarez proudly rose his hand in triumph as the sound of the final bell blared through T-Mobile Arena. Nevertheless, while Alvarez believed he was only moments away from arguably his greatest achievement, it was Bivol who was left grinning from ear to ear as all three judges scoring their light heavyweight bout handed the Russian star a close but clear unanimous decision victory.
As both Alvarez and Reynoso retreated to their dressing room in disbelief, the pair have already revealed that their rivalry with Bivol has only just begun. In the end, while Reynoso refuses to fulminate over the judge’s decision, he believes they ultimately handed the victory to the wrong fighter.
“Yes, there’s no doubt about that, we want that rematch,” said Reynoso to a group of reporters. “We felt that we didn’t lose the fight, just some rounds. We want that rematch to see what we can do better.”
After wrapping every world title around his waist at 168 pounds, Alvarez, 31, craved an even bigger challenge. In an effort to meet his wishes, Reynoso viewed a light heavyweight showdown against Bivol as the ultimate risk.
Having produced a spotless record through 19 professional bouts, Bivol gladly accepted team Alvarez’s decision to face him. Reynoso, who also manages Alvarez in addition to training him, is of the belief that the former pound-for-pound king followed his pre-fight game plan to perfection.
Still, regardless of Alvarez’s execution, and despite Reynoso maintaining that his fighter should have been given the victory, he won’t allow himself to take the spotlight away from Bivol. More than anything, the former trainer of the year believes that while Bivol has sullied Alvarez’s record, the Mexican native can walk with his head held high.
“You have to give good credit to Bivol and what he did but Saul is a winner and he will come back stronger.”