Dmitry Bivol Reveals Surprising Power Verdict on Canelo and Benavidez: "I didn't expect that"

Dmitry Bivol has shared his thoughts on how Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and David Benavidez compare in the ring. The Russian boxer, who's faced Canelo and sparred with Benavidez, gave his take on their punching power.

Fans have been asking for a fight between Canelo and Benavidez for a while now. But Canelo doesn't seem too keen, even putting a $200 million price tag on it. Meanwhile, Benavidez is moving up to light-heavyweight.

Canelo's been to light-heavyweight before. He beat Sergey Kovalev there but lost to Bivol. Now, Bivol's comparing the two fighters based on his experiences with them.

When it comes to power, Bivol thinks Canelo puts more effort into his punches. He says:

"Canelo puts more effort in his punches I would say."

But for defense and speed, Bivol sees them as equals:

"When it comes to defence, I'd say they are even. I'd again say [for speed] they are pretty much even."

Bivol had more to say about Canelo's power after their fight:

"I felt his power. He has really good power. He has good speed, good power, good sense, but some people are born with the power. I don't have that type of power. I can throw a power punch if I want to put the power into my punch, I can do it intentionally and some other boxers, they have power in every punch. They can just throw a punch and it's already powerful. To be honest, as a light-heavyweight, I didn't feel like he had that power that you get from birth, I felt like he was just putting everything he can into every punch and trying to make it powerful."

The numbers back up their power. Canelo's knocked out 39 opponents in 61 wins, while Benavidez has 24 knockouts in 29 wins. Benavidez often gets early finishes because he throws so many punches and doesn't let up.

Bivol has sparred with Benavidez and says it was good work. But he's quick to point out that sparring and fight nights are very different.

Bivol shared these thoughts with Snow Queen LA. He's now getting ready for a big fight of his own. On October 12, he'll face Artur Beterbiev for all the light-heavyweight belts. Whoever wins that fight will have to face Benavidez next, as he's the mandatory challenger.