Upsets are nothing new in boxing. James "Buster" Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson. Randy Turpin upended Sugar Ray Robinson. Lloyd Honeyghan stopped Donald Curry. Kirkland Laing defeated Roberto Duran. Jeff Horn had his hand raised against Manny Pacquiao. Andy Ruiz Jr. shocked the world by stopping Anthony Joshua. Dmitry Bivol soundly defeated Canelo Alvarez.
Obviously, not all upsets are treated the same, but when they happen, they can disrupt the entire sport. The most significant inquiry following an upset is what will the victor do next.
MORE: Everything you need to know about Dmitry Bivol vs. Gilberto Ramirez
Oftentimes, the fighter who pulls off the upset doesn’t get the rub of superstardom. Instead, they still have to prove themselves to avoid being labeled a fluke by the boxing community. For the most part, the fighter who defeats the bigger star ends up getting swallowed up by the fame and can never reclaim anything remotely close to that old glory.
Douglas was stopped in his next fight against Evander Holyfield. Turpin lost a rematch to Robinson. Honeyghan won three straight before dropping a decision to Jorge Vaca and struggled to obtain a victory remotely close to his upending Curry. Laing followed his Upset of the Year over Duran by getting stopped by Fred Hutchings. Ruiz overindulged in his new lifestyle and ate himself to a loss in the rematch with Joshua. Horn was annihilated by Terence Crawford in his second fight after beating Pacquiao.
Meanwhile, the one who was upset overcomes the speed bump and maintains their popularity once they get back to their winning ways.
MORE: Who is on the Bivol vs. Ramirez undercard?
Remember that time Zahir Raheem beat Erik Morales? What happened to Raheem? He lost to Acelino Freitas and was forever forgotten about. Same with Frankie Randall after he shocked the world by handing Julio Cesar Chavez his first defeat. He lost the rematch and went 9-15 to end his career. Will Bivol suffer this same fate?
In his case, his next act will take place Saturday when he defends his WBA light heavyweight championship against the undefeated Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Should Bivol win, he’ll move on to an undisputed light heavyweight title fight against Artur Beterbiev or a big-money rematch with Alvarez.
These conditions are ripe for a letdown; Ramirez is no slouch. But since beating Canelo, Bivol hasn't done anything aside from focus on his primary goal, and that’s not a rematch with Canelo but becoming an undisputed champion.
That focus is telling.
“When people tell me that I have achieved everything, it's like they pour water on my fire," Bivol said at Thursday’s press conference. "I try to only think about my dream, to realize my full potential. I try to be hungry and angry every time and be focused on training and my opponents. I try to think about how this Saturday night will be the hardest fight of my career. It makes me more focused on the night."
He’s not concerned with getting an endorsement deal or being seen frivolously spending his newfound fortune. Bivol soundly defeated Canelo and acted as if it were just another day at the office. Prior to that win, Bivol was unfazed by the attention the fight was getting. Throughout the build, he only spoke of defending his title and routinely shrugged off the notion that Canelo was his toughest test. Bivol doesn’t see faces or fame; he sees opponents getting in the way of his dream.
After he dispatched Canelo, there was talk of a rematch, but Canelo moved on to defeat rival Gennadiy Golovkin to complete their contentious trilogy and then announced he would be taking time off to heal. Bivol zoned in on the undefeated Ramirez to secure his place in the Fighter of the Year conversation alongside Devin Haney and Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez.
MORE: Bivol on Canelo rematch, facing Ramirez and becoming 'an animal, a beast' in the ring
He still hasn’t given much thought to a rematch with Canelo; instead he has said that he wants to face WBC, IBF and WBO champion Artur Beterbiev to become the undisputed light heavyweight champion. It’s not as big as a rematch with Canelo, but it is one of the best fights that can be made in boxing. It would put two of the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in the world together in the ring.
There’s also the notion that Bivol’s win over Canelo wasn’t really that shocking to people in the know. An undefeated fighter who has been dominant in just about every outing turned back the challenge of a smaller superstar who dared to be great and fell short. Evidently, Canelo barked up the wrong tree last May, and Bivol now has the opportunity to capitalize on being in the spotlight. The fight against Ramirez may not be as big as his fight with Canelo, but it’s just as important to Bivol’s legacy.
For every Buster Douglas who knocks out a Mike Tyson and sees their career flame out, there’s a Manny Pacquiao who was a virtual unknown until they cashed in on the opportunity of a lifetime against Lehlohonolo Ledwaba.
"I really had a big dream to win this belt and I don’t want to leave it," Bivol said. "I will fight for this and I want to keep it. I want more. I feel I have something inside of me which I need to realize so I can be happy at the end of my career."
It appears that the biggest moment of Bivol's career has yet to come.
