Dmitry Bivol vs Craig Richards: Everything will be decided in the first half of the fight

Late on the night of May 1, Dmitry Bivol will defend his WBA title for the seventh time. His opponent is a little-known Briton Craig Richards. The fight will take place at light heavyweight, as part of the Chisora vs Parker event.

Dmitry hasn’t fought for a year and a half and this fight is very convenient for him. His main rivals in the division have all had their fights since the pandemic and now it’s his turn. There no doubt Bivol will beat the British because he has such interesting fighters as Artur Beterbiev, Maksim Vlasov, Joe Smith and a couple of others in his division. But first, he’s got to do a bit of work in a fight that’s not the toughest, although of course this is boxing and anything can happen here.

It should be noted that even in the UK Richards is not the toughest boxer, and has fought all his career only in his homeland and only against local fighters. His record is useless to consider, you won’t find any big names there.

The harder the challenge, the more interesting it is for me. I always accept the challenge. Before every big fight, when I’m considered an underdog, I go out and do my job. I haven’t had to show my skills to the fullest yet, and this is a fight where I will have to show my best. I will show everyone who I am. Right now all I can think about is the opening gong. It’s a moment I really can’t wait for.

Craig Richards

Craig Richards won the British Light heavyweight belt and that’s why he won the right to fight Bivol. This is a fantastic chance for him, there will never be a second like it again.

The favourite here is the Russian fighter and a very big favourite. How long the fight will last depends on Dmitry. If he wants to spar, the fight will last long, if he gets bored with it, he will finish it. We believe that he will finish in the first half of the fight, a few rounds will be enough.

We’re offering odds of 2.00 for Total Under 6.5. If you think the fight will last longer, the odds are 1.70. A ridiculous 1.02 is offered on Bivol’s win and an impressive 14.00 on Richards’ win.

I’ve always wanted to be active and keep performing. But sometimes things happen that are out of our control, and in those moments it’s important to stay cool and keep working. Every fight is important to me and I’m very excited to be making my first appearance in the UK. Richards is a trained fighter with good feet and speed. I just have to do what I normally do and be 100 per cent ready.

Dmitry Bivol