DMITRY BIVOL won the fight of his dreams to defeat Canelo Avarez in Las Vegas, and retained his WBA light-heavyweight title.
Canelo, a Mexican star who is 31 years old, conceded his height and reach to the Russian when he weighed in at 175lbs.
Bivol celebrating with his trainer after a near perfect display
Alvarez was expected to win the bout after a dominant performance against Caleb Plant in November.
Plant was a Mexican powerhouse who had placed him in the hospital on that occasion. He looked in great shape as he made his way back to the ring in the light heavyweight division.
Canelo was not able to get in the range for his power punches and Bilov's jab proved to be a problem from the beginning.
The contest was fraught with frustration as Alvarez beat Bilov with a fast counter and stunning movement.
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It became evident that Alvarez was in dire need of a knockout, but he looked gassed after failing to land a devastating punch.
The bout was scored by all three judges 115 to 113 in favor of the Russian fighter, who entered the fight as the underdog.
Canelo, clearly distraught, accepted that there were no excuses and called for a rematch.
Alvarez said: "No excuses today. He won, I lost.
"He is a great fighter. His power was evident and it felt like a good fight.
Boxing is a sport that makes no excuses.
"Of course [I will invoke the rematch clause]." It doesn't end like this.
This is only the second defeat in Alvarez's distinguished career that has included four world titles in four weight categories.
His professional record is now 57-2-2, based on 61 professional bouts.
Bilov won the ninth defense of his WBA belt and will most likely be required to defend it again during the rematch.
Plans for Canelo to fight Gennady Gorlovkin in a trilogy fight appear to have been abandoned for now.
Russians said, "If you don’t believe in yourself you will achieve nothing." Believe in yourself.
"Thanks Eddie Hearn, and sorry that I broke your [GGG] plans."
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