Dmitry Bivol Boxing Style Analysis - The Bivol Supremacy

Bivol is a veteran of over 280 amateur bouts, and this shows as he has evolved his style into the paid ranks. At the core of his boxing is the classic Eastern European style, bladed stance with the fluid moving in and out of range.

Bivol has grown his boxing style to suit the professional game. He combines solid defence with precision attacks and fluid movement. I particularly like the wide stance and squared upper body, not something you see too often.

Cheers

Fran

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[boxingandrambling]

Bivol has become really popular in my gym since his last fight. Great that more amateurs are starting to focus on styles like that rather than trying to copy Floyd Mayweather for heavens sake

[musicsdarkangel]

An underrated aspect of Bivol is his multiple uses of the jab - blocking vision/distance, probing to keep their defense up, power jab, circle jab, feints, use to push opponent, keep opponent at bay…. It’s brilliant.

[TheRiboka]

I'm so glad you covered Bivol. The only man to ever (controversially) beat Mayweather, Serafim Todorov, Is from my home town in Bulgaria and he used the same principles. I also have some experience with the style. There are some really nifty tricks that most coaches would never teach. The squared up, wide stance with weight on the back foot is done because either hand can become lead or power hand. You will sometimes see Bivol turn his right shoulder forward, effectively turning him into a south paw without changing his stance. This gives a massive variety of offensive options using only 2 straight punches. Furthermore, hooks and uppercuts also come from the same high guard hand position and utilise the same kind of body motion as the straights, meaning there is no tell on which punch you're throwing. Weight stays on the back foot while the front foot pressures and stalks. This is a trick we use to move into range without the opponent even noticing. You take a sneaky step forward but keep your body over the back leg. Then you only need to shift your body weight foward slightly and you're in range, shift slightly back and you're out of range and ready to counter. It's an extremely efficient style, aimed for maximum effect with minimum force exerted and risks taken. The key is win the last exchange and then hold your ground, ALWAYS maintaining your stance, stay loose, catch them coming in with straight shots, and a HARD jab constantly working to disrupt your opponent's game plan. The jab needs to have stopping power, that's why it's thrown with the left shoulder pulled back. Vary your jabs, First to the head, then fake head and go body, then fake body and come up with a left hook (that's why Bivol drops his lead hand, it's a setup).

[SuperAlanfree]

Excellent video Fran. Bivol is very underrated for such a master of his craft. I'm glad that Klitchko didn't manage to get Bivol banned before the Canelo fight, even though he tried his hardest to get the fight cancelled just because Bivol is Russian by birth.

[wildernesstraining]

When I look at Dmitry boxing in a gym, shadow boxing particularly, he looks well beatable!
But when he’s boxing competitively? Wow! His boxing intelligence is what makes him shine!
Boxing since the age of six, and literally thousands of rounds sparring, along with some 300 fights! Not forgetting his extremely good attitude to his craft!
What a guy👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[Christian-onck]

Great video Fran. A good exercise to show boxers the benefit of a high guard is to get them to put the high guard up and just pepper it with a couple straight shots while telling them to focus on keeping their eyes open while blocking the shots. Then tell them to put their hands down and do the same with the straight shots just falling short of their face and show them how naturally you will close your eyes and wince, thus affecting your effectiveness in a fight. This has helped me show fighters the benefits of the high guard and it also has a calming effect on the fighters as they now feel more secure with that guard in the ring, knowing they can block shots with confidence.

[IvanIvanov-sfdj]

Hello! Thanks for the good video! Sorry for my english - google translate) I'm from Russia and a longtime Bivol fan. Bivol's style is for the most part the school of coach Isaev. It is somewhat different from the classical Russian (USSR) school of boxing, primarily in the emphasis on developing a sense of distance and working at a long distance. Another difference is the specific explosive strikes. To help you see this specific style and training, I suggest watching a few training videos of the Isaev school, in the 90s and in the present. Unfortunately, Isaev's coach has already died ( Links in next comment.

[philipvjones]

Bivol definitely one of the best around at the moment. I hope you can do Pirog one day. Slipped under the radar due to injury; otherwise, I think he would have had an exceptional career.

[boxingandrambling]

Great video. Honestly would love a follow up or a series on Bivol. Would be great if you could list some specific drills to do to emulate his style

[paulhurst]

Fantastic breakdown Fran. He really is a joy to watch!

[nb]

absolutely brilliant analysis! i would love to hear you talk more about bivol. in particular, the various jabs and hooks he throws, his changing lead hand position from high, to mid, to low, how he changes levels by what looks like bringing the rear leg out while bending the front knee... or anything else you'd like to add or talk about. the bit about the bladed lower body and the squared upper body as well as the power jab were absolute game changers for me! thank you so much!

[thegadflygang]

Glad to see you are still at it Coach Fran. From fighting and coaching solely the Gloves/PAL and Amateurs I have really grown to love the Eastern European ethos. These are men whom even the best like Loma, Usyk, Beterbiev and Bivol end up fighting as an amateur till they are almost 30, wracking up a ton of experience and gaining National recognition.

I too am a big fan of the extra wide stance as it give you so many options, especially with feinting and on defense. You can lean back altering your opponents perception of range and leading him to come in for a shot while all you have to do to counter is bring that weight forward again without changing the front foot placement.

Face shielding, slick lateral movement to open up angles, using the hook as a distraction to get the uppercut in. Eastern European/Cuban boxing is great.

God Bless and please dont ever stop coaching. Right on about everyone wanting to keep that lead hand low, especially at midrange. It is an awful habit so many guys do these days, never wanting to keep their high guard up.

[njaciwilliamsilavwe]

Thanks for the work you put in Coach!!! I would love a Bivol drills like the Usyk videos you did last time. I really appreciate the content you put out. Simple, direct and effective the perfect stuff for all levels of boxing.

[matthewmillette]

Great vid Fran! Been training for about 8 months now and after observing so many different styles and fighters I've recently found in the last few months that the Eastern style boxers really resonate with me and my own personal body mechanics and physiology. Not many frills (except for maybe Loma, lol) very direct and a focus on basic rigid structures while maintaining mobility and fluidity. Absolutely love to watch Bivol, Artur, and Usyk work. Thanks again.

[trefeezy]

Great breakdown, I’ve been studying his game. Incredible to watch. Thank you a lot

[Lordaniel]

More than 20 years ago, with my 14yo son we joined a Fight Gym on the northern beaches in Sydney. He went on to become state welterweight amateur champion and a jujitsu gold medal winner. I live in another country but have continued to train to a boxing routine - sometimes in gyms, often solo. My sporting background is swimming and rowing - boxing is a skills based exercise that doesn't require much equipment or other people - at home i train with 14oz gloves, floor to ceiling bag and 2kg weights - for me, boxing based training is the best exercise rountine i have ever undertaken.

[hanivdoniv]

Bivol really mastered the pendulum step boxing style, also loved the analysis.

[dannyy]

Really enjoyed this one coach thank you! I have really enjoyed watching Bivol fight and Im glad you covered him

[CTT]

Great analyze, I needed that. Great input specially regarding him maintaining a squared up stance while having the wide stands, that make his lead jab so effective and powerful from naturally turning hip, thanks for sharing 🙂

[basteagui]

you're still my favorite boxing youtuber to watch and listen to coach!!!! keep bringing the sport to us who wouldn't know squat about boxing