The only reason I couldn't be confident in Bivol was his lack of competition. However, he proved it in this fight. I will say I'm not too surprised. There was some non-sense from casuals saying Bivol wasn't too much of a threat, but I felt he was basically the toughest opponent Canelo could have chosen.

Unlike some others, I do think LHW physicality played a factor here. Canelo has dealt with reach disadvantages at SMW, but he has never dealt with someone physical enough to just absorb the blows into a high guard with no issue. Everyone else has been pushed back by the threat of Canelo's power punching, whereas Bivol when hit showed very little reaction(less than Canelo to glancing Bivol punches). I don't really care about the hydration stuff. In my view, if a fighter was really serious about being able to make a cut "easy", that's where they'd start boxing in their career.

That being said, it was also a technical victory. Bivol is also a technical nightmare for Canelo. Great jab, good footwork, and in-general, great mechanics punching on the outside. He wasn't hitting Canelo with every shot, but he was able to move around the ring rarely trapped while putting out enough volume that Canelo was mostly reduced to defending.

Putting together Bivol's technical skill, physicality, and hand speed; it's now clear he is a top LHW. Although I don't like some of the boxing politics around Canelo and the advantages those have granted, I have to give him credit for taking a much tougher fight than he had to. There's no shame in losing, I just don't think he can compete with the top LHWs. He seemed gassed by only the middle rounds carrying all that weight. Canelo was lucky to catch a physically washed Kovalev on the decline, I think the Kovalev that fought Ward the first time beats him clearly.

Nelo is still decent at the weight, but I don't think he beats anyone elite. The best move for him would to be to accept the limitations this loss showed and go back down to 168. Bivol is still my favorite to unify LHW, although I think Beterbiev will be a more dangerous fight for him(he definitely can't tank those shots with high guard). If Canelo were to go for a rematch, I don't see any route for him to win except for a robbery decision. He has a puncher's chance but his power is not all that at LHW.