BoxRec

Hearn Says Oscar Rivas – Alen Babic Will Be Ordered By The WBC

“The Savage will get his shot at the WBC gold.”

Alen Babic is one of the most consistently exciting heavyweights out there today, but is “The Savage,” as the unbeaten Croatian is known, really a heavyweight? All-action and all fire, the knock on Babic is his size, or lack thereof. Babic would simply not be able to cope against the monster heavyweights the thinking goes, therefore he would fail in his bid to win a world title.

The answer is a drop down in weight, not to cruiserweight, but to the recently created bridgerweight division. The weight division that was the brainchild of the WBC (with no other organisation following suit as of yet) has Oscar Rivas as its world champ, and Babic wants a shot at the once-beaten Candian. Speaking today on his Matchroom stream, Eddie Hearn said this fight will “ultimately be ordered by the WBC,” and that he is “speaking with Yvon Michelle (promoter of Rivas) about a date.”

This one will be a whole lot of fun when it happens, make no mistake about that. We know what we will get from 31 year old Babic, and that’s a right out of the blocks start, with the shaven-headed warrior looking to land as much leather as fast and as consistently as he can. Currently 11-0(10) Babic has become a cult fan favourite and he has given us some excellent slugfests.

35 year old Rivas, 28-1(19) – with the sole loss coming on points to Dillian Whyte – won the bridgerweight belt back in October of last year and he has yet to make his maiden defence. Like Babic, Rivas is no massive heavyweight and these two should match up well; even if some fans feel Rivas is a better overall fighter than the wonderfully raw Babic.

Babic last fought in May of this year, when he pounded out a decision win over a game Adam Balski, Babic’s sole distance fight proving dramatic, with both men hurt. Let’s hope Rivas-Babic is indeed ordered by the WBC and soon. There are not too many fighters currently operating at bridgerweight, yet these two fighters can give the fledgling weight division something to cheer about.

Who wins if/when Rivas and Babic do rumble?

Rivas. Quickly.

Rivas destroys Babic. Rivas isn't too special, but he'll deal with the pub brawler.

Imagine … Babic! A world champion..

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑03 Oct 2022, 16:24 Imagine … Babic! A world champion..

Imagine. Flying pigs.

Couple of years ago i would of verrrrrry confedently said Rivas KO, bet the hosue.

But rivas has looked bang average since going down to bridger.
and being 35 the lower weight isnt great....
and the whyte loss hasnt aged great...
and he was losing on points to jennings after 10 rounds....

Still have rivas a decent favorite. but its strangly a live fight these days.

jameswilson wrote: ↑03 Oct 2022, 16:31

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑03 Oct 2022, 16:24 Imagine … Babic! A world champion..

Imagine. Flying pigs.

Imagine. All the people...

gregregegg wrote: ↑04 Oct 2022, 03:30 Couple of years ago i would of verrrrrry confedently said Rivas KO, bet the hosue.

But rivas has looked bang average since going down to bridger.
and being 35 the lower weight isnt great....
and the whyte loss hasnt aged great...
and he was losing on points to jennings after 10 rounds....

Still have rivas a decent favorite. but its strangly a live fight these days.

losing competively to whyte or having a close fight with jennings (who he was ahead of when he ko'd him) shouldnt be held against rivas at all when comparing him to babic. they were both top 10ish hws. i mean by contrast babic nearly got chinned by that terrible french guy no one had ever heard of before.

but rivas was poor enough vs the very limited albiet tough rozicki for that to count and make you wonder

i'd still comfortably back rivas though

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑04 Oct 2022, 22:34

gregregegg wrote: ↑04 Oct 2022, 03:30 Couple of years ago i would of verrrrrry confedently said Rivas KO, bet the hosue.

But rivas has looked bang average since going down to bridger.
and being 35 the lower weight isnt great....
and the whyte loss hasnt aged great...
and he was losing on points to jennings after 10 rounds....

Still have rivas a decent favorite. but its strangly a live fight these days.

losing competively to whyte or having a close fight with jennings (who he was ahead of when he ko'd him) shouldnt be held against rivas at all when comparing him to babic. they were both top 10ish hws. i mean by contrast babic nearly got chinned by that terrible french guy no one had ever heard of before.

but rivas was poor enough vs the very limited albiet tough rozicki for that to count and make you wonder

i'd still comfortably back rivas though

I thought i remembered jennings being up, mabey that was in my mind, but yea your right rivas was up by a split...

I wouldent really hold those preformances against him to the point where i think he beats babic. its mainly his recent bridger weight form that worries me.

As i said still have rivas a good Favorited. but not lke i would of a few years ago (and at heavyweight).

Feels like he hasnt figured out weight cutting.... going from 240lb to 222.25 and 221.25, when he only had to make 225.... I guess he has had some time to figure that out. 240lb rivas that foguth wight should be able to cut 15 lbs of water weight soooo easily with that much mucel mass. yet he didnt look the same at bridger.