Dmitry Bivol surprised some observers with an uncharacteristic tweak to his fighting style against Gilberto Ramirez Saturday night.

In front of a reportedly sold-out audience in Abu Dhabi, Russia’s Bivol successfully defended his WBA belt over the Mexican contender with a sound unanimous decision.

The normally fleet-footed Bivol, however, was not as footloose against Ramirez, a known plodder who likes to operate on the inside. Instead, Bivol, despite being smaller, often led the action behind his jab and had Ramirez backing up repeatedly throughout their 12-round encounter.

According to Bivol, the logic behind his stratagem was to compel Ramirez to throw punches, which would, in turn, wear the southpaw out. Bivol repeatedly found a home for his right hand and seldom had trouble evading Ramirez’s punches.

“I just try to be close to Ramirez all fight,” Bivol told reporters afterward during the post-fight press conference. “To be close, you know, every time to keep him in [my] focus. Every time [I got close] he throw punches and spend his gas.”  

Many believed that Ramirez would stalk Bivol for the entire fight and try to work the body. But Bivol seemingly flipped the script. Bivol said he was also encouraged by Ramirez’s propensity for combination punching, as it suggested to him that Ramirez did not have the capacity to hurt him with a single punch.

“He has good timing, but he’s slow,” Bivol said of Ramirez. “He’s slower than me. I could see his punches coming. When I landed he countered to the body. That was it. He’s slow but he has good timing. In sparring session, I tried to push forward. He throws a lot of punches, which tells me you are not strong. When your opponent is not strong, you can push forward.”

Bivol won on scorecards that read 118-110, 117-111, and 117-111. Many observers believe that Bivol, who had handed Canelo Alvarez a defeat in May, has a valid argument to be considered the year’s most accomplished fighter.  

It is not clear what Bivol’s next steps are. He has repeatedly said he is not as interested in a rematch with Alvarez and that he would prefer to unify the light heavyweight division with his countryman, the WBC, WBO, and IBF champion Artur Beterbiev. Bivol, however, is backed by Matchroom Boxing, which has a partnership with DAZN; Beterbiev, on the other hand, is backed by Top Rank Inc., which showcases all of its fighters on ESPN. Top Rank’s Bob Arum has made it clear he has no desire to let Beterbiev fight on DAZN.