A deal for a Sergey Kovalev-Jean Pascal rematch is nearly complete.
ESPN’s Dan Rafael reported on Saturday evening that Kovalev would likely rematch Pascal in January.
Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events, Kovalev’s promoter, told USA TODAY Sports that the fight will likely take place Jan. 30 at Montreal’s Bell Centre, the same venue where Kovalev stopped Pascal in March.
“We are talking, and it’s most likely going to [happen],” Duva said following Gennady Golovkin’s win over David Lemieux via USA TODAY Sports. “He’s got a new trainer. He [Pascal] gave him a good fight. When it was over, everyone was saying, ‘This is the kind of fight I want to see a rematch.’
“He’s the highest-rated fighter who would take a fight with Sergey. He’s a great fighter, a warrior, and while it would have been nice to do this round robin [with Adonis Stevenson], every time we go to the table, he has an excuse. It’s ridiculous.”
Duva denigrated Stevenson for supposedly not taking the fight, but it was in fact Duva who refused to participate in a WBC-mandated purse bid in April.
Yvon Michel, Stevenson’s promoter at GYM, asseverated his desire to make a deal to make the fight happen, but of course, it couldn’t come to fruition.
Despite losing a relatively one-sided affair, Pascal gave Kovalev perhaps his biggest test in a prize fight setting. He landed some big shots, though, they had little to no effect on the monstrous Russian.
Duva did profess her desire to make the Stevenson fight happen, but also admitted that time is running out as WBA Super World super-middleweight champion Andre Ward looks to test his abilities in the light-heavyweight division.
“That offer’s on the table 50-50,” Duva said of the possible matchup.
“That’s something that won’t be there forever.
“We’re having really good conversations with Ward’s people. We are making progress. If it’s Ward next year, no one is going to remember who Adonis Stevenson was. That window is going to close in the spring.”
Ward has fought just once in the past two years due to a combination of injuries and a promotional dispute but came back in June in a 172 lb. catch-weight to dominate former super-middleweight title contender Paul Smith in a ninth-round TKO.
“The talks are amicable,” Duva said. “Andre wants some fights to come back first, and Sergey is going to stay busy. Around Adonis’s 40th birthday, he’ll probably be fighting Andre Ward. People are going to forget who Adonis Stevenson was, the guy who never fought Pascal or Kovalev.”
Kovalev initially strived to fight IBF No. 2 ranked light-heavyweight Artur Beterbiev (9-0, 9 KO’s), who he lost to in the amateurs, for a potential November showdown in Moscow.
However, a voluntary challenger makes considerably less money than a mandatory challenger. As a result, Beterbiev rejected the fight so he could pursue a fight that if he won, would make him the mandatory challenger.
In addition, the relationship between Duva and Beterbiev’s advisor Al Haymon is just as gelid as the North Pole. That will be another challenge to overcome.
– Ryan O’Hara @OHaraSports
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