With victory in his most recent outing on July 25th, Sergey ‘Krusher’ Kovalev maintained his unbeaten (28-0-1, 25 KOs) record with a 3rd round stoppage of Nadjib Mohammedi (37-4, 23 KOs) to retain his unified light heavyweight WBA, IBF, and WBO championship belts. The bout itself, held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, was as many had predicted, a very one sided affair. Mohammedi represented a mandatory defence for Sergey, but any optimistic hopes for a genuine contest were dismissed abruptly as the gulf in class was evident from the first bell. Perhaps the biggest surprise on the night was that the services of the bell were needed twice more, until ultimately Nadjib beat a count only to be deemed in no condition to continue, forcing referee Kenny Bayless to end the match after 2 minutes 38 seconds of the third.
Kovalev is increasingly garnering favour with the boxing fraternity, due in no small part to his ferocity in the ring, and willingness fight anyone, anywhere. To date the majority of his opponents have been dispatched in double quick time, and his performance against the legend Bernard Hopkins, although long past his prime, was as good an indication as we’re likely to see that the Krusher can not only ‘bang’, but can box a bit too. Form dictates that the Russians fights are guaranteed to be all action affairs, but unfortunately his opponents to date have for the most part been unable to push Sergey into produce his best. As such in the aftermath of his most recent demolition job, thoughts turned immediately to whom would be the best man to test big punching Krusher?
Of course the first name that has to be mentioned is the only other boxer to hold a world title in the same division, namely the reigning lineal, WBC, and The Ring light-heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson. There is no love lost between the two, both have exchanged countless jibes, insults and accusations back and forth, forth and back, as to why a fight between them has not yet happened. As a genuine grudge match, the boxing world has been hoping for this fight to made for what now seems like an age. It is difficult to believe that Kovalev is the blocker in the equation, he has proven a willingness to fight most anywhere geographically, and has expressed his desire to face Stevenson so many times and to anyone that will listen, I doubt anyone wants the fight more than him. Adonis for his part has said he has made offers to the Russians camp, all of which have been rejected. So reading between the lines the money split would appear to be the most likely issue with this one. So on the assumption the pair manage to keep their jousting limited to words alone, what other options are out there for the Krusher?
A mouth-watering prospect would be the coming together of possibly two of the biggest hitters outside of the heavyweight division; which would pit Kovalev against fighter of the year nominee and undefeated IBO middleweight champion Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin (GGG). For this to happen there would no doubt need to be a catch weight agreed. But what a fight that could be! Certainly no hype required to sell tickets there? With two of the best KO ratios of anyone in any weight division, the smart money would be on this one not going the distance. In reality I think there are just too many reasons why this fight won’t happen, between the weight disparities, purse share and other priorities for the two fighters. Never the less this is more than just a nice idea, GGG for his part is reportedly open to the matchup. I’d put the chances of this one happening at 50/50.
Perhaps Andre Ward is a more likely candidate? A smaller is leap is required in terms of weight for the SOG to get up to light heavy, and following his recent comeback win over Paul Smith he is yet to announce his next opponent. Ward and Kovalev are both in their boxing prime, early 30’s, both hold unbeaten records and both still require some career defining fights to push them into a higher stratosphere in terms of celebrity, along with its associated bargaining power, and to cement a legacy for when the gloves are hung up for good. The old adage of ‘styles make fights’ certainly comes into play here to as Ward is one of the smoothest boxers of his generation. I would go so far as to say he possesses a Mayweather type ‘savantish’ boxing manner in the ring. Contrasted with the Russians more direct approach, this would make for a real battle of wits in addition to a physical test. Another great fight in prospect, and I think more likely than a meeting with GGG. I’ll put this one at a 70% chance of happening, given that nothing in boxing at the highest level is ever straight forward.
Last but not least, we cannot forget the Canadian Jean Pascal and the surprisingly epic contest between he and Sergey in March of this year. Pascal went into the ring that night as a heavy underdog, but produced a thoroughly spirited performance that forced his opponent to dig far deeper than many expected. In the end the referee Louis Pabon stepped in to halt the contest after some vicious blows were traded by both men. Pascal ultimately emerged the loser, but in the process gained a moral victory in the eyes of the watching crowd. No one would begrudge Pascal another shot at Kovalev, and of all the potential bouts discussed so far this would be the easiest to agree, on the assumption Pascal wanted in. I’d put this one at 90% makeable.
There are so many big fights for out there for the Krusher, if you stare long enough you can almost see the orderly queue of challengers forming. It will undoubtedly prove a very eventful couple of years for Team Kovalev, but only time can tell whom and in which order the dominos will fall. I for one will be watching intently, as with this guy fireworks are guaranteed!
- Matthew Lynch / @Matthew_Lynch_
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