Sergey Kovalev
- Thread starter Charles Martel
- Start date
Not everyone who makes their opinions public express the same favour for Kovalev as I do. For example, whomever writes the Boxrec standings has padded Stevenson's point total an extra 300 points since yesterday's 6th round knock out of Bellew; while to Kovalev's sensational demolition of Sillakh the Boxrec man has added 0 points. Opinions don't win fights.
But many of the posters on the boxing forums are always smarter than the speakers. Many saw how it took 6 rounds of banging on Bellew for Stevenson to put him down. The posters can see Stevenson doesn't have the same skills and power of Kovalev. And Stevenson's chin isn't is insufferable either as Bellew knocked Stevenson down in the second.
werewolf
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What's supposed to be their justification for Stevenson-Kovalev 862 vs 516 points!?
BoxingSpecialist2
Mentor
Kovalev's punching power is unreal, and his KO of Sillakh was frightening. The first right hand put Sillakh down hard and the second left and right hand put him unconscious and out of the ring. That was a frightening knockout. I actually felt sorry for Sillakh.
I started watching boxing in the late 1990's/early 2000's, and since then, Kovalev's punching power is probably the most impressive I've ever seen. Arthur Abraham, Wladimir Klitschko, Lucian Bute, Denis Lebedev, Gennady Golovkin, Adrien Broner have all been particularly big punchers over the years, but none of them produced this frightening of knockouts. Sergey Kovalev's power is in a league of it's own. I'd say he has the strongest one punch power I've ever seen. Of course, it takes more than just power to be a champion in boxing, and impressively, Kovalev also seems to have amazing ring generalship, decent speed, and a good defense.
Adonis Stevenson was also impressive in his TKO of Tony Bellew (excellent ref stoppage in that fight, btw, he jumped in at the perfect time to save Bellew from an ending that could have been much worse). Stevenson is certainly a powerful puncher, with good reflexes and quickness. However, what alarms me is that Stevenson seems willing to take punches and in a fight with Kovalev that would be a problem for him. Stevenson has been knocked out before, so we know he can be hit, and we know he can be dropped and stopped. Stevenson does seem too easy to hit in my opinion. I think Hopkins would stand a chance of outboxing him, and Kovalev stands a good chance of knocking him out.
Kovalev VS Stevenson would be an awesome fight, and the winner would be taken to a superstar level in boxing. Personally, I like Kovalev's chances in that fight , but Stevenson is very much a live underdog in the fight with a puncher's chance. It just seems like Kovalev hits harder, and more importantly it seems like Kovalev is smarter and avoids punches better than Stevenson. No doubt, that comes from Kovalev's long amateur career.
I started watching boxing in the late 1990's/early 2000's, and since then, Kovalev's punching power is probably the most impressive I've ever seen. Arthur Abraham, Wladimir Klitschko, Lucian Bute, Denis Lebedev, Gennady Golovkin, Adrien Broner have all been particularly big punchers over the years, but none of them produced this frightening of knockouts. Sergey Kovalev's power is in a league of it's own. I'd say he has the strongest one punch power I've ever seen. Of course, it takes more than just power to be a champion in boxing, and impressively, Kovalev also seems to have amazing ring generalship, decent speed, and a good defense.
Adonis Stevenson was also impressive in his TKO of Tony Bellew (excellent ref stoppage in that fight, btw, he jumped in at the perfect time to save Bellew from an ending that could have been much worse). Stevenson is certainly a powerful puncher, with good reflexes and quickness. However, what alarms me is that Stevenson seems willing to take punches and in a fight with Kovalev that would be a problem for him. Stevenson has been knocked out before, so we know he can be hit, and we know he can be dropped and stopped. Stevenson does seem too easy to hit in my opinion. I think Hopkins would stand a chance of outboxing him, and Kovalev stands a good chance of knocking him out.
Kovalev VS Stevenson would be an awesome fight, and the winner would be taken to a superstar level in boxing. Personally, I like Kovalev's chances in that fight , but Stevenson is very much a live underdog in the fight with a puncher's chance. It just seems like Kovalev hits harder, and more importantly it seems like Kovalev is smarter and avoids punches better than Stevenson. No doubt, that comes from Kovalev's long amateur career.
Charles Martel
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From ESPN:
http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/i...-foes-adonis-stevenson-sergey-kovalev-win-big
Kovalev retains a light heavyweight title
Records: Kovalev (23-0-1, 21 KOs); Sillakh (21-2, 17 KOs)[/TD]
Rafael's remarks: About a year ago, Kovalev, 30, a native of Russia living in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was an unknown fighter in the United States. But after hooking up with Main Events, which gave him valuable television exposure and regular opportunities to face solid opposition, "Krusher" Kovalev has soared to the top of the division. The current top 175-pounder in the world is either champion Adonis Stevenson or Kovalev, who opened the Stevenson-headlined show and did his part to stoke interest in their eventual meeting, which could (and hopefully) will come as soon as their next fight.
In August, Kovalev traveled to Wales for his first title opportunity and destroyed Nathan Cleverly, pasting him in a fourth-round knockout. Making his first defense, Kovalev was matched with the tall, quick and powerful Sillakh, 28, a native of Ukraine living in Simi Valley, Calif. But for all of Sillakh's talents, there were major doubts about his chin, which was exposed in an upset eighth-round knockout loss to Denis Grachev in an April 2012 fight that Sillakh had been winning easily. Sillakh rebounded to string together four consecutive victories (albeit against weak opposition) and put himself in position to challenge for a title. Unfortunately for him, it came against one of the best punchers in boxing.
Sillakh actually had a solid first round, but Kovalev is like a train going downhill. In the second round, he continued to apply relentless pressure and fire with both hands, eventually catching Sillakh with a clean straight right hand on the chin. Sillakh, his nose bloodied, went down hard and was taunted by Kovalev while he was on the mat. As soon as the fight resumed, Kovalev attacked again and finished him with another crushing right and two left hands behind it. Sillakh went down hard in a heap, and referee Marlon B. Wright waved off the fight at 52 seconds as Sillakh rolled around on the canvas, seemingly with no idea where he was.
Kovalev, who closed out his year 4-0 -- all wins by knockout inside four rounds -- probably would be favored against every light heavyweight in the world except maybe Stevenson, and vice versa. That's a fight that must happen -- and sooner rather than later.
http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/i...-foes-adonis-stevenson-sergey-kovalev-win-big
Kovalev retains a light heavyweight title
Records: Kovalev (23-0-1, 21 KOs); Sillakh (21-2, 17 KOs)[/TD]
Rafael's remarks: About a year ago, Kovalev, 30, a native of Russia living in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was an unknown fighter in the United States. But after hooking up with Main Events, which gave him valuable television exposure and regular opportunities to face solid opposition, "Krusher" Kovalev has soared to the top of the division. The current top 175-pounder in the world is either champion Adonis Stevenson or Kovalev, who opened the Stevenson-headlined show and did his part to stoke interest in their eventual meeting, which could (and hopefully) will come as soon as their next fight.
In August, Kovalev traveled to Wales for his first title opportunity and destroyed Nathan Cleverly, pasting him in a fourth-round knockout. Making his first defense, Kovalev was matched with the tall, quick and powerful Sillakh, 28, a native of Ukraine living in Simi Valley, Calif. But for all of Sillakh's talents, there were major doubts about his chin, which was exposed in an upset eighth-round knockout loss to Denis Grachev in an April 2012 fight that Sillakh had been winning easily. Sillakh rebounded to string together four consecutive victories (albeit against weak opposition) and put himself in position to challenge for a title. Unfortunately for him, it came against one of the best punchers in boxing.
Sillakh actually had a solid first round, but Kovalev is like a train going downhill. In the second round, he continued to apply relentless pressure and fire with both hands, eventually catching Sillakh with a clean straight right hand on the chin. Sillakh, his nose bloodied, went down hard and was taunted by Kovalev while he was on the mat. As soon as the fight resumed, Kovalev attacked again and finished him with another crushing right and two left hands behind it. Sillakh went down hard in a heap, and referee Marlon B. Wright waved off the fight at 52 seconds as Sillakh rolled around on the canvas, seemingly with no idea where he was.
Kovalev, who closed out his year 4-0 -- all wins by knockout inside four rounds -- probably would be favored against every light heavyweight in the world except maybe Stevenson, and vice versa. That's a fight that must happen -- and sooner rather than later.
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whiteathlete33
Hall of Famer
I was on Boxingscene.com earlier today and most of the DWF's think Kovalev would destroy Stevenson. I agree, I only hope Kovalev doesn't have any chin problems as he's never been tested. One DWF did say that Stevensen has faced much better competition. I will agree that Dawson is a legit top 5 fighter but he hasn't been the same since his loses to Ward and Pascal. Also, Tavoris Cloud is a complete joke. So in reality, Stevensen has beat one good fighter in Dawson.
I'll tell you guys something we can only write on a fair forum like this. No need to be concerned about Kovalev's chin. We may already presume he has a good one. The Eastern fighters that rise to the top all have good chins. They have to. They come out of gyms with guys like themselves that can really crack. Go to any gym filled with whites and you'll find guys that can punch through a brick wall and guys that can take those punches. Anyone who doesn't have a good chin had better not spar with them unless he can move or have a good chin. Kovalev's chin has been tested for years because he's been sparring with men like himself. It has been explained on this site already why Whites are on average stronger, why they on average punch harder, and why they have, on average, better chins than other groups. That's not to say similar traits can't be found in other peoples, but these traits are found in greater numbers in White men. Blacks have traits found in greater numbers in them also, but those traits are not discussed here in this writing.
The Eastern pure boxers are much like boxers everywhere: they box because they can't punch hard. When a guy realizes he doesn't have thunder in his hands he has to make up for it somewhere else. Sillakh found this out about himself when he was younger and developed skills to compensate for his lack of chin or power. Probably Hopkins was exactly the same way. But when a guy finds out he has dynamite in his hands his style development naturally follows that of a puncher. Now for that puncher to be really successful he adds boxing skills. In his mind though, he is a puncher and only boxes so that he can land his power. The puncher doesn't want to mess around moving and evading, in his mind he's only doing that so he can more safely land his thunder. To become really good though, his chin is tested along the way by other punchers. That's who Kovalev is: he can box to win but his pedigree and natural ability is that of a fighter.
Charles Martel
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Sergey Kovalev will face Cedric Agnew (27-0, age 27) on March 29.
www.boxingscene.com/kovalev-face-agnew-on-march-29-atlantic-city--74559
www.boxingscene.com/kovalev-face-agnew-on-march-29-atlantic-city--74559
whiteathlete33
Hall of Famer
I'd like to know how this Agnew is ranked so highly on Boxrec. True, he's undefeated but he's beaten no one of note.
The makers of those Boxrec ranks hold high opinions of boxers with dark skin. Why? Because they can.
Sergei will continue to play "the knockout game" with this man. It is not easy to find good opponents when you are the heir apparent, so Sergei's probably very happy to find anyone who will fight him, and to get a ranked fighter is even better.
Wes Woodhead
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Boxrec has zero credibility in my opinion. They have Archie Moore, AND Joe Louis ranked Higher than Marciano. The Rock knocked them both out when they fought.
They have Vitali ranked 38th in retired Heavyweights.
Calzaghe isnt even ranked in their top 100 pound for pound. How can they be taken seriously with Calzaghe outside the top 100?
werewolf
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WW - BoxRec is a wonderful resource for boxing info, but all those lists that you mentioned are pure BS, and I have no interest whatsoever in what some subhuman deems the best pound for pound Congo pygmy, and how his ******* hero from the past could beat up both Klitschlos at the same time with one paw tied behind its back etc etc, and I never even look at those idiot lists. - WW
i thought it would be difficult to find opponents for Sergei. Here' some evidence from Sergei's manager:
http://www.boxingscene.com/kovalevs-manager-it-not-easy-get-3-29-foe--74759
http://www.boxingscene.com/kovalevs-manager-it-not-easy-get-3-29-foe--74759
whiteathlete33
Hall of Famer
The racists like Bernard Hopkins keep a low profile when Kovalev's name is mentioned but then will say they are the best and have faced everyone. It's always like that. It's very hard for a white fighter to get any credit in boxing no matter how spectacular his record and KO percentage is. Kovalev will be stuck with the lower paying fights while Hopkins, Stevenson, and Dawson will continue to get the much bigger paydays.
An insightful read from fightnews.com about Sergei Kovalev:
[h=1]Kovalev, Agnew clash heats up[/h][FONT=Arial Narrow, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]By Sam Geraci
On February 13, Main Events hosted a teleconference for its March 29 light heavyweight showdown in Atlantic City between WBO champion Sergey “Krusher†Kovalev (23-0-1, 21 KOs) and top-rated but relatively unknown Cedric “L.O.W.†Agnew (26-0, 13 KOs). The bout will be televised on HBO and is the first bout at the Boardwalk Hall for Main Events since Arturo Gatti took on Alfonso Gomez in 2007 in Gatti’s final bout. Here are the highlights from the teleconference:
Sergey “Krusher†Kovalev
“I have only one big wish, and that is to win this next fight, and I have a main goal to win one more title this year.
“The public and the fans and everybody want this fight (Stevenson-Kovalev). Everybody pushes him, and this year will be this fight.â€
“This fight (with Agnew) is dangerous for me too, and who will win we will see. I’m going to the ring to win.â€
“All my focus is to win and then win my next title to get better and fight Stevenson.â€
“It’s not my fault that my opponents all get knocked out.â€
“In my division the best boxer is Stevenson, and I need to beat Stevenson. After this, I will be in first place in my division. I’m ready for any fight in my division.â€
“I just want to fight Stevenson right now.â€
“I love to spend time with my family and friends.â€
Cedric “L.O.W.†Agnew
“I prepare (for Kovalev) the way I’ve been preparing. Training hard, taking things one day at a time, hard sparring and hard work with my trainer, but I take no fight lightly, and I don’t care who I’m fighting.â€
“A fight with Sergey Kovalev is a great fight for us, and we wouldn’t have taken the fight if we didn’t think we could win the fight. With that being said, I don’t look at him as no terminator or nothing. He’s a human just like I am. He can be hurt just like anybody else can be hurt. Come March 29 we’ll see what’s gonna happen.â€
“Well, to me it doesn’t matter how many fighters I went the distance with or how many I stopped. Everybody knows that styles make fights, and I believe, I mean I know I have the style to defeat Sergey Kovalev or anybody else they put in front of me. â€
“Come March 29th, you’ll see what style that is.â€
“Like I say, I’m gonna go out there and do what I’ve been doing for years. I don’t look at it as there being pressure from back home because my hometown is gonna stand behind me regardless. On fight night, I’m ready to take care of business.â€
“I’m not focused on the fight they’re trying to make or the fight they’re thinking about. I’m focused on March 29th, and I’m not focused on people underestimating me. I’m training, staying positive and staying focused.â€
“I don’t know how you guys are taking it. I’m not sounding overconfident. I’m just humble, and I know the roads I’ve had to take to get here and now that it’s here, I have to show the world all of my talent. I have to show the world who is Cedric Agnew.â€
“In that fight with Yusaf Mack I just did what I needed to do to win the fight.â€
“I don’t see nothing spectacular coming from this guy. My personal opinion I just think he’s ordinary.â€
Kathy Duva, Promoter of Main Events
“The bigger names take time to make, and that fight (Stevenson) will get made, but our goal is for Sergey to stay active and Sergey’s goal is to stay active. This is the fight we found. This young man is willing to step up and test his skills, and that’s what this sport is all about. I remember people talking a long, long time ago when Mike Tyson was fighting Buster Douglass when we were trying to make the Tyson-Holyfield fight and you know what happened then, so I never ever discount anyone’s chances of winning a fight and nobody ever should.â€
“From what we know, Cedric is a boxer and he is undefeated so he doesn’t know what it feels like to lose.â€
“I think no matter what, we’ll see a sensational performance from Sergey Kovalev. Like I said, nobody gave that guy against Mike Tyson much of a chance. There’s no such thing as a sure thing. It’s easy for someone to lose focus when there’s talk of other big fights, and there’s millions of examples of people who have lost focus and walked into something that they didn’t expect. I think Sergey is a great fighter and think he can beat everybody in the world, but I’ve been at this long enough to know that you have to take everybody seriously.â€
“As a promoter, I can’t come out and say that I think the outcome is preordained because I don’t think any outcome is.â€
“The real challenge aside from Cedric Agnew is not to get distracted by fights that are out there of potentially happening. I mean there’s been more questions on this phone call about Adonis Stevenson than there have been about Cedric Agnew.â€
“A fight between Sergey and Andre Ward is certainly something that is gonna happen someday, but it’s not going to happen at 168.â€
“When you start out (looking for opponents), you have to look at the top fifteen. You have to see who’s available and then discuss with HBO. Fonfara is someone that HBO would approve but he moved on. Cedric was also on that very short list of people that HBO asked us to approach first, and once we knew that Fonfara wasn’t going to work out, we approached Malcom.â€
“He’s American; he’s undefeated; the fight’s in the United States and Sergey’s last two opponents have not been American so it made all the sense in the world.â€
Malcom Garrett, Promoter of Garrett Promotions
“Number one, we’re glad that a lot of people are gonna underestimate Cedric Agnew. Cedric Agnew is a very skilled fighter. This is a fight that Agnew is chomping at the bit for. He thinks he’s ready for this fight. We think he’s ready for this fight. He was a good amateur, but had some hand problems in the amateurs, so he wasn’t able to do what he wanted to do; however, he’s been flying a bit under the radar, which may not always be the worst thing. He plans on upsetting, and I believe we got a fight here, gentlemen.â€
“Cedric would rather have fought Kovalev (than the IBF eliminator). Style-wise we like Kovalev’s style for Cedric.â€
“I know everybody wants to see Kovalev and Stevenson. I’d like to see the fight my self. We’d all sit down and watch it, and I’m sure HBO will buy it later this year; however, they’re just going to have to do it without the WBO title.â€
Jolene Mizzone, Main Events Matchmaker
“Sergey Kovalev is must see television, and someone you have to watch.â€
“The biggest point that everybody has to realize is that Cedric Agnew wants to fight Kovalev. This is a fight that they’ve been asking for. There’s not many guys out there from doing the matchmaking that want to fight Kovalev. â€
John David Jackson, Kovalev’s Trainer
“Sergey’s become an all-around fighter. He’s going to the body a lot more. He’s placing his punches a lot better, and he’s not rushing his shots like he once did.â€
“He (Sergey) has boxing skills, but we haven’t seen those because most guys don’t go past four rounds, so maybe in the future we’ll get a chance to see him display his boxing abilities.â€
“He’s not just one-dimensional, and that’s what a lot of fighters don’t realize. They hear he’s a “Krusher†or “Terminator†and they think he’s just one-dimensional. Sergey has a lot of tools to work with. I’m hoping in this fight here that maybe Cedric will make Sergey show people what he can do and Sergey can showcase his talents.â€
“It’s an intriguing fight, and we’re not taking this kid lightly. Sergey takes no opponent lightly. When we’re in the gym training, every fighter is the most important person on the planet at that moment.â€
“I’m in the same boat you’re in, but we’ll get films on him in the next week or so and then we’ll dissect him and see what he is.â€
“Once he became champion, he became the hunted. He’s no longer the hunter. This kid stepped up, so that means he’s hungry.â€
“Our sole focus is Cedric Agnew.â€
Bobby Benton, Agnew’s Trainer
Cedric’s been fighting since he was eight, and he’s got a bunch of amateur fights and knows how to fight. We’ve been begging for exposure and now we’re getting it. He’s gonna be ready; he always is.â€
“Since he’s been down here in the last four years, he’s maybe taken ten days out of the gym. He’s a gym rat, and he’s ready.â€
[h=1]Kovalev, Agnew clash heats up[/h][FONT=Arial Narrow, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]By Sam Geraci
On February 13, Main Events hosted a teleconference for its March 29 light heavyweight showdown in Atlantic City between WBO champion Sergey “Krusher†Kovalev (23-0-1, 21 KOs) and top-rated but relatively unknown Cedric “L.O.W.†Agnew (26-0, 13 KOs). The bout will be televised on HBO and is the first bout at the Boardwalk Hall for Main Events since Arturo Gatti took on Alfonso Gomez in 2007 in Gatti’s final bout. Here are the highlights from the teleconference:
Sergey “Krusher†Kovalev
“I have only one big wish, and that is to win this next fight, and I have a main goal to win one more title this year.
“The public and the fans and everybody want this fight (Stevenson-Kovalev). Everybody pushes him, and this year will be this fight.â€
“This fight (with Agnew) is dangerous for me too, and who will win we will see. I’m going to the ring to win.â€
“All my focus is to win and then win my next title to get better and fight Stevenson.â€
“It’s not my fault that my opponents all get knocked out.â€
“In my division the best boxer is Stevenson, and I need to beat Stevenson. After this, I will be in first place in my division. I’m ready for any fight in my division.â€
“I just want to fight Stevenson right now.â€
“I love to spend time with my family and friends.â€
Cedric “L.O.W.†Agnew
“I prepare (for Kovalev) the way I’ve been preparing. Training hard, taking things one day at a time, hard sparring and hard work with my trainer, but I take no fight lightly, and I don’t care who I’m fighting.â€
“A fight with Sergey Kovalev is a great fight for us, and we wouldn’t have taken the fight if we didn’t think we could win the fight. With that being said, I don’t look at him as no terminator or nothing. He’s a human just like I am. He can be hurt just like anybody else can be hurt. Come March 29 we’ll see what’s gonna happen.â€
“Well, to me it doesn’t matter how many fighters I went the distance with or how many I stopped. Everybody knows that styles make fights, and I believe, I mean I know I have the style to defeat Sergey Kovalev or anybody else they put in front of me. â€
“Come March 29th, you’ll see what style that is.â€
“Like I say, I’m gonna go out there and do what I’ve been doing for years. I don’t look at it as there being pressure from back home because my hometown is gonna stand behind me regardless. On fight night, I’m ready to take care of business.â€
“I’m not focused on the fight they’re trying to make or the fight they’re thinking about. I’m focused on March 29th, and I’m not focused on people underestimating me. I’m training, staying positive and staying focused.â€
“I don’t know how you guys are taking it. I’m not sounding overconfident. I’m just humble, and I know the roads I’ve had to take to get here and now that it’s here, I have to show the world all of my talent. I have to show the world who is Cedric Agnew.â€
“In that fight with Yusaf Mack I just did what I needed to do to win the fight.â€
“I don’t see nothing spectacular coming from this guy. My personal opinion I just think he’s ordinary.â€
Kathy Duva, Promoter of Main Events
“The bigger names take time to make, and that fight (Stevenson) will get made, but our goal is for Sergey to stay active and Sergey’s goal is to stay active. This is the fight we found. This young man is willing to step up and test his skills, and that’s what this sport is all about. I remember people talking a long, long time ago when Mike Tyson was fighting Buster Douglass when we were trying to make the Tyson-Holyfield fight and you know what happened then, so I never ever discount anyone’s chances of winning a fight and nobody ever should.â€
“From what we know, Cedric is a boxer and he is undefeated so he doesn’t know what it feels like to lose.â€
“I think no matter what, we’ll see a sensational performance from Sergey Kovalev. Like I said, nobody gave that guy against Mike Tyson much of a chance. There’s no such thing as a sure thing. It’s easy for someone to lose focus when there’s talk of other big fights, and there’s millions of examples of people who have lost focus and walked into something that they didn’t expect. I think Sergey is a great fighter and think he can beat everybody in the world, but I’ve been at this long enough to know that you have to take everybody seriously.â€
“As a promoter, I can’t come out and say that I think the outcome is preordained because I don’t think any outcome is.â€
“The real challenge aside from Cedric Agnew is not to get distracted by fights that are out there of potentially happening. I mean there’s been more questions on this phone call about Adonis Stevenson than there have been about Cedric Agnew.â€
“A fight between Sergey and Andre Ward is certainly something that is gonna happen someday, but it’s not going to happen at 168.â€
“When you start out (looking for opponents), you have to look at the top fifteen. You have to see who’s available and then discuss with HBO. Fonfara is someone that HBO would approve but he moved on. Cedric was also on that very short list of people that HBO asked us to approach first, and once we knew that Fonfara wasn’t going to work out, we approached Malcom.â€
“He’s American; he’s undefeated; the fight’s in the United States and Sergey’s last two opponents have not been American so it made all the sense in the world.â€
Malcom Garrett, Promoter of Garrett Promotions
“Number one, we’re glad that a lot of people are gonna underestimate Cedric Agnew. Cedric Agnew is a very skilled fighter. This is a fight that Agnew is chomping at the bit for. He thinks he’s ready for this fight. We think he’s ready for this fight. He was a good amateur, but had some hand problems in the amateurs, so he wasn’t able to do what he wanted to do; however, he’s been flying a bit under the radar, which may not always be the worst thing. He plans on upsetting, and I believe we got a fight here, gentlemen.â€
“Cedric would rather have fought Kovalev (than the IBF eliminator). Style-wise we like Kovalev’s style for Cedric.â€
“I know everybody wants to see Kovalev and Stevenson. I’d like to see the fight my self. We’d all sit down and watch it, and I’m sure HBO will buy it later this year; however, they’re just going to have to do it without the WBO title.â€
Jolene Mizzone, Main Events Matchmaker
“Sergey Kovalev is must see television, and someone you have to watch.â€
“The biggest point that everybody has to realize is that Cedric Agnew wants to fight Kovalev. This is a fight that they’ve been asking for. There’s not many guys out there from doing the matchmaking that want to fight Kovalev. â€
John David Jackson, Kovalev’s Trainer
“Sergey’s become an all-around fighter. He’s going to the body a lot more. He’s placing his punches a lot better, and he’s not rushing his shots like he once did.â€
“He (Sergey) has boxing skills, but we haven’t seen those because most guys don’t go past four rounds, so maybe in the future we’ll get a chance to see him display his boxing abilities.â€
“He’s not just one-dimensional, and that’s what a lot of fighters don’t realize. They hear he’s a “Krusher†or “Terminator†and they think he’s just one-dimensional. Sergey has a lot of tools to work with. I’m hoping in this fight here that maybe Cedric will make Sergey show people what he can do and Sergey can showcase his talents.â€
“It’s an intriguing fight, and we’re not taking this kid lightly. Sergey takes no opponent lightly. When we’re in the gym training, every fighter is the most important person on the planet at that moment.â€
“I’m in the same boat you’re in, but we’ll get films on him in the next week or so and then we’ll dissect him and see what he is.â€
“Once he became champion, he became the hunted. He’s no longer the hunter. This kid stepped up, so that means he’s hungry.â€
“Our sole focus is Cedric Agnew.â€
Bobby Benton, Agnew’s Trainer
Cedric’s been fighting since he was eight, and he’s got a bunch of amateur fights and knows how to fight. We’ve been begging for exposure and now we’re getting it. He’s gonna be ready; he always is.â€
“Since he’s been down here in the last four years, he’s maybe taken ten days out of the gym. He’s a gym rat, and he’s ready.â€
You're right about the low pay -for now. He's with HBO and should get some big $$$ once he takes all of Stevenson's belts (which he will). Like Wladimir, once he gets the belts the stakes have to skyrocket because all of the companies that take part in "world championship fights" want a cut.
You're all right about not getting credit. No matter how many Afro-Americanos Sergei demolishes, his name will never be mainstream. Whites are not worthy opponents to mainsleeze media -that's why the K-bros had to demolish every black that would climb into the ring with them.
whiteathlete33
Hall of Famer
Yet the Klitschkos are not getting any credit. The heavyweight division is supposedly "weak" these days. According to all the DWF's the light heavyweight division is stacked full of talent so I wonder the excuse when Kovalev has multiple belts. Some of the DWF's are saying that Stevenson will beat Kovalev.
BoxingSpecialist2
Mentor
Agreed, I noticed the exact same thing.
Bernard is keeping a very low profile when it comes to Sergey Kovalev and it's rather uncharacteristic of him. In the past, Bernard would call guys out. He is still calling guys out today, but they are not very good fighters (ie Tavoris Cloud or Beibut Shumenov, both decent, but very beatable).
Bernard currently has a fight scheduled with Asian WBA world champion Beibut Shumenov. Shumenov is not as good as Kovalev, but he's pretty decent. To be honest with fair judging, I would like Shumenov's chances on a decision over Bernard. He throws with volume and could potentially outwork Bernard.
In fairness, Bernard is an old man and if he doesn't want to fight Kovalev I would understand that. But, if that's the case, he should retire because he is no longer willing to fight the best opposition.
Kovalev is new to high-level boxing. Bernard has been around for years. So understandably, Bernard commands a higher salary at this point. Bernard is not very popular though, so I don't think he makes that much money. The biggest money earners currently in boxing are Mayweather Jr, Pacquiao, Klitschko, Froch, JM Marquez, Canelo, Povetkin. There's a lot of money in the UK as well, and Froch/Groves is going to be one of the best paying UK fights of alltime (I'm thinking each guy stands to make in excess of a few million).
What's interesting is that Andre Ward beat Carl Froch, but it's Carl Froch who by far makes more money in boxing. Partially because he fights more often, but also because he is more exciting and popular, and fans in the UK provide a bigger market for that kind of fighting than in USA.
Kovalev certainly will make a lot of money if he keeps doing what he's doing. I would imagine he's already made a couple hundred thousand for his last few fights. When he fought Cleverly in the UK, they pay well in the UK, I'd speculate he made at least $250,000 for that fight (perhaps more). His last fight VS the Negro Sillakh on HBO, I'd speculate he made $100,000 or so.
If Kovalev fights Stevenson, he'd probably be in line for a payday in the region of a million dollars. And of course if he wins that fight then keeps fighting, the possibilities really are endless.
It's possible.
I've seen a few of Stevenson's fights and he can fight. He has amazing punching power and he can really knock out anyone. I don't think he punches as hard as Kovalev, but it's close. He's certainly one of the best punchers in the sport (along with Kovalev, Klitschko, Golovkin, etc.).
It'll be a great fight. I think both guys chins will get checked. Fortunately, I think Kovalev has the better chin and I also think he's the better, smarter boxer. Stevenson has been knocked out before, and hurt various times, but we've never seen Kovalev hurt or KO'd. Kovalev also has a more experienced amateur background, indicating he's probably a better technician. He seems to time his punches better and hit harder. Kovalev's power is really unreal.
I used to gamble extensively on boxing and for Stevenson/Kovalev, I'd go with Kovalev to win the fight (most likely by KO, but I'd just bet "to win", because a decision is possible).
The most likely outcome I think though is Kovalev KO in the mid rounds. This Kovalev guy is something special.
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white is right
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Kovalev like "Triple G" will have to over pay opponents to fight him when he eventually cleans out the division. I think while Stevenson is a huge puncher, tactically he is a full level below Kovalev and he has been ko'd badly before by an ESPN level opponent. As for Bernard his choosing of Beibut shows why he is still fighting championship level fights he knows he can turn the crude slugger into knots with his grabbing and mauling. Unless Hopkins can make in the range of 10 million dollars he isn't going near Kovalev.
Charles Martel
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Kovalev wants a fight with Adonis Stevenson, but looks like the lowlife who served time for beating up teenaged girls is afraid to fight.
www.boxingscene.com/sergey-kovalev-adonis-stevenson-piece-sht--75256
www.boxingscene.com/sergey-kovalev-adonis-stevenson-piece-sht--75256
There are so many funny comments on the thread you linked. About 95% of the posters support Kovalev. Stevenson knows he can't really outright refuse so he's reported as having said (essentially) for the right money i will. Kovalev, on the other hand, is reported to have said he'll fight him anywhere for any money.
Charles Martel
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Charles Martel
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