Sergey Kovalev vs. Nadjib Mohammedi: Fight Time, Date, TV Info and Prediction

Stone-fisted boxer Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs) has not yet tasted defeat as a professional, but that record and his WBA, IBF and WBO light heavyweight titles will be put on the line Saturday evening when he takes on mandatory challenger Nadjib Mohammedi (37-3, 23 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round match at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. 

Kovalev's career has been a rather straightforward ascent to the top of the light heavyweight division, and he's looked mighty comfortable in his time there by seemingly improving with each passing bout.

After taking the WBO World light heavyweight title from Nathan Cleverly with a fourth-round TKO in August 2013, Kovalev has defended it five times and since added the IBF and WBA titles with a unanimous-decision win over Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins in November of last year. 

Mohammedi's last loss came against Dmitry Sukhotsky in October 2011. Since then, he's won 13 fights, ending 11 of them before the final bell with his own considerable power and skill. He's handily beaten most of his opponents and done everything asked of him to reach this point, but it's safe to say Mohammedi's yet to meet a mauler like Kovalev in the ring.

Here's the fight schedule and viewing info, followed by a quick preview and prediction for the bout. 


Kovalev vs. Mohammedi: Fight Schedule, Viewing Info

Date: Saturday, July 25

Time: 10 p.m. ET/PT

Location: Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas

TV: HBO

Preview, Prediction

Kovalev	Tale of the Tape	Mohammedi
32	Age	30
27-0-1 (24 KOs)	Record	37-3 (23 KOs)
8-0 (7 KOs)	Record in Title Bouts	14-3 (9 KOs)
6'0"	Height	5'11.5"
72.5"	Reach	70.5"
Orthodox	Stance	Orthodox
Eighth-round TKO win over Jean Pascal	Last Fight	Sixth-round TKO win over Lee Campbell
WBA (Super), WBO, IBF light heavyweight	Belts/Titles	N/A

Kovalev doesn't waste time in the ring. He possesses devastating power and knows how to use it. Consequently, he doesn't spend all that much time in the ring, not with his fists chewing up his opponent's skull and torso like so many mortar rounds on some desolate battlefield. 

Since his draw against Grover Young in August 2011, Kovalev has won 10 of 11 bouts by knockout. Of those 10 unlucky opponents, seven of them didn't make it past the fourth round. The lone boxer to see out the judges' scorecards in that span was Hopkins, the ageless wonder who seems incapable of succumbing to anything less than a mass extinction event at this point (and maybe not even that, as his other nickname is "The Alien"). 

Tim Larsen/Associated Press

The 50-year-old Hopkins will be a ringside analyst for HBO Saturday, per ESPN.com's Brian Campbell. Kovalev's 12 rounds against Hopkins were massively one-sided in the Russian's favor, and it was enough for Hopkins to relay to Rafael what makes the titleholder such a difficult opponent to face:

"

One thing I learned about Sergey is that he's very, very unpredictable. Most of my opponents were predictable -- not all, but most. He has, I guess you could say, the unorthodox European style. We are taught most of the time that they don't have a lot of movement. The European fighters are normally straight up and robotic, yet have every other attribute to compete and also to be great fighters. And this ain't overhyping anything, as his record speaks for itself...

"

Mohammedi, a French fighter with an Algerian background, has taken on boxers from all over the world, but there's little that can prepare him for what's to come with Kovalev. Hopkins did note he's seen Kovalev get "rocked one or two times," and Mohammedi has shown a knack for overpowering his opponents in recent years. His best bet might be to match Kovalev's aggression early on and try to score points, but he'll have to show great cleverness and agility to come out on top in any exchanges. 

Tim Larsen/Associated Press

Surprises happen in boxing, and Mohammedi might be able to generate the power necessary to throw Kovalev off his seek-and-destroy tactics, but the 32-year-old titleholder is the pre-eminent fighter in his decision and unlikely to falter in Las Vegas. Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole noted the bout has garnered minimal attention in some circles, possibly due to the reputation, or lack thereof, of Mohammedi:

"

The fight isn’t resonating with boxing fans. Good seats, as they say, are still (widely) available.

Part of it has to do, no doubt, with the opponent. Mohammedi is one of those nameless, faceless mandatory challengers who hasn’t won any notable bouts and does nothing to drum up interest.

"

The oddsmakers aren't giving Mohammedi much of a chance in this one, either. As of July 23, the 30-year-old Frenchman is sporting 16-1 odds, via Odds Shark.

Mohammedi has lost by knockout twice in his career; Kovalev should be able to retire him for a third time Saturday.

Assuming Kovalev wins this bout, attention will quickly turn to whomever he might take on next. Bloody Elbow's Fraser Coffeen threw in his two cents in previewing Saturday's bout: "Really, the only interesting name to see paired with Sergey Kovalev these days is Adonis Stevenson, but that's not happening for now. Instead, Kovalev smash. Enjoy."

Iole notes that Kovalev promoter Kathy Duva has had talks with Roc Nation regarding a possible fight between her boxer and Andre Ward. That would be more than a consolation prize for those fight fans who dream of seeing Krusher engage in fisticuffs with Adonis Stevenson. In any case, Kovalev needs to take on a fighter of that caliber to keep his momentum up as a global star.

He's consistently taken care of his part in the ring; hopefully the string-pullers in boxing can keep up their end of the bargain outside of it and get Kovalev marquee matchups.

Prediction: Kovalev cruises to late-round KO