Sergey Kovalev Is the Rare, Refreshing Boxing Star Who Doesn't Duck a Challenge
Sergey Kovalev might be cranky because he didn’t have his morning oatmeal this morning.
At least that was what I was told before Main Events spokesperson Ellen Hailey introduced me to the unified light heavyweight titleholder from Russia last week. Kovalev, 33, holder of the IBF, WBA and WBO title belts at 175 pounds, is doing rounds with the media to help promote his November 19 pay-per-view bout versus former 168-pound champion Andre Ward.
If you remember, Kovalev is the fighter I would want to lead my band of survivors should a zombie apocalypse ever ensue as well as the scariest fighter I’ve ever encountered. But Kovalev, perhaps seeing the benefit of at least pretending to know media people’s names, begins by warmly greeting me and diving right into the questions as if he’s not a warmonger at all.
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He seems different.
Superfights do that to people. They need to sell both themselves and the fight. Being adaptable to any given situation is something fighters use both inside the ring and out. He’ll need that in his next fight once the bell rings. Ward is a savant of the sweet science.
“This a big, big fight,” Kovalev told me in English with a heavy Russian accent, with manager Egis Klimas on standby in case anything is lost in translation between us.
It makes sense. Kovalev is an accidental boxing star. Inside the ring, he’s a wrecking ball of the highest order. Yes, he’s an excellent boxer with a solid amateur pedigree. But he doesn’t box just to win on points. He’s there to bring the pain.
Even when he wins by decision, he hurts his opponents.
When asked how he would hand Ward his first loss as a professional and avoid the same fate for himself, Kovalev said he’d do it just like he’s beaten everyone else he’s faced.
“Nothing special. I will just go to the ring and destroy him.”
Ward, of course, is a special fighter, the kind Kovalev hasn’t faced before. How could he have? Pound-for-pound and at his peak, Ward is likely the best fighter on the planet right now. He just hasn’t had the fights to prove it.
Ward, 32, is one of boxing’s best technicians. Not only does he know how to do the right things the right way, but he’s also adept at using each facet of the game as needed, seamlessly switching his punches, movements and defensive dodges from inside to out.
While conventional wisdom says he’ll heed to stay far away from Kovalev’s punching power to win the fight, one can envision Ward taking the Russian apart standing right in front of him. He’s that good.
But Kovalev is special, too. It’s a fight that could go either way. Kovalev is a terribly underrated boxer. He’s not just a power-punching mauler. Like Ward, he’s adept at fighting at a distance and, when necessary, picking his opponent off from the outside, as he did for 12 rounds versus Bernard Hopkins.
And Kovalev is a natural light heavyweight, one who has traded punches with the hardest hitters in the division. For Ward, Kovalev will be a marked step up from any recent 175-pound action he’s seen.
In July, Kovalev went back to Russia to defend his belts against Isaac Chilemba. Kovalev admitted to being a little nervous since it was his first time fighting in his homeland since he became a world champion.
“I was really excited to be fighting in my hometown," he said. "It was a long time since I fought there. It was the most important fight I ever fought there.”
Kovalev’s friends and family, some of whom had never seen him fight before, saw their guy dominate Chilemba over 12 rounds. It wasn’t the ruthless knockout many had probably hoped for, but Kovalev showed he was content not to risk his shot at Ward by chasing a sly mover who was fairly unwilling to engage.
Smart. And the powers that be would be even smarter to recognize what they have in him.
Boxing has benefited from Kovalev’s rise to the top, and it will continue to do so by him staying there.
This is a fighter who wasn’t groomed for greatness. He hasn’t been coddled or taken up the boxing ladder slowly and carefully. In fact, according to Duva in a prior conversation with Bleacher Report, Kovalev was passed over by just about every other boxing promoter in the world until Duva nabbed him back in 2012 after seeing him mop the floor with Darnell Boone in a rematch.
Two years prior, Boone had roughed up Kovalev despite losing a split decision. Duva wanted to see if Kovalev had improved against Boone, who was known in boxing circles as one of the best gatekeepers in the sport.
Kovalev cracked Boone to the canvas in just two rounds the second time.
Let’s be frank: Kovalev is just as scary as Gennady Golovkin, with less boyish charm than his Eastern European middleweight counterpart, less throwaway fight dates from HBO to fill his and his handlers' coffers with reams of cash and infinitely more accomplishments over his years spent in America as a professional fighter. A win over an aging great in Hopkins is the best moment in his career up to this point in time with even bigger fights on the horizon.
In short, Kovalev is the fighter who boxing needs right now: a real boxing star who doesn’t duck anyone in word or deed. He doesn’t just say he wants the best fighters to face him. He takes the fights, and his team goes and makes it happen.
That’s refreshing. It’s one thing to say you’ll fight anyone. It’s quite another to actually do so.
“This fight is for anyone and everyone who is interested in boxing,” said maybe the most interesting knockout artist in the sport. And with boxing constantly losing its foothold among American audiences, it’s a good thing Kovalev is on the rise right now.
Boxing could use a guy like him.
Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.
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