The old Frank Galarza (18-2-2, 11 KOs) is back and his timing couldn’t be better. In his second fight coming off of a 14-month layoff after suffering two difficult back-to-back losses, Galarza put together a strong performance at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on the Kovalev vs. Shabranskyy undercard, winning with solid scores in a unanimous decision.
Main Events
Results: Barrera stops Valera; Gamboa – Sosa
Sullivan Barrera (21-1, 14 KOs) of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Felix Valera (162, 13 KOs) of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic scored knockdowns in the first round.
In the second round, Valera began to taunt Sullivan with his antics but Barrera countered with hard shots that put a quick end to the showboating. However, Barrera suffered a cut over his left eye that started to swell in the second round. Shortly after the bell rang to start the third round, Valera hit Barrera with a low blow that cost him a point on the judges’ scorecards.
Sergey Kovalev destroys Vyacheslav Shabranskyy
Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev regained his WBO Light Heavyweight World Title in classic Krusher fashion with a second round stoppage of Vyacheslav Shabranskyy at the Theater at Madison Square Garden and live on HBO World Championship Boxing. Kovalev came out of the gates swinging, knocking down Shabranskyy twice in the first round. The second round continued with more hard shots from The Krusher and a third knockdown. Finally, at 2:36 of the second round, the referee called a halt to the action and Kovalev was named the new WBO champ.
Kovalev-Shabranskyy Weights & final press conference quotes
Weigh-In Results
Sergey Kovalev 174 vs. Vyacheslav Shabranskyy 174.8
Jason Sosa 131.2 vs. Yuriorkis Gamboa 130.6
Sullivan Barrera 174.8 vs. Felix Valera 174.2
Bakhram Murtazaliev 153.8 vs. Carlos Galvan 151.8
Frank Galarza 153 vs. Jaime Herrera 153.2
(Photo Credit: David Spagnolo/Main Events)
Sullivan Barrera battles Felix Valera this Sat.
This Saturday’s Kovalev-Shabranskyy HBO World Championship Boxing® telecast will include a battle between two of the light heavyweight division’s biggest punchers when Sullivan Barrera and Felix Valera square off at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Below is the scouting report for this exciting match-up:
Barrera vs. Valera on Kovalev vs. Shabranskyy card
Sullivan Barrera – “Camp has been great. It continues to get better with my new coach, Derik Santos. Every camp we work on different things. I am enjoying camp because I am learning a lot from him and we mix well. Nov 25 expect a great performance from me!”
“The door is wide open for everyone in the light heavyweight division. There are a lot of great fights to be made and I’m just looking to continue being in the mix with all the great fighters we have in our division.”
Kovalev quotes for Shabranskyy fight
An energized, reinvigorated Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-2-1, 26 KOs) spoke with Southern California’s leading boxing journalists and websites and put on a show of skills at a media workout on Tuesday, November 14. The event also featured Kovalev’s new trainer, Abror Tursunpulatov; Kathy Duty, CEO of Main Events, and Egis Klimas, Kovalev’s manager. (Photo credit Craig Bennett/Main Events)
Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev – former unified light heavyweight world champion
Kovalev vs. Shabranskyy quotes for Nov.25
Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events: Welcome everyone to the Kovalev-Shabranskyy International Media Conference Call. Thank you to all the media who have dialed in to this call today to discuss the upcoming fight for the vacant WBO Light Heavyweight Title. This tasty Thanksgiving weekend boxing event is sure to thrill fans and will air on HBO World Championship Boxing® live from The Theater at Madison Square Garden on Sat., Nov. 25 at 10:00 PM Eastern and Pacific Time. The fight is presented by Main Events and Krusher Promotions in association with Golden Boy Promotions. Tickets range from $50 to $350 and are available online at ticketmaster.com, the Madison Square Garden box office or Main Events’ Office by calling 973-200-7050 or emailing boxing@mainevents.com.
Dmitry Bivol Interview Transcript
Vadim Kornilov – Manager of Dmitry Bivol: It’s a pleasure to get in touch with everybody one last time before the fight. I just flew in and met with the team and it’s a pleasure to talk to everybody and we’re looking forward to a great event. This will be the first world title defense for Dmitry. It is a pleasure working with Main Events, HBO, Matchroom Boxing and everybody. Thank you very much.
Gennadii Mashyanov – Trainer of Dmitry Bivol:As always there has been a full-on training camp for us. Dmitry is ready for this fight just like any other fight before. The opponent is a serious opponent, an experienced opponent. It does not matter whether he’s lower or higher in the ratings. This fight is as important as any other fight and we’re ready for the for the fight this Saturday.
Kovalev now trained by Abror Tursunpulatov
Former unified light heavyweight world champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-2-1, 26 KOs) did a lot of soul-searching after his controversial loss to Andre “S.O.G” Ward over the summer in Las Vegas, Nevada. He traveled back to his home in Russia for several months with his wife, Natalia, and his son Aleksandr and even spent time meditating at a monastery in Greece. After months of contemplation, he decided it was time to sever his relationship with long-time trainer, John David Jackson.