Sergey Kovalev

Hopkins vs Kovalev Official for November Live on HBO

Hopkins vs Kovalev Official for November Live on HBO

Speed, savvy and defense will come face-to-face with explosive power and force this November when Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins takes on Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev in a Light Heavyweight Unification title fight, Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events announced today.

Hopkins, incredibly just two months short of his 50th birthday, is seeking to add the WBO Light Heavyweight Championship to his collection of IBF and WBA belts. Kovalev, who burst on the scene just a year ago, has never lost a fight and has won 23 of his 25 victories by knockout.

“Everything I do at this point in my career affects my legacy,” Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) said. “I’ve set and broken many records, but becoming the oldest undisputed light heavyweight world champion is the goal and Kovalev stands in the way of that goal. He’s another young, hungry fighter and just like the ones that came before him, he will leave the ring beltless.”

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Rios wins DQ over Chaves; Jesse Vargas hands Anton Novikov his 1st loss; Kovalev KOs Caparello

Rios wins DQ over Chaves; Jesse Vargas hands Anton Novikov his 1st loss; Kovalev KOs Caparello

It seems no one at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, NV was happy with the way the fight between Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios and Diego Gabriel Chaves ended. It was a close, rugged battle that fans undoubtedly were enjoying. They certainly didn’t want it to end so abruptly at the hands of referee Vic Drakulich. Diego clearly didn’t want it to end with him on the losing end. He felt he was winning the fight, and that it was snatched away from him. Even Rios expressed dissatisfaction with the way things ended, but he felt Diego deserved to be penalized.

The fight was a war. Most people thought that it would evolve into a war, but it wasn’t expected to start that way. Diego controlled that surprise. He came out throwing power jabs and hard overhand rights. Would he run out of steam? Rios seemed to be caught off guard initially, but by the second round he already had Diego backing up. He got in close and started throwing punishing shots to the body. Diego was hit with his first penalty point in the third round, apparently for excessive holding.

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Sergey Kovalev TKO 2 Blake Caparello – business as usual

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There was no drama on Saturday night at Revel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey when Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) chopped down Blake “Il Capo” Caparello (19-1-1, 6 KOs). Caparello was brave to even take the fight but offered very little in the way of return fire and skill against the overconfident Kovalev.

The Russian started the fight by rushing head on against his unpretentious opponent. The only notable thing about Caparello is that he is a southpaw and this required some adjustments to the fine-tuned automatic skills of his opponents. Kovalev did not seem to care about his opponent’s stance other than throwing straight right hands a little more frequently.

Caparello almost made a name for himself when he was credited with a knock down against Kovalev in the first round. The referee clearly made a mistake, Caparello did land a clean left hand on his foe but his lead foot was firmly set on Kovalev’s lead foot toes and tripped Kovalev off balance. The Russian went down but wasn’t hurt at all; he wasn’t even annoyed and did not make a fuss or challenge the referee’s call. He only “revved up” and the thuds of his shots became more audible. The knock down only expedited matters and brought controlled anger to Sergey’s actions.

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Kovalev Takes Out Caparello in Second Round at Revel

Kovalev Takes Out Caparello in Second Round at Revel

(Photo Credit: Rich Graessle/Main Events) In the much-anticipated WBO Light Heavyweight World Championship bout, Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KO’s*) takes down undefeated Australian challenger Blake “Il Capo” Caparello (19-1-1, 6 KO’s) in the second round in the third defense of his WBO Light Heavyweight World Title. Kovalev was under a microscope these last few days with the possibility of a unification bout with Bernard “Alien” Hopkins looming. Krusher did not let the pressure get to him, he focused only on the opponent in the ring with him tonight.

Kovalev and Caparello were feeling each other out in the first round. Caparello knocked Sergey off balance in the first and his glove touched the canvas, but Krusher got back up quickly. Blake went down in the second from a crushing body blow but beat the count. He taunted Kovalev to come back at him which Krusher did in relentless fashion. After two more knockdowns, referee Sparkle Lee called it off at 1:47 of round two.

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Kovalev “The Krusher” back on the Boardwalk & Rios vs Chaves potential FOTY

Kovalev "The Krusher" back on the Boardwalk & Rios vs Chaves potential FOTY

Rios claims that he has returned back to earth after his head was stuck in the clouds of success. Alex Ariza is gone from his camp, now he and his world renowned trainer Robert Garcia are going back to the basics. Strength and condition coach or not, Rios better have been on his best behavior to prepare for a hungry and dangerous fighter like Chaves.

Diego Chaves has a snappy jab and loves to throw chopping hooks to the body and head. He favors his left hand for lead hooks and has a decent overhand right to go with it.

The thought amongst fans and media who are picking Chaves are banking on his movement. I question Diego’s capability to outbox Rios only because he hasn’t shown that trait at a high level. He pressed the action for the most part in a loss to Keith Thurman, and in a close victory over Omar Weis. When he was pushed back in both of those fights, he looked very uncomfortable making him vulnerable to a hunter like Rios.

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Caparello Challenges Kovalev for WBO Title 8/2 at Revel in Atlantic City

Caparello Challenges Kovalev for WBO Title 8/2 at Revel in Atlantic City

Atlantic City, NJ: Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (24-0-1, 22 KOs), the undefeated Russian Wrecking Ball, returns to HBO Boxing After Dark and Atlantic City on August 2nd to defend his WBO Light Heavyweight World Title against undefeated Blake “Il Capo” Caparello (19-0-1, 6 KOs) at Revel Casino Hotel.

Kovalev, 31, originally from Chelyabinsk, Russia and now residing in Fort Lauderdale, FL, will defend his WBO title for the third time since taking it by force from Nathan Cleverly in a four round TKO victory in Cleverly’s hometown of Cardiff, Wales on August 17, 2013. Renowned for his ability to knockout anyone who dares to step in the ring with him, Krusher has an astonishing 91% knockout-to-win ratio. This will be his fourth fight on HBO and his second in Atlantic City.

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Who next for Adonis Stevenson? “Superman” could be in trouble if it’s Hopkins, Kovalev

Who next for Adonis Stevenson? “Superman” could be in trouble if it’s Hopkins, Kovalev

Before we get into who and what might be next for WBC light-heavyweight ruler Adonis Stevenson, a few words simply have to be written in tribute to the unearthly toughness, grit and determination of Andrzej Fonfara. Last night in Canada, the Polish warrior put on a display of guts and character that at times staggered belief.

We all know how heavy a hitter Stevenson is, yet Fonfara, although hurt multiple times, to the body especially, refused to be taken out. Also refusing to quit when he had a number of occasions when he could have waved the white flag and not had it held against him, the 26-year-old instead gave us a graphic example of how mentally and physically strong boxers often are.

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Curtis Stevens thinks Adonis Stevenson ducked Kovalev fight

Curtis Stevens thinks Adonis Stevenson ducked Kovalev fight

Middleweight contender Curtis Stevens thinks that WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson ducked the fight against WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev with his move to Showtime this past week.

When asked if Stevenson took the easy way out of what could have been a very tough fight against Kovalev, Stevens said to thaboxingvoice “Yeah, the little [expletive]. Now who’s he [Stevenson] fighting? Bunch of queens…He don’t want it. Kovalev’s dangerous, boy. He hits hard.”

Stevens went onto say that Andrzej Fonfara, Bernard Hopkins and Sakio Bika aren’t in the same class as Kovalev is.

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Adonis Stevenson now saying he wants Kovalev fight

Adonis Stevenson now saying he wants Kovalev fight

Adonis Stevenson came out of the woodwork last night following WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev’s 7th round knockout win over Cedric Agnew to tell him via twitter that he’s very interested in taking him on now and suggesting that he contact his promoter to make the fight happen. Stevenson said that he felt that Kovalev looked slow against Agnew last night and that his defense was nonexistent.

Stevenson’s sudden interest in the Kovalev fight is good news in theory for boxing fans, but it’s not realistic that a fight between them can actually take place due to Stevenson signing a contract with Showtime. Kovalev is still locked up in a long term contract with HBO, and there’s no way that either of them can fight each other until their contracts expire.

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Kovalev Grinds Down Agnew; Warns Light Heavyweight Division to “Stay in Shape!”

Kovalev Grinds Down Agnew; Warns Light Heavyweight Division to "Stay in Shape!"

By Justin Jones & Paul “Paparazzi” Jones-, Photo © Paul “Paparazzi” Jones — Atlantic City, NJ — Russian WBO Light Heavyweight Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (24-0-1, 22 KOs) continued his winning ways on Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall (Atlantic City) by punishing previously unbeaten Cedric “L.O.W.” Agnew (26-1, 13 KOs) over seven rounds. A devastating left hook to Agnew’s gut sealed the deal in the seventh round, dropping the challenger to his knees as he winced in pain. Shortly thereafter, the referee stopped the bout when Agnew failed to beat the count.

“I hit him and hurt him with the same shot in the fourth or fifth round, so I knew he felt my punch,” said Kovalev. “I knew once I landed the left hand to the liver (in the seventh round) that he was done.”

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