Sergey ‘Krusher’ Kovalev (36-5-1, 30 KOs) showed that he still possesses formidable power, ending his career with a crushing seventh-round TKO win over Artur Mann (22-5, 13 KOs) on Friday night in front of a home crowd at the Yunost Arena in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

The 42-year-old ‘Krusher’ Kovalev knocked Mann down twice in the contest with big left hands. In the second round, Sergey flattened Artur with a left hook that he never saw coming. Mann, 34, got up and was staggering before being allowed to continue.

Krusher’s Power Remains

Five rounds later, Kovalev dropped Mann with a four-punch combination. The badly hurt German-based Mann got back up but looked in bad shape. His legs looked rubbery and in no condition to continue fighting. His corner made the right decision to have the fight waved off rather than letting Kovalev finish him.

Kovalev had dominated most of the fight, tattooing Mann with jabs, left hooks, and right hands throughout. His job was made easier due to Mann not throwing many punches. He was plodding forward, looking to get in close before firing off a shot. Kovalev kept him under a steady barrage of jabs and power punches. When Mann would get close, Kovalev would hold or push him off.

In the third, Mann suffered a cut over his right eye from a hard jab from Kovalev. He’d been getting hit with repeated jabs to the right and blocking almost nothing.

This was supposed to be Kovalev’s final fight, but it’s doubtful that he’ll retire after this performance. He’s likely to gain confidence from this performance and choose to continue on. His power and technical skills remain intact.

What Kovalev has working against him is his age. He’s not going to want to fight for lesser paydays against the young, hungry cruiserweights in the division to try and earn a world title shot against the champions, Jai Opetaia and Gilberto Ramirez.