Sergey Kovalev (boxer)

Sergey Kovalev Серге́й Ковалёв
Kovalev in 2014
Statistics
Nickname(s)	Krusher
Rated at	Light heavyweight
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Reach	183 cm (72 in)
Nationality	Russian
Born	2 April 1983 Kopeysk, Russian SSR, Soviet Union (now Russia)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	30
Wins	29
Wins by KO	26
Losses	0
Draws	1

Sergey Kovalev (Russian: Серге́й Ковалёв; born 2 April 1983) is a Russian professional boxer. He is the current unified WBO, IBF, WBA (Super) and WBC Diamond light heavyweight champion, and is known for his punching power. In 2014, he was named Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine.

Amateur career

Kovalev started boxing in 1994 at age 11, and made his amateur debut in 1997 in the Russian Boxing Junior Championship, where he won the gold medal in the middleweight juniors division. One year later he competed with the seniors and reached the final, and a year after that, he won the final fight. For Team Russia, he competed in the European Championships.

In 2004, Kovalev for the first time took part in the Russian Senior Championship, and in his first season, he reached the final and also won the golden medal in the team event. The next year was the most successful in his career as an amateur in winning two titles: the first as champion of Russia and the second as champion among servicemen. In the 2006 championship for servicemen, he won the silver, and a year later, he took bronze in the Russian Championship and gold in the World Military Games in India.

In 2008, Kovalev took part in his final national competition and again made the final; after that, he decided to turn professional. As he once admitted, he had to leave the national team because of the extremely tense competition between him and more successful boxers Matvey Korobov and Artur Beterbiev. He finished his amateur career with a record of 195-18.^[1]

Amateur highlights

• 2000 Russian Junior Championships silver medalist at light welterweight
• 2001 Russian Junior Championships silver medalist at middleweight
• 2004 Russian Championships silver medalist at middleweight, losing to Matvey Korobov
• 2005 Russian Championships gold medalist at middleweight
• 2005 World Military Championships gold medalist at light heavyweight, in Pretoria, South Africa
• 2006 World Military Championships silver medalist at light heavyweight, in Warendorf, Germany
• 2007 World Military Championships gold medalist at light heavyweight, in Hyderabad, India
• 2007 Russian Championships bronze medalist at light heavyweight, losing to Artur Beterbiev
• 2008 Russian Championships silver medalist at light heavyweight

Professional career

Kovalev started his career with a first-round KO of Daniel Chavez at Greenboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.^[2] He won his first nine fights with first- or second-round knockout. He faced more serious competition against Darnell Boone in October 2010, when he had to fight all eight rounds, and was dropped en route to a split decision win.

In July 2011, Kovalev won his first NABA belt in a 10-round fight with Douglas Otieno from Kenya. The Russian's next bout against Grover Young was controversial, however, as in the second round, Kovalev threw a left hook to the head, but the judges suggested that it was a blow to the back of the head -– an unintentional infringement. As the American could not continue, the fight was declared a technical draw.^[1]

Death of Roman Simakov

In his 2011 fight against Roman Simakov, Kovalev knocked down his opponent in the sixth round and the fight was stopped one round later and Kovalev was awarded a TKO victory. Tragically, Simakov was taken to the hospital, where he lapsed into a coma and died three days later.^[3]

Rise up the ranks

In 2012, Kovalev knocked out Darnell Boone in two rounds in a rematch, demonstrating his improvement as a fighter since their last meeting and leading him to be signed to Main Events boxing.^[4] On January 19, 2013 Kovalev faced the former WBA Light Heavyweight champion Gabriel Campillo. Kovalev was able to get to the usually elusive Campillo early and often, continually backing him up in the opening round with furious combinations. Campillo, known as a slow starter who looked sluggish throughout the fight, was hurt early in the third round and staggered into the corner. The native of Spain covered up before being dropped with a left hook from Kovalev, one of three knockdowns in the round.

Light Heavyweight Champion

On 17 August 2013 Kovalev fought Nathan Cleverly for the WBO Light Heavyweight title. Kovalev, who knocked out most of his opponents within three rounds, came out throwing heavy shots in the first round, hurt Cleverly badly in the third round, dropping him twice and nearly finishing him off. Kovalev picked things right back up in the fourth, throwing bombs to send Cleverly down for a third time and the referee waved things off.^[5]

On 30 November 2013, Kovalev had his first defense of the WBO Light Heavyweight title against Ismayl Sillakh. He found the timing early in round two and in the same round finished Sillakh with a huge left.^[6]

On 29 March 2014, Kovalev faced undefeated contender Cedric Agnew. Agnew's movement gave Kovalev difficulty at times, and he found himself unable to land the concussive shots for which he was known. Agnew however, simply fought to survive and committed very little to his own offense. Ultimately in the seventh round, Kovalev landed a vicious jab to Agnew's liver that put him down for the count.^[7]

Later that year, Kovalev faced undefeated Australian contender Blake Caparello. Caparello started well, scoring a flash knockdown after catching Kovalev with a solid shot while Kovalev was off balance. Kovalev however was unhurt and even appeared enraged, thoroughly dominating his foe en route to a second round technical knockout.^[8]

Kovalev vs. Hopkins

Kovalev defeated Bernard Hopkins by unanimous decision on November 8, 2014 in a unification bout in Atlantic City to retain the WBO Light Heavyweight title and win the IBF and WBA (Super) Light Heavyweight titles.^[9] In a one-sided fight, Kovalev knocked Bernard Hopkins down in the first round. Kovalev won every single round on all of the three judges' scorecards. The score totals of the fight were 120-107, 120-107, and 120-106.^[9]

Kovalev vs. Pascal

Kovalev faced Jean Pascal on March 14, 2015 for WBC Diamond Light Heavyweight title at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. He started the fight off aggressively as usual and took control of the fight earlier and eventually knocked Pascal down in the 3rd round. Pascal began to fight back and showed some signs of life in rounds 5 and 6, although Kovalev gained control of the fight again and began to hit Pascal with huge shots, wobbling him and in the 8th round the referee stopped the fight as he felt Pascal had taken too much punishment.^[10]

Kovalev vs. Mohammedi

Kovalev faced Nadjib Mohammedi on July 25, 2015 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Kovalev steamrolled the overmatched Mohammedi, knocking him down once in the second round and one more time in the third round. The second knockdown ended Mohammedi's night and gave Kovalev his 25th knockout victory.^[11]

Kovalev vs. Pascal II

On January 30, 2016, Kovalev and Pascal met in a rematch in Montreal. He dominated the fight, both outpunching and outlanding the former champion by wide margins. Kovalev won when Pascal's trainer Freddie Roach refused to let his fighter continue after the seventh round. After the fight, Kovalev said his future plans would likely include a fight with former super middleweight champion Andre Ward, but he first wanted a unification bout with reigning WBC and recognized lineal champion Adonis Stevenson. Kovalev, who has been desiring this fight for some time but has not been able to get it, called Stevenson "Adonis Chickenson" during the post-fight interview. Stevenson, who was in attendance, responded by confronting Kovalev in the ring surrounded by three bodyguards.^[12]

Kovalev vs. Chilemba

It was announced on April 23, 2016 that Kovalev would have a warm-up fight on July 11 against 28-year-old Isaac Chilemba (24-3-2, 10 KOs) in Ekaterinburg, Russia at the Palace of Sports. This will be the the first time in five years that Kovalev will be returning to Russia for a fight and will defend his IBF/WBA/WBO World Light Heavyweight titles. Chilemba is known for having a similar style to Andre Ward, who Kovalev is expected to meet in the fall in a big fight.^[13]

Professional boxing record

Titles in boxing

Major World Titles:

• WBO Light heavyweight Champion (175 lbs)
• WBA (Super) Light heavyweight Champion (175 lbs)
• IBF Light heavyweight Champion (175 lbs)
• WBC Diamond Light heavyweight Champion (175 lbs)

Regional/International Titles:

• NABA Light heavyweight Champion (175 lbs)
• WBC Asian Boxing Council Light heavyweight Champion (175 lbs)

References

1. "Biography". Kovalboxer.com. 2013-04-26. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
2. "Sergey Kovalev - Boxer". Boxrec.com. 1983-04-02. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
3. "Russian boxer dies after bout loss". RT. 8 December 2011. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012.
4. "Kovalev: The Next "Next Big Thing"". Boxing.com. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
5. "Sergey Kovalev Blows Through Nathan Cleverly in Four - Boxing News". Boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
6. "Kovalev vs Sillakh results: Sergey Kovalev keeps Krushing, takes out Sillakh in two". Bad Left Hook. Nov 30, 2013.
7. "Sergey Kovalev retains title". ESPN. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
8. "Sergey Kovalev knocks out Caparello". ESPN. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
9. "Kovalev defeats Bernard Hopkins". Retrieved November 10, 2014.
10. "Sergey Kovalev stops Jean Pascal". ESPN. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
11. "Sergey Kovalev KO's overmatched Nadjib Mohammedi in 3rd round". ESPN. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
12. "Boxing News - boxing news, results, rankings, schedules since 1909".
13. "Sergey Kovalev to battle Isaac Chilemba on 7/11 in Russia". Boxing News 24. 2016-04-23. Retrieved 2016-04-26.

External links

• Home page
• Professional boxing record for Sergey Kovalev from BoxRec
• Sergey Kovalev on Twitter
• Sergey Kovalev on Facebook
• Sergey Kovalev on Instagram