Photo by David Spagnolo
If every act of creation is first an act of destruction, Sergey Kovalev’s career is an altar built on violence.
A menacing puncher, fittingly dubbed the “Krusher,” Kovalev is unbeaten over 28 fights and 24 of his 27 victories have come within the distance. He has unified three of the four major light heavyweight championship belts and defends his three-fold crown this weekend, July 25, against Nadjib Mohammedi (37-3, 23 KOs), his mandatory challenger at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada (10 p.m. ET/PT on HBO).
By way of Russia and training out of Florida, Kovalev helps lead an Eastern invasion of “Euroblock” talent. His sinister grin—which he’ll often crack open amid exchanges—make him a scary man. His knockout prowess make him the light heavyweight division’s worst nightmare.
His exhilarating knockouts have made him a fan favorite—even a superfight with Andre Ward has been speculated. But this weekend there’s only one man to worry about for Kovalev, that’s the unheralded Mohammedi.
Before that, how does a bit of retrospect sound? These are the three best victories of Kovalev’s career, the three that most helped make him into the star he is today.
Honorable Mentions
Photo by Richard Wolowicz
Darnell Boone II
Adonis Stevenson laid claim to the lineal light heavyweight championship in 2013 when he stiffened up Chad Dawson with a murderous overhand left in just 76 seconds. He holds 26 wins to his name and one lone loss, a second-round KO defeat to Darnell Boone, boxing’s journeyman extraordinaire.
Boone (21-22-4) is an enigma. On one-week’s notice Boone went tooth and nail with current pound-for-pound claimant Andre Ward. Boone showed off why they call him “Deezol” and dropped Ward in the fourth round, the super middleweight champion’s only knockdown to date. Boone is also the only man outside of Gennady Golovkin to defeat Willie Monroe Jr.
In 2010, Boone battled Sergey Kovalev to a split-decision loss. It was a sluggish performance from the Russian and the Krusher looked to pick up a more decisive victory in the return match two years later.
Kovalev zeroed in on Boone early, stuffing rights and lefts into his face, but not before eating a heavy left hand that rattled the Russian in Round 1. The second round would see Kovalev conquer Boone for good putting him away via a merciful referee stoppage.
The fight was not only a win over a tough rival but was also marked Kovalev’s first fight back from knocking out Roman Simakov who never regained consciousness.
TKO 3 Gabriel Campillo
If you want to be a star in the light heavyweight division, you have to go through Gabriel Campillo. A perennial top-10 light heavyweight, Campillo’s sound (albeit frustrating) boxing ability has made him the division’s premier gatekeeper. His losses to Karo Murat, Beibut Shimenov, and Tavoris Cloud are widely considered robberies.
Andrzej Fonfara and Artur Beterbiev both recently proved their worth knocking out Campillo. But the Krusher got his hands on him first.
The fight did not last long. Kovalev hit him to the body, he hit him to the head and he hit him hard. Campillo touched the canvas three times in the fateful third round and that was enough for referee Mike Ortega to stop the fight.
Reports of Campillo suffering from jet lag seemed to tarnish the Russian’s victory but it doesn’t change the fact that Campillo was one of the five best light heavyweights in the world and Kovalev beat him handily.
3. TKO Nathan Cleverly
Photo by Scott Heavey
In 2013, Nathan Cleverly, a fleet-footed 26 year old, could nearly see the pinnacle of the light heavyweight division. He was unbeaten at 26-0 (including 12 knockouts) and a five-time defending WBO champion.
Kovalev was on the hunt for 175-pound glory too. Four years into his professional career, he had knocked out all but one man he had faced.
The two men had nearly 50 fights between them and not a single loss.
The showdown between them drew parallels with fellow Welshman Joe Calzaghe and his upstaging win over Jeff Lacy, touted then as the “Mini Mike Tyson.”
Two knockdowns in Round 3, courtesy of Kovalev’s menacing punching ability, rid any notion of a Welsh victory that night and Cleverly’s claims to the Krusher’s “overrated” power.
The final knockdown in the third stanza was particularly brutal; a right-left-right combination of hooks sent Clev reeling to the canvas face first. He made it to his feet only to eat a volley of hard shots before the bell rang and the defending champion had to be assisted to his corner by referee Terry O’Connor.
The fourth round was no more forgiving to Cleverly. Kovalev lit him up with a sharp two-fisted attack, forcing Clev to touch the canvas one more time and compel the referee to call a halt to the onslaught.
Kovalev made quick work of a top-5 light heavyweight and earned his first world title in the process.
2. TKO Jean Pascal
Photo by Richard Wolowicz
In Sergey Kovalev’s most recent outing, he traveled to enemy territory in Quebec, Canada to defend his newly acquired WBA and IBF light heavyweight belts against former champion Jean Pascal.
The action was blistering. Often do Kovalev’s opponents go down—as Pascal did in Round 3, nearly knocked out of the ring, at that. But rarely do the Krusher’s opponents fire back with such abandon.
Pascal, no stranger to warfare, showed extreme athleticism and courage making this a real fight while being pegged as a huge underdog.
Kovalev controlled the action through the first three rounds behind one of the heaviest jabs in the sport. But Pascal answered back in the middle rounds successfully baiting the Russian into overcommitting before firing back strong right hands.
The offense was flowing both ways however. Pascal’s right eye was swollen by the end of Round 5 and the left side of Kovalev’s face was bruising all the same.
The Krusher took back control of the melee in the seventh round, utilizing a bolo punch to reestablish his long, straight lefts. A left hook shook Pascal at the end of the round and set up the pivotal eighth and final stanza.
Pascal had lost all the bounce to his step, resting on the ropes as Kovalev bludgeoned his body with right hands. A minute into the round, Kovalev slipped and an unattended Pascal stumbled around the ring clearly out on his feet.
As the action resumed, Kovalev slammed two overhand rights into Pascal’s head and referee Luis Pabon had seen enough.
The fight will remain a strong candidate for Fight of the Year and serves as a reminder to any light heavyweight thinking about going toe-to-toe with the Krusher.
1. UD Bernard Hopkins
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Boxing can be as funny as it is brutal.
Sergey Kovalev’s 28-fight career is made up of violent knockouts and exciting fireworks. Ironically enough, his best win of all is very likely his most lackluster.
Though, things didn’t look that way early on against Bernard Hopkins late last year when the Krusher slapped a right hand off the top of the 49-year-old Hopkins’ head, sending him to the canvas with a minute left in the opening frame. The action, however, came to a standstill for the remaining 11 rounds.
The name of the game that night was distance. Hopkins maintained his range like he does so well and Kovalev preyed on him. He was a predator but a patient one, stalking his man along the ropes and utilizing a fine two-fisted attack.
The fight wasn’t close at all. The Russian earned every round from every judge when the scorecards were finally read.
Hopkins, a future Hall of Famer and the best light heavyweight in the world not named Adonis Stevenson or Kovalev, is all but ageless. His career dates back to 1988 but Scott Christ, BadLeftHook.com’s managing editor, called the hammering he took at the hands of Kovalev,”the most thorough beating of his career.”
Kovalev lifted the IBF and WBA light heavyweight belts from Hopkins that night and truly separated himself from the rest of the division with a performance so masterful against someone so adept in the gloved arts like Hopkins.
