Photo by David Spagnolo/Main Events
On Saturday, April 23, 2016, Main Events held a media event at the Four Points to announce the July 11 showdown between Sergey Kovalev (29-0-1, 26 KOs) and Isaac Chilemba (24-3-2, 10 KOs).
The fight will take place at the DIVS Palace of Sports in Ekaterinburg, Russia and will be televised via Channel 1, an important network for boxing Russia. For now, it is not clear if HBO will televise the fight, though that is the goal.
Kovalev, of Russia, is a 33-year-old monster who is coming off his second stoppage victory against Jean Pascal in January of 2016.
Chilemba is a 28-year-old resident of South Africa who recently lost against Eleider Alvarez in a WBC title eliminator.
Why does he deserve this fight, you may wonder?
Well, according to Main Event’s Kathy Duva, Chilemba deserves a shot because he was very close to winning in his fight against Alvarez, among his other victories that have placed him in the top-ten of the division.
Furthermore, Kovalev himself stated that Chilemba will bring an interesting, more defensive style that will prepare him for his next fight, which is supposed to be against Andre Ward.
Kovalev said that he wants tough fights against tough opponents because it will make him a better fighter, but this fight is clearly a tune-up fight that will keep Kovalev in a perfect position to fight against Ward. The fight will also give him the Russian homecoming that he’s deserved.
Kovalev has not fought in his home country since 2011.
“I am so excited to fight in my home country of Russia. It gives me great pride to bring my titles home at last,” said Kovalev in a press release.
“Chilemba is a tough opponent and I will be ready for him on July 11,” said Kovalev.
Chilemba, on the other hand, says he has a surprise for the Krusher.
“I thank Sergey and his team for putting their titles on the line to face me, all I want to say to them is: they are in for a surprise, they gave the wrong guy an opportunity. I’ll work my ass off and I’m in to win it!,” said Chilemba in a press release.
Boxing fans, however, hope that doesn’t happen as the fight with Ward is in the balance and Chilemba is seen as a tune-up.
According to Duva, Ward is also allowed to take one more tune-up fight before fighting Kovalev, so both will look to score wins ahead of their showdown.
Despite having a fight with Ward on the horizon, who do you think will win in this interesting clash of styles?
Check out some of the videos from today’s press event below:
Header photo by Ismael Gallardo/RBRBoxing
