Photo by Rich Graessle/Main Events
On Saturday March 29, 2014, Sergey Kovalev pummeled through his latest obstacle, Cedric Agnew, with ease.
Coming off assertive victories over Nathan Cleverly and Ismail Sillakh, Kovalev remained in crushing form, knocking down Agnew three times before finishing the fight with a left-handed jab to the body in the Round 7.
Agnew passively sprinkled in punches and regularly found himself in a high guard, simply surviving the champion’s relentless offense.
At times, Agnew threw fluffy punches for the mere sake of punching. Kovalev displayed his major-league power, teeing off consistently as Agnew simply bobbed around the ring like a buoy in the ocean.
As the rounds progressed it became plenty clear that Agnew had indeed no intention of engaging his Russian counterpart, and simply looked to survive, ultimately postponing the inevitable knockout.
Kovalev’s performance in front of a nearly sold-out crowd at The Ballroom, Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey was seemingly business as usual for the Light Heavyweight champion.
Photo by Tim Larsen/AP
It is apparent that Kovalev is the cream of the crop at 175 pounds, and after the sudden jump of Adonis Stevenson from HBO to Showtime, it is now unclear who can competitively challenge the WBO titleholder.
The stage was said to be set for a Kovalev vs. Stevenson super fight, but now the curtains must remain closed as Kovalev will now have to defend his title in a substantially less marketable event, missing out on what would have been the Russian’s biggest payday.
Jean Pascal is on the forefront of possible contenders for Kovalev. Coming off of a win over Lucian Bute earlier in 2014, HBO will attempt to make Pascal seem as a worthy opponent, but will come up short as Kovalev will surely continue his path of destruction, pushing HBO’s backs to the wall as they will likely attempt to scratch up an intriguing enough fight to keep their superstar around.
In what is certainly the prime of Kovalev’s career, the champ is eager for a big fight, one that HBO might not be able to pull together.
It is not an outlandish assumption that Kovalev could also jump ship to Showtime and chase Adonis Stevenson or other top-tier light heavyweight talent, as his current form suggests that Kovalev is ready for boxing’s brightest lights and most lucrative deals.
