Sergey Kovalev had a few tense moments on Saturday in Chelyabinsk, Russia.
However, thanks to energy provided by the home crowd, inspiration and tutelage from Hall-of-Fame trainer James “Buddy” McGirt, and an omnipresent jab, the Krusher successfully defended his WBO Light Heavyweight Championship with an 11th-round KO win over Anthony Yarde.
With the win, Kovalev is now in a position to cash in on a major payday against a legitimate boxing superstar.
Early on in the fight, Kovalev’s jab nullified the offense of his lesser experienced challenger. Yarde was attempting to employ his Philly Shell style. His plan appeared to be to counter with a check or sweeping left hook. In the first round, he had some success, but it didn’t prove to be a sustainable approach.
Over the course of the action, Yarde began to slow down, and his punch output dropped. I had Kovalev winning five rounds to one heading into the seventh frame. In the seventh round, Yarde seemed to find something. He started barreling ahead with both hands up, and he ripped powerful body shots to Kovalev’s midsection. This has always been a weakness of Kovalev’s, and at 36, nothing has changed.
Yarde’s shots had Kovalev looking out on his feet by the end of the eighth round. In between the eighth and the ninth frame, McGirt warned Kovalev that he would stop the fight unless he showed him something in the 10th. McGirt was the trainer in the corner of Maxim Dadashev when he passed away shortly after his fight with Subriel Mattias last month. Whether McGirt was being understandably cautious with Kovalev, trying to fire him up, or a combination of the two, it worked.
In the 10th round, Kovalev took advantage of a drastically slowed and spent Yarde. The jab returned and he began to beat Yarde up with combinations. In the 11th, Kovalev landed with even more regularity before dropping him with a jab. Yarde crumpled to the canvas more from exhaustion than effects from the punch, and he didn’t make the 10-count.
On one hand, it wasn’t the most impressive victory because Kovalev showed some of the same weaknesses. On the other, he showed heart in coming back from a lopsided 8th round that had him in danger of being stopped.
Negotiations for Kovalev to defend his title against Canelo Alvarez are expected to pick up in the next few weeks–assuming the former isn’t sidelined for any impending legal issues.
Kovalev has been on Canelo’s radar at light heavyweight for months. With this win on Saturday, Kovalev has likely secured himself the biggest payday of his professional career. They will have to work things out on the network side, but it doesn’t appear to be a major issue, and at this point, it seems like the most likely fight perhaps in December.
Article courtesy of Forbes
Photo courtesy of Valery Sharifulin\TASS
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