Duva: Kovalev Will Face Mohammedi Next After Pascal

by David P. Greisman

Nadjib Mohammedi has been in position to challenge for the International Boxing Federation title at light heavyweight since last June, when he stopped Anatoliy Dudchenko in an elimination bout.

At the time, the IBF titleholder was Bernard Hopkins, who was able to pass by his mandatory obligation thanks to the unification bout he had with Sergey Kovalev later in 2014. Kovalev won, adding Hopkins’ IBF and WBA titles and picking up his mandatory obligations.

Mohammedi’s been staying busy since then against subpar opposition. He blew out 7-7-1 Demetrius Walker in less than one round on November’s undercard to Kovalev-Hopkins, and he faces 8-1 Lee Campbell on the undercard to Kovalev’s bout with Jean Pascal.

He’ll be the mandatory to the Kovalev-Pascal winner. Like Kovalev, Mohammedi is signed with promoter Main Events.

“Our job is to develop opposition for Sergey Kovalev. One of the light heavyweights in our stable is Nadjib Mohammedi, his next opponent as mandated by the IBF, or Pascal’s next opponent if things were to go badly for us,” Kathy Duva of Main Events said on Friday.

Of course, Pascal could opt to drop the IBF belt if he beats Kovalev and skip out on facing Mohammedi. But Duva said that Kovalev won’t drop the belt and would indeed go on to defend against Mohammedi.

“If he wants to hold on to the IBF title, which he does, he has to fight him next,” she said. Duva then explained why she wouldn’t advocate for Kovalev to drop the IBF title so that she could potentially have two fighters with world titles at light heavyweight instead of just one.

“As Evander Holyfield said many times … ‘Everybody says the titles don’t matter, but I seem to make a lot more money when I have them all,’ ” she said. “Sergey’s goal is to win them all and keep them all, and then you’re the man, and then the guys who fight you make more money because you’re the man.”

There are no specific plans for where Kovalev-Mohammedi would take place.

“I’m not sure yet. It could be literally anywhere in the world, at this point,” Duva said. “That’s something that we’ve got to sit down and figure out next week.”

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