By Ryan Burton
Undefeated light heavyweight Sullivan Barrera (17-0) was flying high after his 5th round knockout of former title challenger Karo Murat (27-3-1). With the victory Barrera secured a mandatory shot from the IBF to face WBA/WBO/IBF champion Sergey Kovalev, who was ringside for the fight.
"I felt really good about the fight. I think it was a great fight for me and my team. I am very proud to be the mandatory contender for Sergey Kovalev," said Barrera.
At the end of the fourth round Barrera dropped the normally sturdy Murat with a big shot that the Armenian had trouble getting up from. The referee stopped the fight 25 seconds into the 5th round when Murat stopped throwing punches.
Barrera said that he knew that Murat was hurt and didn't want to let him off the hook.
"I felt like I had him hurt in the second to last round. I felt very strong going into the fifth round and I knew he was hurt and I finished him off," Barrera revealed.
Even though he is Kovalev's mandatory challenger, it may be a while before he gets a shot at the hard hitting Russian with fights against Adonis Stevenson and Andre Ward on the horizon after he fights a rematch against Jean Pascal on January 30th.
The 33-year-old Barrera wants to make it clear that not only is he ready for Kovalev, but any of the division's top fighters.
"I believe that with every fight I am showing who Sullivan Barrera is. I have a lot of experience and I think I am showing how good I am. I am ready for Kovalev, or Adonis Stevenson, or Andre Ward. I am ready for the big fights," Barrera told BoxingScene.com.
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