By Jake Donovan
Sergey Kovalev has barely begun the celebration the biggest win of his career—a 12-round shutout over Bernard Hopkins on November 8 in Atlantic City—and the birth of his son as all eyes are already on his boxing future.
The unbeaten light heavyweight unified three major titles with his virtuoso performance over Hopkins, a surefire first ballot Hall of Fame entrant the moment he’s eligible for consideration. With three belts in tow come mandatory obligations, with the lone exception usually being if said fighter engages either in further unification, or in pursuit of a belt in another weight class.
Promoter Kathy Duva refused to tip her hand as to what’s next for Kovalev, other than a likely ring return in March. Locations and opponents are still being discussed, with the only certainties being that the fight will air live on HBO and take place in the light heavyweight division.
“I’m making my weight. Five years ago I made it easier. Now it’s harder (but) my body, it’s good (for light heavyweight),” Kovalev (26-0-1, 23KOs) insisted when discussing a future at anywhere other than the 175 lb. division.
The super middleweight division seems to boast more viable options, given Kovalev’s network affiliation. It would also require potentially sacrificing his health in order to make weight in the event that such a fight is appealing enough to consider. Cruiserweight remains largely ignored by HBO, not to mention the 25 lb. leap north, which is highly unlikely for the 6’0” Kovalev.
That simply leaves the light heavyweight division.
“For super middleweight, it’s not possible. It’s already more than I am able to lose,” Kovalev dismisses. “Cruiserweight is a very big weight. I walk around at 190. The cruiserweight limit is 200 lb. I’ll be fighting against fighters much bigger than me.
“For 4-5 rounds it’s OK. For 12 rounds, it’s much harder. They can push me around. I have made decision that I am light heavyweight.”
Barring a dramatic change of heart by Adonis Stevenson—the lineal light heavyweight champ who already bailed on the chance to fight Kovalev—it appears that the 31-year old will face one of his three mandatory challengers in his next fight.
Of course, that doesn’t mean Kovalev is giving up on the chance to face Stevenson. In fact, he views the fight as the missing piece of the puzzle in claiming light heavyweight supremacy.
“I didn’t clean up (the light heavyweight) division yet. I have to get the WBC title.”
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as the Records Keeper for the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and a member of Boxing Writers Association of America . Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
