By Jake Donovan
In the grand scheme of things, it didn’t take Sergey Kovalev very long to rise to the top. The unbeaten knockout artist from Russia turned pro in 2009, and was fighting for a title on HBO just four years into his career.
Having now completed five years in the pro ranks, Kovalev is now a staple of HBO’s boxing series. The 31-year old in the final stages of training camp for a light heavyweight title unification showdown with the legendary Bernard Hopkins, which airs live Nov. 8 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
On the surface, life may seem grand for the rising light heavyweight star. That doesn’t necessarily mean the journey was smooth sailing.
“You never know what will be tomorrow, but if you believe in it, it can happen,” Kovalev (25-0-1, 23KOs) said of landing the dream assignment. “I trust and believe myself and you have a goal and you're working to this goal, then yes, this can happen.
“It can happen and then you push more, then you do more, and it's your dream to be getting close to you, closer and closer to you when you work as hard and push yourself.”
Kovalev had to push hard to emerge in the spotlight. He appeared to have come out of nowhere to dazzle audiences on NBC Sports Network’s Fight Night series, beginning with his Sept. ’12 knockout of Lionel Thompson. The appearance was set up by an audition of sorts three months prior, having knocked out Darnell Boone – who’d previously fought Kovalev to a split decision in 2010 – inside of two rounds in June 2012.
Everything to that point was a struggle for notoriety.
Through his first two years as a pro, Kovalev traveled the United States, fighting on non-televised undercards – and sometimes on club shows far removed from cameras - in hopes of building on a successful amateur career. All but two of his first 18 fights took place in the U.S., while twice fighting in Russia.
Of the two trips back home, one made the headlines – though for all of the wrong reasons.
A Dec. ’11 clash with Roman Simakov appeared competitive on paper, and was for at least one round. Once Kovalev’s God-given punching power set in, the fight quickly developed into a route. Simakov offered one last rally in round five, but took a horrific beating in the sixth and seventh rounds, suffering knockdowns in both rounds and eventually counted out.
Taking the final 10-count was the last thing Simakov was able to do on his own. He soon lost consciousness, carried out of the ring on a stretcher and delivered to the emergency room while in a coma before passing away three days later. Kovalev expressed extreme remorse, paying for the family’s travel plans and vowing to dedicate his next fight – and entire purse – to the fallen fighter.
It was the last time Kovalev fought at home, with another six months passing before he returned to the ring. That moment came with the Boone rematch, putting his past behind him as he resumed his knockout ways. Soon thereafter, Kovalev – through the guidance, genius and persistence of manager Egis Klimas - signed with Main Events. The rest is history – though the rough early years remain a significant part of his career.
“When we fought three, four years ago with Egis, and we were traveling all over the country in America and fighting anyone who was ready, I didn't think that this fight would be possible,” Kovalev admits. “But I believed that I can to do it, and I tried to do it, and some very big thanks to my promoter, Kathy Duva and to Egis that they, from their conversations led me to sign a contract with the promoter. That is when my fight began.”
Kovalev is a perfect 8-0 (8KOs) since signing with Main Events, with his last seven bouts earning well-deserved airtime. The upcoming clash with Hopkins (55-6-2, 32KOs) will mark his sixth straight appearance on HBO since debuting with his 4th round knockout of Nathan Cleverly last August.
There was a point as recent as three months where it came into question whether another significant fight awaited the bruising knockout artist. Kovalev was once on track to face lineal light heavyweight king Adonis Stevenson, who instead fled to Showtime upon the advice of Al Haymon, with whom he signed earlier this year.
The move was motivated by the prospect of a showdown with Hopkins, at the time fighting on Showtime along with most of the rest of the Golden Boy Promotions stable.
Hopkins being Hopkins, things changed in an instant. The fighting pride of Philadelphia left a still negotiated fight with Stevenson on the table to instead face Kovalev, sensing the bout would be easier to make.
“The thing I remember most about when Sergey won a title was his reaction afterward,” recalled Kathy Duva, head of Main Events. “The first thing he asked me after the fight was when he could fight for another one of these (belts).”
With that mentality came the easiest negotiating period of Hopkins’ 25-year career. The deal took less than 36 hours from concept to contract, giving the soon-to-be-50-year old unified light heavyweight titlist a viable option to an otherwise undesirable mandatory challenger.
It also gave Kovalev and his fans a fight to look forward to, as opposed to the mismatches that have littered his title reign, although entirely necessary if only to keep him active.
“I waited a long time at this level and waited for this fight, a huge fight. When I was a child I had a dream, when I watched TV, I watched it and I had a dream. I wanted to be there. I wanted to be there, and I will try to be there, and I'm here. Everything from your head and everything from your heart, if you want it, you can do it.”
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
