By Konstantin Ustyantsev (Championat.com) and Alexey Sukachev

In part three of his interview with Konstantin Ustyantsev of the Championat - WBA, IBF and WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KOs) discussed some of his possible opponents - other than Artur Beterbiev - and gave his opinion on Bernard Hopkins.

- One of the candidates to fight you is Jean Pascal, whom you have already defeated. Are you interested in him following his very controversial win over Yunieski Gonzalez?

- According to my friends and my team members, Pascal lost that fight. From the parts I have seen, Gonzalez looked better. Of course, he was taking his share of punishment but he was feeding more leather to Pascal than otherwise. A rematch isn’t my cordial wish but if they want it – then it wasn’t enough for him (the first time around) and he needs more. I'll give it to them if they ask me.

- Can Andre Ward be forced into Russia?

- No, he won’t even appear here. There’s no reason to fight him in Russia because [that fight would be] on pay-per-view, and Russia is not about pay-per-view right now. We shall wait for this fight in the next year.  

- Have you seen Adonis Stevenson’s latest appeal to you?

- Yeah, I have seen it on Instagram. It’s all a blah-blah-blah show, “Superman’s words”, chatter. He needs to look like a champion, one he so dearly pretends to be. But in fact he isn’t ready (for me). Hey, Adonis, “The Superman”, come to Russia this fall, and we shall have a fight!

But I’m not excluding such a possibility by the way. It will all depend on the financials we shall have. Being offered 20 million USD he will come here without a word, all his contracts and other agreements be damned. He would try to get his last major payday. He won his latest fights but he faced nobodies.

- You have been seen a lot with Bernard Hopkins on various social networks. Are you friends with him?

- I’m talking smoothly and kindly with B-Hop. I respect him very much. What a man he is! We have realized that we are of the same material, that’s why we understand each other perfectly. He told Nadjib never to take my right hand. I was so appreciated when he addressed some parting words for me – about discipline and correct nutrition. I got rid of all the mistakes I have made before the Pascal fight, and took my preparations differently. I have even eaten a salad and took a cup of tea before the weigh-in.

Hopkins introduced me to such right things as a correct, useful lifestyle. One should always be eating perfectly and not getting an extra six or seven pounds after the fight. We have been making weight incorrectly in the past, eliminating water, and I found through his help that I should drink water and eliminate some other things. With each day I gain more and more experience and I find new things, new subtle facts about boxing, and new men in my team will help me to get even more experience and to improve with a higher speed. I’m not perfect but I know my body, and I know what it needs. I’m ready for more challenges and for new findings.