Why is Kovalev fighting club-level fighter like Cedric Agnew???

Why don't you just tell us who they'd match him with if they didn't care about protecting his record, or he didn't come as cheap? Why so coy? I never posted or implied Kovavlev was being protected. Kovalev will continued to be matched against no name opponents who make less than him because HBO has reduced its budget and are pushing GGG, Kovalev and others that produce ratings for relatively small purses. Kovalev would beat cloud IMO just like IMO he will agnew. Cloud makes far more than Agnew. WHy would HBO spend more for the same ratings when they don't have to right now? As for the other names, If the stevenson fight doesn't materialize, I'm sure HBO will match them. If he didn't come as cheap I don't know that HBO would invest in him. They surely wouldn't put him on 4 times a year if he was making ward money.

Dude, you interpreted the post wrong. If you cant accept that there is no point in discussing this with you. If I thought Kovavlev was being protected, I would have posted that. Why don't you just tell us who they'd match him with if they didn't care about protecting his record, or he didn't come as cheap? Why so coy?

Uh OK spin doctor. Try moving those underlines slightly and maybe my reading will make more sense. So let's say they wanted him to lose, or have hard fights. Who would they be matching him with? Don't be coy now Dude, you interpreted the post wrong. If you cant accept that there is no point in discussing this with you. If I thought Kovavlev was being protected, I would have posted that.

No I didn't. I said: Kovalev is cheap labor. HBO doesn't want him to lose before a Stevenson fight which I expect will have great ratings and be a big seller in Canada. SO expect him to get easy fights, against no names who make even less than he does, until the stevenson fight happens. Its about HBO keeping their costs down prior to that fight. It wasn't about Kovalev being protected. Uh OK spin doctor. Try moving those underlines slightly and maybe my reading will make more sense. So let's say they wanted him to lose, or have hard fights. Who would they be matching him with? Don't be coy now

You said they don't want him to lose so they'll be setting him up with no name pushovers. Just curious who they're avoiding on his behalf. Or would you like to go back and edit your previous post? No I didn't. I said: Kovalev is cheap labor. HBO doesn't want him to lose before a Stevenson fight which I expect will have great ratings and be a big seller in Canada. SO expect him to get easy fights, against no names who make even less than he does, until the stevenson fight happens. Its about HBO keeping their costs down prior to that fight. It wasn't about Kovalev being protected.

I didn't write or imply they are protecting him so why are you asking me this? You said they don't want him to lose so they'll be setting him up with no name pushovers. Just curious who they're avoiding on his behalf. Or would you like to go back and edit your previous post?

Who are they protecting him from? Murat, Bellew, Cloud? I didn't write or imply they are protecting him so why are you asking me this?

Kovalev is cheap labor. HBO doesn't want him to lose before a Stevenson fight which I expect will have great ratings and be a big seller in Canada. SO expect him to get easy fights, against no names who make even less than he does, until the stevenson fight happens. Who are they protecting him from? Murat, Bellew, Cloud?

Two issues here - firstly there simply ain't many decent LHWs who haven't already been starched by one of the dynamic duo. Braehmer would be OK but has provd elusive in the past when it comes to fighting titlists. Chilemba - meh. Murat - GTFOH - what because he got a shot against Hopkins he's legit? The only notable things on his resume are two german gift decisions (a Win and a Draw) against Campillo and a loss to Cleverly. Secondly - budget. HBO are saving money for bigger fights later (and it sounds like they'll need it to get Stevenson in the ring). Apparently Agnew decided to double his fee late in negotiations, and Kovalev has had to give up some of his own purse just to get the fight made. Let that sink in for a second - effectively Kovalev has had to pay Cedric Agnew to get in the ring with him. Obviously any of the bigger names (the few that are left) would be out of the question.

Cedric Agnew is a young, hungry lion. He's fought through the ranks and has managed to earn a shot of being on boxing's premier network against Kovalev. I'm all for this fight. Agnew is undefeated and extraordinary. Skills reminiscent of a young James Toney

Kovalev is cheap labor. HBO doesn't want him to lose before a Stevenson fight which I expect will have great ratings and be a big seller in Canada. SO expect him to get easy fights, against no names who make even less than he does, until the stevenson fight happens.

Look at the LHW division.... there's really nothing there at all. This fight is probably going to cost less than a lot of other fights and that's why it's happening. Cheap, keeps the fighter active, and it'll get decent ratings. Who would you rather have him fight? Look at his available opponents and pick who you'd rather have him fight...because you'll complain about all of them Don't you know? They would rather him not fight at all....

Hopefully the guys with the deep pockets (HBO, Showtime) start using their influence to make Quillen, GGG, Kovalev, and MGarcia start fighting quality opposition.

"Cedric Agnew is not a bad fight" NSB.

Look at the LHW division.... there's really nothing there at all. This fight is probably going to cost less than a lot of other fights and that's why it's happening. Cheap, keeps the fighter active, and it'll get decent ratings. Who would you rather have him fight? Look at his available opponents and pick who you'd rather have him fight...because you'll complain about all of them

HBO is totally out of control with the mismatches, their schedule to end last year was a complete joke, and now the Kovalev and Stevenson mismatches, disappointing. I'm sure GGG gets another televized massacre as well.

All fighters say this and feel this way leading into a fight. I have yet to hear a fighter say, "this guy will kick my ass, but I'll try my best". There is no reason to think he doesn't believe it, though. Young guy, just at the start of his prime, a lot of pro victories: He SHOULD believe he can win this fight. If he doesn't he's in the wrong sport. At this point it's going to be hard to find interesting opponents for Kovalev, the man is a ****ing Killer. Fighting a young, undefeated up and comer shouldn't be held against him, though.

a keep em busy/showcase fight..... nobody is saying kovalev is a p4p for fighting agnew. its a decent fight... i hope theres a decent undercard, after all its on HBO. haha

Guys are hardly queuing too fight Kovalev. Agnew heard he needed an opponent as Kathy Duva put out at an interview he was the first/only one to call. Shouldn't we be praising this guy for jumping at the challenge? Hes young, confident, undefeated, solid amateur background and experienced in the pro ranks. Hes untested for most part but he is very skilled, he looks a very intelligent young fighter. I like this fight and look forward to seeing what Agnew is about when he takes what will be a huge step up.

Kovalev is keeping busy, so who gives a shit? Nice avy. :boxing: :boxing: :boxing: