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By Mitch Abramson - Is Sergey Kovalev the man to save Atlantic City?
Main Events CEO Kathy Duva thinks so.
With the beach-front resort town in the midst of an economic decline and four of the city’s 12 casinos slated to close by the end of September, Duva thinks that Kovalev, who faces Blake Caparello (19-0-1) at Revel Casino Hotel on HBO as part of a tripleheader Saturday- has what it takes to develop into a one-man stimulus package for the city.
If he defeats Caparello, as many expect he will, a career-defining unification fight with IBF/WBA champion Bernard Hopkins is already agreed upon for November on HBO.
The pressure is on Kovalev to do something remarkable.
Anything less than a scintillating effort against the unknown and unheralded Caparello will be viewed as disappointing since Kovalev has built his reputation on annihilating his opponents.
But Duva, who promotes the WBO light heavyweight champion, is hoping for more. Much more.
In fact, she’s banking that Kovalev, who has stopped 22 of 24 opponents, can eventually become the same kind of driving force the late Arturo Gatti was in Atlantic City.
That seems like a bit of a stretch for the Russian-born Kovalev, whose English remains a work in progress and hasn’t come close to participating in the career-defining wars that Gatti used to build his reputation.
The Main Events-promoted Gatti was adored on the boardwalk for his almost callous ability to take punishment and dole it out. He fought in Atlantic City over 20 times and was viewed as a son of the city until his untimely death in 2009 in Brazil.
But Duva was discussing Kovalev not in terms of matching Gatti’s boyish appeal and charisma but in becoming a driving force for the economy and developing into an attraction with his antics in the ring. And she was talking within the framework of the Atlantic City gaming market, which is experiencing a steep fall. [Click Here To Read More]
Main Events CEO Kathy Duva thinks so.
With the beach-front resort town in the midst of an economic decline and four of the city’s 12 casinos slated to close by the end of September, Duva thinks that Kovalev, who faces Blake Caparello (19-0-1) at Revel Casino Hotel on HBO as part of a tripleheader Saturday- has what it takes to develop into a one-man stimulus package for the city.
If he defeats Caparello, as many expect he will, a career-defining unification fight with IBF/WBA champion Bernard Hopkins is already agreed upon for November on HBO.
The pressure is on Kovalev to do something remarkable.
Anything less than a scintillating effort against the unknown and unheralded Caparello will be viewed as disappointing since Kovalev has built his reputation on annihilating his opponents.
But Duva, who promotes the WBO light heavyweight champion, is hoping for more. Much more.
In fact, she’s banking that Kovalev, who has stopped 22 of 24 opponents, can eventually become the same kind of driving force the late Arturo Gatti was in Atlantic City.
That seems like a bit of a stretch for the Russian-born Kovalev, whose English remains a work in progress and hasn’t come close to participating in the career-defining wars that Gatti used to build his reputation.
The Main Events-promoted Gatti was adored on the boardwalk for his almost callous ability to take punishment and dole it out. He fought in Atlantic City over 20 times and was viewed as a son of the city until his untimely death in 2009 in Brazil.
But Duva was discussing Kovalev not in terms of matching Gatti’s boyish appeal and charisma but in becoming a driving force for the economy and developing into an attraction with his antics in the ring. And she was talking within the framework of the Atlantic City gaming market, which is experiencing a steep fall. [Click Here To Read More]
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