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by David P. Greisman - Sometimes the business of boxing resembles the drama of the fights themselves.
The battle between light heavyweights Adonis Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev has yet to take place in the ring. Instead, there have been maneuvers and shifts in momentum outside of the ropes.
At first Stevenson sought victory via evasive tactics. Recent rounds have gone to Kovalev, first when a match was made between him and Bernard Hopkins, next when he dominated Hopkins to unify three world titles, and just last week with the announcement that he will face Jean Pascal in Montreal or Quebec City in March 2015.
That’s a big difference from the first few months of 2014. It’s even a significant difference from where things stood in July.
The year began with discussions of pairing the two power-punching 175-pounders with each other. Kovalev was to face Cedric Agnew in a keep-busy bout, while Stevenson, the division’s lineal champion, would defend against Andrzej Fonfara. But Stevenson soon signed with powerful boxing adviser Al Haymon, reportedly sought more money for the Fonfara fight and didn’t want to guarantee that he’d face Kovalev afterward. HBO executives didn’t want to accept those terms, and so Showtime swooped in and bid for Stevenson-Fonfara.
That brought Stevenson on a presumed path to facing titleholder Bernard Hopkins, defending against a legend and being paid well to do so. That also left Kovalev without a marquee matchup. He had his own title belt but sought to validate himself against the other top names in his division.
Kovalev beat Agnew in March. Hopkins defeated Beibut Shumenov in April to pick up a second world title. Stevenson dropped Fonfara early but soon had to come off the canvas himself, ultimately taking a hard-fought decision in May. Kovalev’s promoter, Main Events, sued Stevenson, the boxer’s promoter and management, Showtime and others. The company felt it had a legally binding agreement for a Stevenson-Kovalev fight. While it couldn’t force that bout to happen, the litigation was intended to pursue damages from the loss of income associated with that match. [Click Here To Read More]
The battle between light heavyweights Adonis Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev has yet to take place in the ring. Instead, there have been maneuvers and shifts in momentum outside of the ropes.
At first Stevenson sought victory via evasive tactics. Recent rounds have gone to Kovalev, first when a match was made between him and Bernard Hopkins, next when he dominated Hopkins to unify three world titles, and just last week with the announcement that he will face Jean Pascal in Montreal or Quebec City in March 2015.
That’s a big difference from the first few months of 2014. It’s even a significant difference from where things stood in July.
The year began with discussions of pairing the two power-punching 175-pounders with each other. Kovalev was to face Cedric Agnew in a keep-busy bout, while Stevenson, the division’s lineal champion, would defend against Andrzej Fonfara. But Stevenson soon signed with powerful boxing adviser Al Haymon, reportedly sought more money for the Fonfara fight and didn’t want to guarantee that he’d face Kovalev afterward. HBO executives didn’t want to accept those terms, and so Showtime swooped in and bid for Stevenson-Fonfara.
That brought Stevenson on a presumed path to facing titleholder Bernard Hopkins, defending against a legend and being paid well to do so. That also left Kovalev without a marquee matchup. He had his own title belt but sought to validate himself against the other top names in his division.
Kovalev beat Agnew in March. Hopkins defeated Beibut Shumenov in April to pick up a second world title. Stevenson dropped Fonfara early but soon had to come off the canvas himself, ultimately taking a hard-fought decision in May. Kovalev’s promoter, Main Events, sued Stevenson, the boxer’s promoter and management, Showtime and others. The company felt it had a legally binding agreement for a Stevenson-Kovalev fight. While it couldn’t force that bout to happen, the litigation was intended to pursue damages from the loss of income associated with that match. [Click Here To Read More]
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