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Unfortunately no one from either team has said anything about this being the plan, but Bivol is with World of Boxing yet works with Main Events in the US, and Kovalev is with Main Events as well. Bivol has a big exclusive contract with DAZN, while Kovalev is a free agent probably looking for either a singular big fight, or a big contract, and DAZN has proven they are willing to pay as much as anyone to bring in boxing talent and make fights like that.
Neither has a fight scheduled yet for the summer.
Seems like a no brainer. Bivol is my #1 at 175, Kovalev is my #3 but you can argue he deserves #2 after his last performance. Winner fights Gvozdyk to crown a new true champion at the weight class. I know Beterbiev would still have the final belt, but he's almost 35 years old, hasn't done anything his entire career since his impressive performances vs B-level Cloud and Campillo years ago, and now he just got badly dropped in his last fight. I'm not suggesting he's an easy opponent for anyone, but in terms of crowing the true champion of the weight class, my personal interest in Beterbiev has basically disappeared completely, and I see him as irrelevant. He might have been the best guy at 175 five years ago, but I don't think he is now, and even if I'm wrong and he is, he probably won't be for much longer given his age. It's really unfortunate, but like GGG just even worse, it's basically been a wasted career in the pros for Beterbiev, and now it's reaching its end, so as a boxing fan I've basically just moved on.
Which is another reason if I'm Kovalev, I want Bivol, not Beterbiev. Beterbiev is bigger than Bivol, and hits much harder, yet you will probably get less credit, and less money, to fight Beterbiev than you would Bivol. Bivol has DAZN behind him, who are big spenders. ESPN, when Kovalev and Beterbiev both called for that fight this summer, didn't even have the budget to make that fight, let alone match what DAZN is doing.
Kovalev vs Bivol is the fight to make in June. Maybe Gvozdyk fights his mando, or Beterbiev, or Zurdo, in the meantime, then winners met late 2019 or early 2020. Boxing totally wasted the Kovalev/Stevenson/prime Beterbiev era. I hope it's not already planning to do the same with the Bivol, Gvozdyk, rediscovered-prime-stamina-Kovalev (but only if they make the fights this year while he can hopefully retain his newly rediscovered fitness for a little while, but I wouldn't bank on it lasting much longer than that. Unfortunately I get the su****ion that Kathy Duva is banking on just that...) era.
Neither has a fight scheduled yet for the summer.
Seems like a no brainer. Bivol is my #1 at 175, Kovalev is my #3 but you can argue he deserves #2 after his last performance. Winner fights Gvozdyk to crown a new true champion at the weight class. I know Beterbiev would still have the final belt, but he's almost 35 years old, hasn't done anything his entire career since his impressive performances vs B-level Cloud and Campillo years ago, and now he just got badly dropped in his last fight. I'm not suggesting he's an easy opponent for anyone, but in terms of crowing the true champion of the weight class, my personal interest in Beterbiev has basically disappeared completely, and I see him as irrelevant. He might have been the best guy at 175 five years ago, but I don't think he is now, and even if I'm wrong and he is, he probably won't be for much longer given his age. It's really unfortunate, but like GGG just even worse, it's basically been a wasted career in the pros for Beterbiev, and now it's reaching its end, so as a boxing fan I've basically just moved on.
Which is another reason if I'm Kovalev, I want Bivol, not Beterbiev. Beterbiev is bigger than Bivol, and hits much harder, yet you will probably get less credit, and less money, to fight Beterbiev than you would Bivol. Bivol has DAZN behind him, who are big spenders. ESPN, when Kovalev and Beterbiev both called for that fight this summer, didn't even have the budget to make that fight, let alone match what DAZN is doing.
Kovalev vs Bivol is the fight to make in June. Maybe Gvozdyk fights his mando, or Beterbiev, or Zurdo, in the meantime, then winners met late 2019 or early 2020. Boxing totally wasted the Kovalev/Stevenson/prime Beterbiev era. I hope it's not already planning to do the same with the Bivol, Gvozdyk, rediscovered-prime-stamina-Kovalev (but only if they make the fights this year while he can hopefully retain his newly rediscovered fitness for a little while, but I wouldn't bank on it lasting much longer than that. Unfortunately I get the su****ion that Kathy Duva is banking on just that...) era.
dang bro, cut the guy a break
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