Vyacheslav Shabransky: record, next fight and profile →
Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev regained his WBO light heavyweight world title in classic Krusher fashion with a second round stoppage of Vyacheslav Shabranskyy at the Theater at Madison Square Garden and live on HBO World Championship Boxing. Kovalev came out of the gates swinging, knocking down Shabranskyy twice in the first round.
Kovalev lost his last two outings to Andre Ward, and he brought a dynamic fury into the Madison Square Garden ring. He dropped Shabranskyy twice in the first round, once more in the second, and somehow Shabranskyy didn't go down from another series of powerhouse punches seconds before the fight was stopped.
By Keith Idec - NEW YORK – Sergey Kovalev showed Saturday night that he remains an elite light heavyweight. The former light heavyweight champion emphatically came back from his technical-knockout defeat to Andre Ward by dropping Vyacheslav Shabranskyy three times on his way to a second-round technical k...
Kovalev vs. Shabranskyy WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol has hit New York City as HBO Sports celebrates the holiday weekend with an action-packed tripleheader, including the return of light heavyweight powerhouse Sergey Kovalev, when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: SERGEY KOVALEV VS. VYACHESLAV SHABRANSKYY AND SULLIVAN BARRERA VS. FELIX VALERA AND YURIORKIS GAMBOA VS. JASON SOSA is seen SATURDAY, NOV. 25 at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT) from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The HBO Sports team will call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.
NEW YORK – LeShawn Rodriquez continued the impressive start to his pro career Saturday night on the Sergey Kovalev-Vyacheslav Shabranskyy undercard. The 24-year-old Rodriguez, a middleweight prospect from Shirley, New York, knocked out Brazil’s Alex Duarte in the third round of a fight scheduled for six rounds.
NEW YORK – Maybe it’s because Vyacheslav Shabranskyy knows Andre Ward was the best boxer in the world at that time. Perhaps it’s because he has lost a bout by knockout, too, and thus realizes it can happen to any fighter if he isn’t properly prepared or careful or, worse yet, both. Whatever his rationale, Shabranskyy doesn’t consider Sergey Kovalev damaged goods now that he has been stopped by Ward. The Ukrainian contender expects to encounter a hungry, vicious Kovalev when they fight for the vacant WBO light heavyweight title Saturday night in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Dmitry Bivol is very familiar with Vyacheslav Shabranskyy. They sparred numerous rounds against each other recently in preparation for Bivol’s victory over Trent Broadhurst on November 4 in Monte Carlo and Shabranskyy’s fight against Sergey Kovalev on Saturday night in New York. Bivol respects Shabranskyy’s strength and toughness, but he expects Kovalev to win their scheduled 12-round fight for the unclaimed WBO light heavyweight title in The Theater at Madison Square Garden (HBO).
One year ago at this time, Sergey Kovalev was a week from his first loss, convinced he was really still undefeated. Saturday night (HBO, 10 PM EST), Kovalev enters knowing he was defeated for the first time. This is life after Andre Ward, the debated decision loss and the stoppage suffered in pursuit of revenge.
NEW YORK – Bernard Hopkins was right. Kathy Duva joked during a press conference Wednesday at Madison Square Garden that she couldn’t believe she was admitting that publicly. But Sergey Kovalev’s promoter is sure Hopkins had it right in the immediate aftermath of his lopsided loss to Kovalev.
Sergey Kovalev and his opponent Saturday night, Vyacheslav Shabranskyy, are both punchers. So not many people expect the 12-round WBO light heavyweight title fight to go the distance at Madison Square Garden. Those observers can't be sure, though, what they will get from Kovalev. He lost his last two fights to the now-retired Andre Ward, one my unanimous decision, the other being stopped in the eighth round. They were the first defeats of the 34-year-old Russian's career.