By Allan Fox: WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (24-0-1, 22 KO’s) says he’d be interested in fighting 49-year-old Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KO’s), the IBF/WBA light heavyweight champion, if he’s game for the fight. Kovalev’s promoter Kathy Duva reportedly attempted to start negotiations for a fight between Kovalev and Hopkins, but with no luck.
Kovalev wouldn’t mind facing Hopkins before he retires from the sport. However, the chances of a fight happening between them are slim due to Hopkins fighting on Showtime and Kovalev on HBO. That right there probably finishes any chance of the two fighters facing each other.
Kovalev said “I would get in the ring with Bernard Hopkins right now! Any time, any place! But who knows? Maybe he’s just trying to get more money from Showtime? So, I am focused on preparing for my fight on HBO on August 2nd and after we’ll see if Hopkins will really get in the ring with me.”
Kovalev will be defending his WBO title next month against Blake “Il Capo” Caparello on August 2nd. The fight will be televised on HBO.
At this point in Kovalev’s career, he really doesn’t need Hopkins to help him increase his popularity. Beating Hopkins didn’t make Chad Dawson any more popular, and I doubt that it’ll do much for Kovalev because Hopkins would have his age as an excuse for losing the fight. It be a no win situation for Kovalev. It’s like that when younger fighters take on older guys, but it’s especially bad with Hopkins because he’s nearing 50.
Kovalev wanted to fight WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson, but he took himself out of commission by moving to Showtime just when Kovalev was on the verge of trying to get a fight against Stevenson. In looking at how badly Stevenson struggled in his fight against Andrezj Fonfara, it was probably a wise move that Stevenson moved over to Showtime. Kovalev would have given him a ton of problems.
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