By Allan Fox: Unbeaten IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs) isn’t looking past his mandatory title defense against #1 IBF, #2 WBA, #3 WBO Nadjib Mohammedi (37-3, 23 KOs) on July 18th at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Kovalev’s promoter Kathy Duva of Main Events has been trying to get a fight against WBC 175 pound champion Adonis Stevenson, but she’s had no luck in doing so.
Kovalev still wants that fight to take place sooner rather than later, but it would have to take place on HBO rather than Showtime because Kovalev has a contract with HBO.
Stevenson is about to turn 38 in September, and he likely is going to start taking losses in the near future as he continues to age, unless he winds up like Bernard Hopkins.
“I don’t care whether it be Adonis Stevenson or another guy. I don’t care. Right now I am not even thinking about this because my next fight will be big fight and not an easy fight against Nadjib Mohammedi,” Kovalev said.
Mohammedi, 30, is a good fighter. He’s won his last four fights by knockout, and he has a 13-fight winning streak. His last defeat was in 2011 in losing to Dmitry Sukhotsky by a 2nd round knockout. What is troubling is that Mohammedi hasn’t faced anyone in the class of Sukhotsky since his loss to him four years ago. Mohammedi was also beaten by Nathan Cleverly by a 12 round unanimous decision in 2010.
Kovalev will likely make short work of Mohammedi because this is the type of fighter that is made to order for Kovalev. Mohammedi, a good puncher in his own right, tends to stand in front of his opponents looking to take them out with power shots. That style of fighting won’t work against a bigger, and stronger puncher like Kovalev. This fight could end by the 1st round, but most likely it’ll go at least until the 2nd before Kovalev takes Mohammedi out with a barrage of big punches. Kovalev is a far better fighter than Sukhotsky and we saw what he was able to do to Mohammedi.
“I am not finished of my collection of all of my belts,” Kovalev said. “I shoot and I must to get one more, WBC title. Just give me opportunity to fight against WBC Champion.”
Kovalev’s promoter Kathy Duva isn’t worried if the Stevenson vs. Kovalev fight never takes place. She knows that once Stevenson is no longer the WBC champion, she’ll have a good chance of getting a fight between Kovalev and the champion that takes over for Stevenson in the future.
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