Canelov vs. Kovalev negotiations cleared hurdle today

By Boxing News - 09/11/2019 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: The negotiations for the November 2nd fight between Sergey Kovalev and Saul Canelo Alvarez reportedly cleared a big hurdle on Wednesday that could help the fight get passed the finish line, according to Chris Mannix Sports Illustrated. There’s no word what that hurdle is, but it’s likely the purses.

It’s unthinkable that Canelo and Golden Boy promotions would force Kovalev to agree to a catch-weight or a strict strength-draining rehydration clause. Canelo would get massive bad press if he were to fight Kovalev for his WBO light heavyweight title using a catch-weight or rehydration clause.

Kovalev (34-3, 29 KOs) will get eight figures for the fight. Of that amount, Kovalev’s promoters at Main Events and Top Rank will all get their slice.  Kovalev will likely bring in over seven figures after his management and training team are paid. That’s not bad money for a fighter that has been beaten three times since 2016

Canelo and Kovalev need to start training now

It would be in Canelo and Kovalev’s best interest to start their training now, because they won’t have time to get in a good camp if the negotiations drag out. It’s worse or Kovalev, since he just finished defending his WBO 175-lb title against Anthony Yarde on August 24. That was a difficult fight for Kovalev. He took a lot of shots, and as hurt by Yarde in the 8th round.

Kovalev came bac to stop Yarde in the 11th, but it wasn’t an easy fight for the Russian fighter.  Canelo and Kovalev can’t afford to wait until October for the negotiations to be completed before the start training camp. That would leave them only one month of preparation.

Kovalev is going to do well from the Canelo fight. The timing for the payday is an excellent one for Kovalev, because he likely won’t hold onto his WBO title for too much longer. Getting one last big payday against Canelo is a win win for Kovalev.

Canelo will be at a big size disadvantage

Most boxing fans believe that Kovalev is too old, and won’t be able to handle the body shots from Canelo. We might find out that Canelo has bitten off more than he can chew in going after the perceived weakest link among the 175-lb champions. The 36-year-old Kovalev might only be 60% of what he used to be, but he’s still a natural light heavyweight with excellent size, power and boxing ability.

Kovalev’s punching power hasn’t dropped off. He still punched incredibly hard. What Kovalev has lost is his stamina, and to a certain extent his reflexes. Fighters know how to beat Kovalev now by going to the body with their shots. Kovalev knows his own weakness, and he’ll not let Canelo get close enough to him to hit him to the body.