
By Jim Dower: WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey ‘Krusher’ Kovalev (32-2-1, 28 KOs) brought in underwhelming ratings for his first title defense of his WBO belt against #5 WBO Igor Mikhalkin (21-2, 9 KOs) last Saturday night.

By Jim Dower: WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey ‘Krusher’ Kovalev (32-2-1, 28 KOs) brought in underwhelming ratings for his first title defense of his WBO belt against #5 WBO Igor Mikhalkin (21-2, 9 KOs) last Saturday night.

By Sean McDaniel: Max Kellerman of HBO liked what he saw of WBA World light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (13-0, 11 KOs) with his 12th round knockout win against mandatory challenger Sullivan Barrera (21-2, 14 KOs) last Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.

By Dan Ambrose: WBA World light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (13-0, 11 KOs) stopped #1 WBA mandatory challenger Sullivan Barrera (21-2, 14 KOs) on Saturday night to retain his title at Madison Square Garden in New York.

By Jim Dower: Sergey Kovalev, Igor Mikhalkin, Dmitry Bivol and Sullivan Barrera all successfully made weight for their light heavyweight title fights this Saturday on March 3 on HBO Boxing at Madison Square Garden in New York. WBO 175 lb. champion ‘Krusher’ Kovalev (31-2-1, 27 KOs) weighed in at 174.6 pounds.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING spotlights the competitive light heavyweight division with two world title bouts when SERGEY KOVALEV VS. IGOR MIKHALKIN AND DMITRY BIVOL VS. SULLIVAN BARRERA is seen SATURDAY, MARCH 3 at 10:05 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.

By Jim Dower: WBA World light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (12-0, 10 KOs) will be targeting WBO champion Sergey ‘Krusher’ Kovalev and WBC champ Adonis ‘Superman’ Stevenson after he defeats his mandatory challenger Sullivan Barrera (21-1, 14 KOs) this Saturday night on March 3 on HBO Boxing at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The upcoming Saturday, March 3 Kovalev vs. Mikhalkin HBO World Championship Boxing® telecast opens with a blockbuster battle of two top light heavyweights as WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion Dmitry Bivol (12-0, 10 KOs) faces Sullivan Barrera (21-1, 14 KOs) at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Below is the scouting report for this action-packed match-up:

By Allan Fox: Harold Lederman of HBO is excited about this Saturday’s doubleheader between WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey ‘Krusher’ Kovalev (31-2-1, 27 KOs) and Igor Mihalkin (21-1, 9 KOs) in the main event, and WBA World 175 lb. champion Dmitry Bivol (12-0, 10 KOs) and #1 WBA challenger Sullivan Barrera (21-1, 14 KOs) in the co-feature bout at Madison Square Garden in New York.

By Sean McDaniel: After toiling away for 9 years as a pro, the 35-year-old Sullivan Barrera (21-1, 14 KOs) will be challenging WBA World light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (12-0, 10 KOs) for his title next Saturday night on March 3 in the co-feature bout on the Sergey ‘Krusher’ Kovalev vs. Igor Mikhalkin card at Madison Square Garden in New York. HBO World Championship Boxing will be televising the Bivol vs. Barrera and Kovalev vs. Mikhalkin fights live.

By Allan Fox: Andre “SOG” Ward posted a photo today of him facing off with WBA World light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on his social media, as if he’s going to be fighting him. Ward retired last October after vacating his IBF, WBA & WBO 175 lb. titles.