Kovalev-Mohammedi averages 1.014m viewers on HBO; Shumenov-Flores 422K on NBC

kovalev44555By Dan Ambrose: Last Saturday’s fight between IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KOs) and Nadjib Mohammedi (37-4, 23 KOs) brought in an average of 1.014 million viewers with a peak of 1.028 million viewers on HBO Championship Boxing from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In contrast, the fight between former WBA light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov and BJ Flores brought in an average of 241,000 viewers with a peak of 422,000 viewers on NBCSN, according to Dan Rafael. The co-feature bout between Jean Pascal and Yunieski Gonzalez on the Kovalev-Mohammedi card outperformed the Shumenov vs. Flores fight as well in averaging 883,000 viewers with a peak of 1.028 million viewers on HBO.

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Kovalev destroys Mohammedi; Pascal defeats Gonzalez

kovalev567(Photo Credit: David Spagnolo/Main Events) By Jim Dower: IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KOs) stayed unbeaten tonight in destroying an overmatched No.1 IBF Nadjib Mohammedi (37-4, 23 KOs) by a 3rd round knockout on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Kovalev knocked Mohammedi down twice in the fight in dropping him in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Kovalev finished Mohammedi off with a big right hand followed by a left to the head that sent him down. Mohammedi clutched at his left eye while he was on the canvas, and failed to beat the canvas.

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Kovalev vs. Mohammedi tonight on HBO

kovalev5(Photo Credit: David Spagnolo/Main Events)By Allan Fox: IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs) will be trying his best to entertain the fans tonight with his mismatch against challenger Nadjib Mohammedi (37-3, 23 KOs) on HBO from the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Kovalev has his work cut out for him because his opponent is way out of his class in terms of talent, and he doesn’t have the kind of fighting style that will make it easy for Kovalev to knock him out unless he really goes after him to try and get him out of there fast.

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Weights: Kovalev 174.5, Mohammedi 173

kovalev111(Photo credit: HBO/Will Hart) By Dan Ambrose: IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs) made weight on Friday afternoon in coming in at 174.5 pounds for his title defense against No.1 IBF Nadjib Mohammedi (37-3, 23 KOs) on Saturday night on HBO from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mohammedi weighed in at 173.

Kovalev looked like he was about to start laughing during the stare down when the two fighters faced each other. Mohammedi was looking menacing at Kovalev, and it didn’t seem to bother the Russian fighter at all. He seemed to take it as a big bluff on Mohammedi’s part. Kovalev is a huge 100-1 favorite to win in some betting circles.

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Kovalev not worried about Nadjib Mohammedi’s punching power

kovalev4(David Spagnolo/Main Events) By Dan Ambrose: IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs) doesn’t rate his opponent for Saturday Nadjib Mohammedi (37-3, 23 KOs) as any kind of real puncher with power. Instead, Kovalev sees the 30-year-old Mohammedi as a boxer who will be looking to try and out-box him when they face each other on HBO Championship Boxing from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

To be sure, even if he were a puncher, it would be a big mistake for Mohammedi to go straight at Kovalev from the opening bell trying to KO him. Kovalev, 6’2”, has too much size, too much power, and too good of a jab for Mohammedi to be mixing it up with him for any length of time.

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Kovalev heavily favored to beat Mohammedi

kovalevBy Dan Ambrose: IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs) is a huge 100-1 favorite to defeat #1 IBF contender Nadjib Mohammedi (37-3, 23 KOs) this Saturday night in their fight on HBO from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ticket sales reportedly are slow, and things aren’t helped by the fact that another fight is taking place in Las Vegas on the same night between cruiserweights Beibut Shumenov and BJ Flores at the Palms Casino & Resort in Las Vegas.

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Kovalev vs. Ward fight in discussions

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By Dan Ambrose: While IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs) still has his mind focused on his fight this Saturday night against challenger Nadjib Mohammedi (37-3, 23 KOs) on HBO Championship Boxing from the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, it’s hard for him not to be thinking about a big money match-up against unbeaten WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) that could be taking place next year in 2016.

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Sergey Kovalev vs. Nadjib Mohammedi this Saturday, July 25th on HBO

1-SergeyKovalevWorkout114By Allan Fox: IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs) will be defending his titles this Saturday night on July 25th against #1 IBF Nadjib Mohammedi (37-3, 23 KOs) on HBO Championship Boxing from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kovalev will be looking to get this fight over with as fast as possible to show that Mohammedi doesn’t belong in the same ring with him.

Mohammedi, 30, has one of the better records that Kovalev has faced during his career, but there’s really very little substance to his resume. Most of Mohammedi’s wins have come against poor opposition with limited talent.

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Kovalev: All fighters make terrible fighters in Canada

kovalevBy Dan Ambrose: IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs) gave his opinion of what he thought of Canadian fighters during Wednesdays international telephone conference call when he said that Canadian fighters are terrible.

Kovalev, 32, has a title defense this month on July 25th against Nadjib Mohammedi (37-3, 23 KOs) at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mohammedi is the same guy that Nathan Cleverly easily beat four years ago in their fight in 2011. The fact that Mohammedi couldn’t beat Cleverly, a fighter that Kovalev obliterated in four rounds in 2013, gives you a pretty good idea what kind of fight the Kovalev-Mohammedi fight will be.

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Kovalev Media Conference Call Quotes

Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev, WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion

On coming off big fights against Pascal and Hopkins but now facing a lesser known fighter:

“For me, any fight means a lot because it is the next step. Who I am and how I do my job means a lot. He is the #1 IBF contender. He deserves this fight. I very excited that I have three titles and I have the opportunity to defend it against Mohammedi. He deserves this fight. He is #1. He is very motivated. When a boxer is motivated or any man is motivated it makes him very dangerous.”

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