Few fighters in this day and age have the hype that Sergey Kovalev has. His domination in the light heavyweight division up to this point in his professional career is stuff of legend. In 27 bouts he’s amassed 23 knockouts and has only went to the judges cards twice since 2010. That includes a one sides shutout against the craftiest veteran in the game, Bernard Hopkins. Kovalev simply punishes his opponents with a relentless attack of power shots and thundering rights. This past weekend, Jean Pascal learned the hard way what 23 others before him learned as well, do not try to out slug the hardest hitting man not named Gennady Golovkin.
The main event bout which was a much welcomed finale to an otherwise underwhelming and energy zapping T.V. undercard of two much unforgettable fights was what the very pro Pascal needed. The antihero in Kovalev going to Pascal’s backyard to face the beloved son of Montreal. However, by the second round, Kovalev was landing the harder shots that had Pascal stunned and most likely hurt from the 2nd round on. In the third Kovalev put Pascal through the ropes. Pascal would survive the round and made the bout exciting over the next 5 rounds. Pascal showed heart that has seemed to be missing in fights prior and in the 6th had some of his best work all night. However even with the crowd hanging onto every punch Pascal threw at Kovalev, late in the 7th Kovalev landed a hard shot that sent Pascal back on shaky legs. The start of the 8th would be the end of the night as Kovalev pressed the action from the initial bell and with a hard exchange that saw Kovalev slip on the ring, Pascal tried to gain his bearing from the previous onslaught only to be caught in the neutral corned with thundering shots that would go unanswered and the ref saw enough to wave the bout at 1:03 into the 8th round.
While the stoppage seemed a bit odd as Pascal looked as though he was about to throw a punch and did not seem too out of it, add the culmination of the previous assault he had just sustained and the stoppage seemed to be fair. Pascal was not going to make it out of the round and the ref saw enough to stop it before things could have got worse for Pascal.
After the fight, Max Kellerman of HBO asked Kovalev if he would consider a rematch with Pascal to which the gracious Kovalev agreed if the fans and his team saw fit. While the fight had some great actions from both fighters, Pascal showed little to warrant a possible win in a rematch and Kovalev is must see T.V. His fighting style makes for exciting bouts and with few KO artists in boxing right now, Kovalev is worth the price of admission. However, there is also a guy how likes to call himself Superman who may actually be able to crack the chin of Kovalev waiting in the wings. If both teams can come to an agreement or if Adonis Stevenson ’s team believes they can actually win against the Krusher, 2015 will be a great year for matchups. I like many will eagerly wait what Kovalev has in store for this year.
PBC
I really want to believe that Premier Boxing Champions is interested in making great fights and so far with two event under their belt they’ve done alright. The first event that showcased Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman was largely pedestrian. The commentary but the entire team left much to be desired and the ring entrances felt too contrived. While it was nice to see fighters without a thong of dudes fighting for T.V. facetime, making them all walk out to the Hans Zimmer orchestrated theme music was weird. Ring entrances not only get the fighters hyped but also the fans. I could not imagine Fernando Vargas not walk into the ring to Vicente Fernandez “El Ray”. PBC is trying to put their own stamp on boxing and that is great but don’t take away the personalization of it either. But what would I know, I may be in the minority. The PBC Spike fights this past Friday felt more boxing esq. The TV announcers were a little better than the NBC crew and fights were about the same. In the main event Andre Berto stopped the always game but mostly overmatch Joseito Lopez in 6 rounds. While Lopez has one of the biggest hearts in the fight game, lately he has been on the losing end of some one sided beatdowns. While Lopez probably could have made it through the 6th round and with the way Berto fades Lopez could have made it a fight he also probably needs the ref to look out for his own good. It was tough to see a fight such as Lopez get the bout called off after two knockdowns knowing his resilience but it probably was for the best.
As for the PBC, well, I am holding out final judgement, they’re doing something that other boxing promoters and managers have tried but never seemed to fully commit to. As for now, as long as they make the best match ups possible regardless of who the promoter is, it seems as if it should be a win for boxing, but if they are going to try and convince the US fan base into believing the Deontay Wilder is actually the Heavyweight Champion without facing Klitschko then I think it will only be a matter a time before boxing fans turn on them.
And then…
Boxers know the inherent dangers they face each time they step into the ring. This past weekend Brayd Smith of Australia passed following his bout with John Moralde. I never heard of Mr. Smith but my heart goes out to his family. As a boxing fan, I admire the courage each fighter has, to step into the ring and put their life on the line. Rest in Peace.