Tonight at 10 pm ET on HBO, it’s a world title doubleheader in the light heavyweight division, with Sergey Kovalev and Dmitry Bivol making defenses in Atlantic City.
In the main event, Kovalev (32-2-1, 28 KO) faces top contender Eleider Alvarez (23-0, 11 KO). It’s the first serious challenge Kovalev has faced since his back-to-back losses to Andre Ward in 2016-17, though he’s won two straight since then. Alvarez is getting his first world title shot, after spending a long time as Adonis Stevenson’s WBC mandatory.
In the co-feature, Bivol (13-0, 11 KO) takes on veteran Isaac Chilemba (25-5-2, 10 KO) in another 12-round bout. Bivol will be defending the WBA “world” title, but more importantly if he wins as expected, it’s anticipated that he’ll face the Kovalev-Alvarez winner in a big fight either late this year or in early 2019.
Wil Esco will be on the round-by-round call tonight. Join us!
RESULTS
ELEIDER ALVAREZ def. SERGEY KOVALEV by TKO (2:45 of Round 7)
DMITRY BIVOL def. ISAAC CHILEMBA by UD (120-108, 120-108, 116-112)
ROUND BY ROUND
SERGEY KOVALEV vs ELEIDER ALVAREZ
Round 1: Kovalev comes out fast with a big feint, trying to intimidate Alvarez. Alvarez tries a right hand to the body that doesn’t land clean. Now Kovalev lands a right hand to the body that backs Alvarez up. Hard right hand to the body lands for Alvarez, Alvarez returns the favor! Kovalev jabs downstairs, upstairs, downstairs and then Alvarez interrupts with a jab to the body of his own. More jabs to the body come from Kovalev and then the fighters get into a clinch with Alvarez tapping the back of Kovalev’s head. Close round but I just feel like Kovalev was a little more in control of the action. Kovalev 10-9.
Round 2: Kovalev tries to lands a lead left hook but can’t find the target. Kovalev goes back to his long jab with better success. Now Alvarez lands a jab upstairs. One-two lands for Alvarez! Alvarez is finding contact now! Kovalev backs Alvarez to the ropes strafes him with a hook. Now Alvarez lands a nice left hook to the body in a short combination. Much better work from Alvarez in this round. Check hook lands for Alvarez with his back on the ropes. Alvarez ties up Kovalev and nearly tackles him over the top rope! Wow. Alvarez wins the round 10-9, 19-19.
Round 3: Alvarez tries to shot hooks to the body on the inside. Kovalev ties to come straight forward and land some power and gets in a good combination. Kovalev leads with hooks to the boy and head but Alvarez sneaks in a sharp jab that snaps Kovalev’s head back. Kovalev throws to the body and is outworking Alvarez in this round. Alvarez continues to look for counter opportunities and is having some success sneaking in hard shots off of Kovalev’s forward momentum. I think Kovalev still edges it with activity. Kovalev 10-9.
Round 4: Alvarez’s game plan is to lay back and ambush Kovalev with sharp counter punches but it’s allowing Kovalev to throw a lot of punches. Kovalev lets go a flurry that Alvarez wasn’t prepared for! Alvarez is stunned! Kovalev is letting go both hands and tagging Alvarez with hard shots! Kovalev lands a hook to the body and then the head. Alvarez might’ve survived a dangerous moment right here because he was under serious pressure! Right hand lands for Alvarez at the bell. Kovalev 10-9, 39-37.
Round 5: Alvarez starts with a jab to the body. Alvarez throws a quick flurry to the body of Kovalev. Both fighters posture for a good 30 seconds straight and then trade two punches. Kovalev presses forward with a jab that falls short. Alvarez throws two hooks but Kovalev gets in one himself. Kovalev lands a good right hand. Kovalev 10-9.
Round 6: Kovalev comes out and tries to get Alvarez back along the ropes. Alvarez lands a good jab as he gets back to center ring. Kovalev gets in a shot back and Alvarez is bleeding under his left eye. Alvarez still takes an opportunity to touch Kovalev’s body. Right hand lands for Kovalev. Right hand to the body now lands for Kovalev. Two more shots sting Alvarez just before the bell. Kovalev 10-9, 59-55.
Round 7: Replay shows Alvarez’s cut came from an accidental head clash. Both fighters exchange but neither lands too well. Now Kovalev gets in an overhand right. Alvarez tries a huge right hook that misses but he looks like he’s made a decision to try for a knockout. Alvarez is comeing forward now and is walking onto some of Kovalev’s straight shots. Big shot from Alvarez floors Kovalev!! Kovalev looks shocked! Kovalev beats the count and Alavarez is going on the attack! Alvarez is hitting Kovalev with good shots and drops him again with a left hook! Kovalev is up but he’s hurt!!! Overhand right from Alvarez puts Kovalev down again! It’s over! ALVAREZ TKO-7!
DMITRY BIVOL vs ISAAC CHILEMBA
Round 1: Bivol takes center ring and postures as if he’s the boss. Bivol strikes Chilemba with several hard shots which puts Chilemba under pressure early. Bivol is feinting with Chilemba along the ropes, knowing he just has to line up his power punches. Now Bivol lets go a combination that crashes on Chilemba’s body and head. Chilemba just loojs like he’s under duress with his body language. Chilemba tries to rip to the body and gets in a shot with his left hand. Bivol steps back foward and tries a lead left uppercut that just misses. Bivol controlled the action easily. Bivol 10-9.
Round 2: Chilemba comes out measuring with his jab defensively, but Bivols gets in a counter shot, steps over, and strikes Chilemba some more with all out assault! Chilemba is taking some real hard shots early in this fight. Chilemba tries to flick a jab to break Bivol’s attention and break up his momentum but Bivol gets in a hard left uppercut to the body. The fight turns back to more of a boxing match for the final 30 seconds and Bivol is still in control. Bivol 10-9, 20-18.
Round 3: Both fighters trade jabs but Bivol’s lands first. Chilemba throws another one trying to stall Bivol’s offense. Bivol measures, touches Chilemba a couple of times but the fighters get tangled up, forcing a break. Bivol throws a hard jab that lands to the body and then the fighters exchange, both barely missing. Bivol leads with two lefts to the body, pushing Chilemba back to the ropes. The fighters mix it up but Bivol is getting in the better punches. Bivol, 10-9.
Round 4: Bivol comes out pressuring but not over-committing, keeping his bounce knowing that Chilemba is looking to land a big counter. Bivol measures a big lead left hook to the head! Chilemba backing up and really defensive. Looks to me like he’s already made a decision to try to survive this fight more than win it. Bivol lands another lead left hook but Chilemba partially blocks it. Bivol 10-9, 40-36.
Round 5: Bivol doing more of the same, pressuring Chilemba at center ring but still fighting in patient style, not looking to force it too much offensively. The fighters trade jabs but Bivol follows it up but throwing three more in rapid succession. Another Jab lands for Bivol. Chilemba is taking Bivol’s punches pretty well, to be honest. He hasn’t looked really hurt at any point thus far and Bivol has landed some good shots. Bivol still in control. Bivol, 10-9.
Round 6: Chilemba’s trainer, Roy Jones Jr., tells his fighter that now is the time to start picking it up and fighting a little more. Bivol comes out and lands a jab and an overhand right, pushing Chilemba to the opposite side of the ring. Both fighters trade combinations but neither land much clean. Big right cross lands for Bivol who is now dialing-in on the distance he wants. Bivol 10-9, 60-54.
Round 7: Bivol lands a sneaky right hand counter, then another one as Chilemba tries to throw a couple to the body. Chilemba is trying to mix it up a little more, probably knowing he’s down on points in the fight, but he’s willing to do so. Now Chilemba is coming forward and throwing some shots but Bivol just skates from side to side using his lateral footwork to evade any danger. Jab lands for Bivol. Chilemba tries a right hook but Bivol catches it rather easily. Bivol 10-9.
Round 8: Chilemba tries a hook that gets blocked. Bivol lands a jab to the body. Another hard jab lands for Bivol, then another one shortly after. Bivol is just too well-rounded and refined for someone like Chilemba. The crowd starts to boo a little now as this fight settles into a long range jab fest that gets a little dull. Bivol, 10-9, 80-72.
Round 9: Chilemba comes out with some probing jabs that find all air. Bivol lands a left hook but fails to follow it up with anything significant. Bivol lands a jab and then a follow up right. Bivol seems to be content to just fight so reasonably that he’s not looking to force a stoppage, but Bivol is still winning the rounds. Bivol, 10-9.
Round 10: Chilemba tries a jab and right hand but can’t find the mark. Now Bivol tries to respond with a combination and at least makes body contact. Jab lands for Bivol. Bivol is keeping his distance but both manage to momentarily get into a dust up but not much damage done on either side. Jab, left hook lands for Bivol. Bivol 10-9, 100-90.
Round 11: Chilemba tries to lead with something but takes a counter jab in return. Chilemba tries to double up to the body but Bivol steps out of range. Bivol fighting behind his jab an is using a lot of lateral movement these past few rounds. The action has really slowed down in this fight and I suspect t’s because Bivol made a decision a couple rounds ago to coast this one out. Bivol is winning rounds but it hasn’t really been all that impressive. Bivol 10-9.
Round 12: Chilemba comes forward and thows somes shots to the body and head but they don’t really land. Bivol jabs. Bivol has stopped coming forward like he was early in this fight and he hasn’t really take a big shot to dissuade him. Either way, Bivol is outboxing Chilemba because even when he goes on an offensive lull his defense keeps him from taking any punishment himself. Bivol 10-9. I’ve got it a shutout for Bivol, 120-108.
Eleider Alvarez is the new WBO light heavyweight champion (24-0, 12 KO). The 34-year-old Colombian scored a stunning, come-from-behind, seventh-round TKO win over Sergey Kovalev (32-3-1) on Saturday night in Atlantic City.
After getting battered through the most of the first 6.5 rounds, Alvarez landed a hard overhand right that dropped Kovalev. Alvarez would floor Kovalev two more times in the round before the referee mercifully called a halt to the bout. Alvarez wasn't throwing enough punches early in the fight, but Kovalev seemed to start to tire in the sixth frame.
As he slowed, Alvarez took advantage by displaying power that wasn't previously synonymous with his career.
REPLAY: @stormalvarez with a trio of knocks downs on @KrusherKovalev to earn a tremendous KO victory in Round 7. #KovalevAlvarez pic.twitter.com/GdNw0ScKrd — HBOboxing (@HBOboxing) August 5, 2018
The stoppage win was just the 12th KO of his career. Here's how the boxing world reacted to the finish:
Sergey Kovalev has been knocked out. — Brian Campbell (@BCampbellCBS) August 5, 2018
Unreal. Sergey Kovalev was out boxing Alvarez and all it took was one over hand right and that’s how it all ended. What a turnaround! #KovalevAlvarez #Boxing — Mike Matias (@Mike__Dhcf) August 5, 2018
WOW! Eleider Alvarez now is the man to beat at light heavyweight as he finishes Sergey Kovalev. New world champion. — LukieBoxing (@LukieBoxing) August 5, 2018
Eleider Alvarez knocking out Sergey Kovalev is a perfect example of why I am in love with boxing. #KovalevAlvarez #AndTheNew — Boxing Unscripted (@BoxUnscripted) August 5, 2018
Alvarez didn't come into this fight with a high knockout percentage. But he ended Lucian Bute's career two fights earlier, and just mowed Kovalev down in this one. — Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixYS) August 5, 2018
Kathy Duva told us at ringside that there's a rematch clause in the contracts for Kovalev-Alvarez. She said it could be an immediate rematch, but it's obviously too early to say whether Kovalev would fight Alvarez next. — Keith Idec (@Idecboxing) August 5, 2018
Tony Weeks robbed us of a conclusive KO in the second Ward-Kovalev fight. David Fields could have stopped it after the second knockdown tonight, but let it continue and Alvarez leaves no doubt. What a come-from-behind victory #kovalevalvarez — Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) August 5, 2018
Man I'm so happy Alvarez beat Kovalev I can see why Adonis Stevenson didn't fight the Champ tonight — Cornelius Bundrage (@K9boxing) August 5, 2018
A shout out to @MarkEOrtega , who five years ago told everyone that Alvarez beats Kovalev. This is when Alvarez was a nothing. Mark got a lot of strange looks with that call, but he was dead right. — adam abramowitz (@snboxing) August 5, 2018
Kovalev was a massive minus-550 favorite. Alvarez came in as a plus-375 underdog. His win may have upset a potential unification bout between Kovalev and Dmitry Bivol. the latter did his part on the undercard with a dominant unanimous-decision win over Isaac Chilemba. As the tweet above confirms, Kovalev has a rematch clause, but we'll have to wait and see if that comes to fruition. Kovalev has now lost three of his last five fights after beginning his career 30-0-1.
The current and next generations of Light Heavyweight destroyers show their stuff in Atlantic City, N.J., later this evening (Sat., Aug. 4, 2018) when Sergey Kovalev and Dmitry Bivol defend their respective titles against Eleider Alvarez and Isaac Chilemba.
MMAmania will deliver LIVE coverage of ‘Kovalev vs. Alvarez,’ starting with the HBO Boxing broadcast at 10 p.m. ET later this evening.
The HBO Boxing main event, pitting the venerable “Krusher” against the undefeated Alvarez, is by far the more competitive match up of the two, so let’s open this thing up and take a look at the nuts and bolts.
Name: Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev
Age: 35
Record: 32-2-1, 28 KO
Last Five Fights: Igor Mikhalkin (TKO-7), Vyacheslav Shabranskyy (TKO-2), Andre Ward (TKO-8 Loss), Andre Ward (SD Loss), Isaac Chilemba (UD)
Significant Victories (other than those mentioned above): Jean Pascal x2, Bernard Hopkins, Nathan Cleverly, Gabriel Campillo
VS.
Name: Eleider “Storm” Alvarez
Age: 34
Record: 23-0, 11 KO
Last Five Fights: Jean Pascal (MD), Lucian Bute (KO-5), Norbert Dabrowski (UD), Robert Berridge (UD), Isaac Chilemba (MD)
Significant Victories (other than those mentioned above): Edison Miranda, Isidro Ranoni Prieto
THE FIGHT
Alvarez has been due for a title shot since 2015, when he beat Chilemba to become the mandatory challenger for Adonis Stevenson’s WBC belt. “Superman” instead elected to give Alvarez step-side money multiple times and fight whoever he wanted, and after the WBC allowed Badou Jack to jump the line and ordered Alvarez to face surging Oleksandr Gvozdyk, “Storm” decided he’d had enough of the sunk cost fallacy and went after Kovalev.
As good as Alvarez is, he’s generally slightly less entertaining than the summary of how he got here. He’s got a good jab, good combinations, and can work the body when he needs to, but none of his recent fights have been memorable aside from when he decided to let loose against Bute.
That’s more than a little problematic against Kovalev, who despite the gaudy knockout rate is a rock-solid technician. Alvarez can’t go jab-for-jab with him because the Russian’s jab is as hard as the average fighter’s power punch and Kovalev’s volume generally ensures that enough of those shots will land to put anyone away.
The only clear avenue to victory against Kovalev, which Andre Ward demonstrated, is to stay in his face and punish the body. Alvarez, unfortunately, has not shown that level of infighting craft or aggression against anyone but the fading Bute. He’s not going to outbox Kovalev and if he can’t bully him, then it’s just a matter of time until “Krusher” lands clean. I figure we’ll get to around the halfway point of the fight before Alvarez finally succumbs to the power.
Prediction: Kovalev via seventh-round technical knockout
At long last, Atlantic City will once again be the center of the boxing world. The popular New Jersey resort town will host its first major boxing event since 2014 on Saturday night, as Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev defends his WBO light heavyweight title against undefeated challenger Eleider Alvarez. On the undercard, Isaac Chilemba will challenge Dmitry Bivol for the Russian's WBA light heavyweight belt. The TV portion of the card is set to begin at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.
The 35-year-old Kovalev (32-2-1) first won the WBO light heavyweight belt back in 2013 with a TKO win over Nathan Cleverly, and held the strap until 2016 when he lost it -- along with the WBA and IBF light heavyweight belts, which he picked up in a 2014 win over Bernard Hopkins -- to Andre Ward in a bit of a controversial decision. Their rematch a few months later was once again fraught with drama, as the ref stopped the bout in the eighth round when Kovalev believed he was hit with multiple low blows.
Kovalev, who now thanks God for his two losses to Ward for the ability to change trainers, has rebounded nicely with consecutive knockout wins as he heads into this latest challenge.
"I'm happy that we're working together because he has helped me a lot," Kovalev said in an interview with ESPN. "When I came to America, I came with all my amateur baggage. When I lost twice, I lost because of that amateur baggage and because of my coach. He was my coach but he didn't really work with me. He was like a passenger in the car and I was driving. Now I'm the passenger and my coach is the driver. [Tursunpulatov] sets up my workouts every day and tells me what I should do and what I shouldn't do. I'm happy."
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As for his opponent, the 34-year-old Alvarez (23-0) comes in undefeated and with his first chance at a major belt. He currently holds the WBC silver light heavyweight title, but most view the "silver" belts as somewhat of a sham. Though that is to take nothing away from Alvarez, who has continued to rack up victories. Plus, it's not exactly Alvarez's fault that he hasn't had a title shot yet.
The Colombian Alvarez was the mandatory challenger for Adonis Stevenson's WBC light heavyweight belt for over two years but twice Stevenson paid Alvarez a step-aside fee in order to avoid him. It's not entirely clear why the fight between the two never happened -- as if anything is ever clear in boxing promotion -- but Alvarez finally has his chance against Kovalev. Though, even that didn't come until the original opponent, Marcus Browne, was arrested for domestic violence.
Kovalev vs. Alvarez fight card, odds
Favorite Underdog Weight class Sergey Kovalev (c) -550 Eleider Alvarez +375 Light heavyweight Dmitry Bivol (c) -10000 Isaac Chilemba +1600 Light heavyweight Bakhram Murtazaliev -10000 Fernando Carcamo +1600 Super welterweight
In any case, Alvarez finally has his title fight, and it should be an interesting one. While Kovalev is surely the more widely-known of the two fighters, and currently the best in the division, Alvarez is no slouch. He hasn't fought the same level of competition as Kovalev, but you don't remain undefeated through 23 fights without having some skills, and Ring Magazine currently ranks Alvarez fifth among all light heavyweights. Plus, Alvarez enters the fight with a 3-inch reach advantage on the taller Kovalev.
Still, it's Kovalev who understandably comes in as a fairly heavy favorite. Despite his two losses to Ward, Kovalev remains one of the pound-for-pound best in the world, and has the kind of devastating power that should keep Alvarez cautious. If there's anyone in boxing you can call a knockout specialist, it's Kovalev, who has picked up 28 of his 32 wins by (T)KO. He is simply relentless with his attack and will out-punch Alvarez to keep the challenger on the defensive.
He'll have to work to put another knockout victory to his name, however, as Alvarez is pretty technically sound and will be willing to try and slow this fight down. The Colombian is much more of a boxer than a puncher, with only 11 of his 23 wins coming by way of knockout, and most of those came early in his career. Of his last 10 wins, only three have been knockouts. His path to victory here isn't by standing and trading blows with Kovalev. He'll need to try and keep the Russian at bay with some sharp counter attacks and hope to do enough to win on points.
Prediction
Alvarez will make Kovalev work, but in the end, expect the champion to show why he is the one with the belts. Kovalev's power and skill should, over the course of the fight, prove too much for Alvarez, who hasn't fought in over a year.
Prediction: Kovalev via unanimous decision.
