Sergey Kovalev (32-3, 28KOs) will defend his WBO light heavyweight champion against undefeated contender Eleider Alvarez (23-0, 11KOs) at the Hard Rock Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey on August 4th.
Alvarez has been the mandatory challenger to WBC champion Adonis Stevenson since 2015, but they were never able to fight in the ring for one reason.
Speaking to media, Alvarez’s manager, Stephane Lepine, told this is a bout that began two years ago and now the boxer keen to win the fight and the title.
“This is a fight that began two years ago and all of the decisions have been to bring Eleider towards this championship fight.” Lepine said.
“It didn’t happen the way we bought, but the strides taken in the past two years has helped us in the process. Stevenson was not interested in doing anything, but there other champions who want to fight the best.” Lepine added.
The Colombian boxer admitted that he has studied the videos of Kovalev and believes that he will shock Kovalev when they fight on August 4th.
“I have always tried to remain positive despite the delays. My manager Stephane Lepine asked me to be patient and trusted him a few times.” Alvarez said.
“I listened and the results are positive today. It’s a good challenge for me. I carefully observed the past fights of Kovalev and I am convinced that I can adapt to his fighting style to snatch his title.” Alvarez added.
Eleider Alvarez is keen to win his fight on August 4th at Atlantic City, in New Jersey. (Source:www.behindtheglove.com)
Kovalev, meanwhile, he is two fights removed from suffering back to back defeats at the hands of the American boxer Andre Ward. However, the Russian rebounded from his losses. He successfully defended his title in semi heavyweight category on March 4th.
At Madison Square Garden in Ney York, Kovalev defeated Igor Mikhalkin with a technical knockout in seventh-round stoppage. The WBO light heavyweight champion dominated the fight from the beginning and hurt his opponent’s right eye early on.
Kovalev may regret not taking a bigger bout against Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol. Those would likely be bigger money bouts for him. The 34-year-old should have taken one of them because the money would be better, and he would have an established in excuse if he lost.
