The fight between Sergey Kovalev and Bektemir Melikuziev has been canceled after Kovalev tested positive for a banned substance.
The fight between Sergey Kovalev and Bektemir Melikuziev – scheduled for Jan. 30 in Indio, Calif. – has been canceled after Kovalev tested positive for a banned synthetic testosterone.
The announcement was made in a news release from Golden Boy Promotions, which handles Melikuziev.
The release read: “The Kovalev vs. Melikuziev boxing event scheduled for Jan. 30 has been canceled following a positive test for a banned substance on behalf of Sergey Kovalev through the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).
“Upon learning of Kovalev’s adverse finding, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) determined that they must cancel the event.
“While we are crushed for “The Bully” (Melikuziev), we know that he will nevertheless have a tremendous year in 2021. We look forward to our next scheduled boxing event on Feb. 13.”
BoxingScene obtained a copy of a letter that was sent to all parties involved by VADA, which conducted the drug test. It reads in part:
“Adverse analytical finding: IRMS (isotope-ratio mass spectrometry) results are consistent with exogenous origin of testosterone and metabolites.”
And: “Mr. Kovalev has the right to promptly request analysis of the ‘B’ sample at his expense.”
BoxingScene asked Kovalev’s longtime promoter, Kathy Duva, to comment.
“We are aware of the adverse finding from VADA,” she said. “Sergey Kovalev has been proven to be a clean fighter throughout the many years that he has been tested by VADA. VADA was contracted for this fight at his insistence, as he has requested for almost all of his fights going back several years.
“He maintains that he did not purposefully ingest any banned substances. We have made arrangements to have his supplements tested for contamination and will request that VADA test his B sample.”
Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KOs) last fought in November 2019, when he was knocked out by Canelo Alvarez in the 11th round to lose his 175-pound title.
Melikuziev (6-0, 5 KOs) is a natural super middleweight but agreed to a catch weight of 178 pounds for the fight. The Uzbek is a 2016 Olympic silver medalist.
The fight between Sergey Kovalev and Bektemir Melikuziev has been canceled after Kovalev tested positive for a banned substance.
The fight between Sergey Kovalev and Bektemir Melikuziev – scheduled for Jan. 30 in Indio, Calif. – has been canceled after Kovalev tested positive for a banned synthetic testosterone.
The announcement was made in a news release from Golden Boy Promotions, which handles Melikuziev.
The release read: “The Kovalev vs. Melikuziev boxing event scheduled for Jan. 30 has been canceled following a positive test for a banned substance on behalf of Sergey Kovalev through the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).
“Upon learning of Kovalev’s adverse finding, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) determined that they must cancel the event.
“While we are crushed for “The Bully” (Melikuziev), we know that he will nevertheless have a tremendous year in 2021. We look forward to our next scheduled boxing event on Feb. 13.”
BoxingScene obtained a copy of a letter that was sent to all parties involved by VADA, which conducted the drug test. It reads in part:
“Adverse analytical finding: IRMS (isotope-ratio mass spectrometry) results are consistent with exogenous origin of testosterone and metabolites.”
And: “Mr. Kovalev has the right to promptly request analysis of the ‘B’ sample at his expense.”
BoxingScene asked Kovalev’s longtime promoter, Kathy Duva, to comment.
“We are aware of the adverse finding from VADA,” she said. “Sergey Kovalev has been proven to be a clean fighter throughout the many years that he has been tested by VADA. VADA was contracted for this fight at his insistence, as he has requested for almost all of his fights going back several years.
“He maintains that he did not purposefully ingest any banned substances. We have made arrangements to have his supplements tested for contamination and will request that VADA test his B sample.”
Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KOs) last fought in November 2019, when he was knocked out by Canelo Alvarez in the 11th round to lose his 175-pound title.
Melikuziev (6-0, 5 KOs) is a natural super middleweight but agreed to a catch weight of 178 pounds for the fight. The Uzbek is a 2016 Olympic silver medalist.
Promoter Kathy Duva believes Sergey Kovalev has one more shot at making a run in the sport before he calls it quits.
Promoters are experts at spotting silver linings. There’s usually a silver dollar behind each one.
Kathy Duva, president of Main Events, sees both gleaming in the future for Sergey Kovalev, the former light heavyweight titleholder. Future? Apparently Duva believes her veteran client can make one final run even though he’s coming off a particularly brutal loss at the hands of Canelo Alvarez in November.
Kovalev acquitted himself well for the majority of the fight before Alvarez cut him down in the 11th round, leaving the Russian slumped on the ropes with his head bowed. That was an unsettling image, yes, but Duva, the eternal optimist, sees a clear path forward.
“A lot of people had him beating Canelo going into the 11th round [and] I’m not sure that being competitive with probably the best fighter in the world means your career is over,” Duva said on the recent Everlast TalkBox Podcast. “People have a tendency to write people off very quickly.”
Kovalev has had to deal with such concerns in the past. He was knocked out in brutal fashion by Eleider Alvarez in 2018. Before that he was stopped, albeit controversially, by Andre Ward in 2017. The difference now, according to Duva, is that Kovalev firmly understands that he is in the twilight of his career.
“He knows his career is close to closing,” Duva said. “It’s close to an end, he acknowledges that. But he intends to maybe make another splash before he’s finished, and we’re going to help him do that.”
Part of that help consists of determining the weight at which Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KOs) wants to fight. His next bout, against Sullivan Barrera (22-3, 14 KOs) on April 25 in Indio, California, will take place at a catch weight of 180 pounds, five over the light heavyweight limit.
Kovalev and Co. are undecided as to whether he’ll campaign at cruiserweight (200-pound limit) or move back down to 175, where he has spent his entire career.
“We’re going to do this at 180 because we want to find out if [making weight] is a problem and if we have to contemplate moving up,” Duva said. “He’s going in a little heavier, not so heavy that he can’t ever go back to 175, but he wants to just see what the difference is, because those last five pounds are the ones that kill ya.”
Kovalev concurs. He recently put up an Instagram post showing him pinching the fat on his body.
Weight gain isn’t the only thing on Kovalev’s plate these days. He’s battling disturbing allegations of sexual assault and recently made headlines after reportedly getting arrested for a DUI in Los Angeles.
“He’s a lot happier with the lawyers that he has now,” Duva said. “They’ve made him feel comfortable that this is all going to be OK.”
Duva hopes with a fight on the horizon that Kovalev won’t stray into more trouble.
“When you got something to focus on, you’re mind doesn’t stray into other things,” she said. “He’s not the first fighter who’s fought these problems, and he won’t be the last.”
Sergey Kovalev will be moving up to the cruiserweight division, according to his trainer Buddy McGirt.
The next time Sergey Kovalev ducks through the ropes, expect him to be a bit heavier.
After 39 fights at light heavyweight in a career that spans more than a decade, the former titleholder is looking to start afresh in a new weight class.
“He’s going up to cruiserweight,” his trainer Buddy McGirt told Boxing Junkie. “We’ll start training in about a month.”
Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KOs) recently loss his 175-pound title to Canelo Alvarez after suffering an 11th-round technical knockout in November. The bout, which generated a career purse for the Russian, came on the heels of what was a taxing fight for Kovalev against Anthony Yarde in late August. Kovalev was nearly out on his feet before storming back to stop the British contender in the 11th round.
McGirt said that he signed off on Kovalev’s decision to move up to cruiserweight under one condition: He can’t come in anywhere close to the 200-pound limit.
“As long as we go to 185 [pounds], we’re good. No more than 185,” McGirt said. “He can come in at 180 and beat those guys. He’ll be light, and that’s OK.”
McGirt said the decision had nothing to do with the loss to Alvarez per se. Rather, he based it off of how Kovalev looked in the past couple of training camps. Cutting weight to make the 175-pound limit was becoming harder and harder.
“I think he’ll be better at that weight (cruiserweight),” McGirt said.
It’s not clear when or whom Kovalev will fight next, but his promoter, Main Events, told Boxing Junkie last month that he will likely appear on a DAZN card. McGirt says he has not spoken to anybody from the promotional side about Kovalev’s move up in weight.
“I haven’t spoken to Kathy [Duva of Main Events], so I can’t put that lie out there,” he said.
Main Events did not respond to a request for comment.
Kovalev was recently sued by a woman he allegedly assaulted for non-payment of their agreed-upon settlement. The woman, Jamie Frontz, claims Kovalev punched her in the face and that she suffered a displaced disk in her back. The assault case is still pending.
Bernard Hopkins, Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley have been elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
The cream rose to the top of perhaps the deepest list of prospective hall of famers.
Bernard Hopkins, Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley were elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame. They will be inducted on June 14 in Canastota, N.Y.
Also, Christy Martin and Lucia Rijker will be the first women boxers inducted into the Hall of Fame.
In the non-participant category, promoters Lou DiBella, Kathy Duva and Dan Goossen were elected. And among observers, boxing writers Bernard Fernandez and Thomas Hauser will be inducted.
Hopkins (55-8-2, 32 knockouts) probably was the cream of the cream. B-Hop went from prison for armed robbery as a young man to one of the greatest middleweights of all time. Hopkins won seven world titles in two divisions but he was at his best as a 160-pounder.
He set records for longest middleweight reign – more than 10 years – and most successful defenses – 20.
Later, the physical freak became the oldest fighter ever to win a title when, at 46 years old, he outpointed Jean Pascal to win the WBC light heavyweight belt in 2011. He broke his own mark twice, the last time unifying two titles by outpointing Beibut Shumenov in 2014.
“I’m glad I’m entering the house of greatness past and present,” Hopkins said. “Thanks to boxing, I became a greater inspiration to the world.”
Juan Manuel Marquez is pictured moments after his greatest punch, the one that stopped rival Manny Pacquiao. AP Photo / Eric Jamison, File
Marquez (56-7-1, 40 KOs) fought in the shadow of countrymen Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales for a number of years but outlasted both of them in the end and arguably accomplished more.
The master counter puncher won major titles in four divisions over a decade of remarkable consistency but his four-fight series with Manny Pacquiao stands out. Pacquiao emerged with a 2-1-1 edge in those fights but some believe Marquez should’ve been awarded victory in all four of them.
And, in one of the most dramatic moments of the era, Marquez stopped Pacquiao with a single right hand in 2012.
“This is great. I feel very happy and excited to receive this news,” Marquez said. “I am looking forward to being in Canastota for my induction. I am so happy.”
Mosley (49-10-1, 41 KOs) was an outstanding amateur and dominating lightweight before he took center stage in the sport. He was 32-0 – with 30 knockouts – at 135 pounds, at which he held a title for a year and eight months.
However, he made his biggest impact at higher weights. He jumped from 135 to 147 with the idea of challenging for superstar Oscar De La Hoya’s title and accomplished that goal in 2000, winning by a split decision.
Mosley went on to win a junior middleweight title and reign as the top fighter pound-for-pound for a time but also had mixed results after that. And his reputation was tarnished when he admitted to using PEDs for his rematch with De La Hoya. Still, he’s remembered as one of the best of his era.
Shane Mosley’s most memorable fights were against rival Oscar De La Hoya (right). AP Photo / Mark J. Terrill
“I’m so happy and honored,” Mosley said. “I’ve worked my whole life for this. Even when I started as a kid at 8 years old I knew this is what I wanted to do and what I wanted to be. I have accomplished my goals to be one of the greats and go into the Hall of Fame, so this is a great honor.”
Martin (49-7-3, 31 KOs) rose to fame on the undercards of Mike Tyson’s fights in the mid-1990s. “The Coal Miner’s Daughter,” a pioneer among women, won titles and fans, and had the distinction of appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
“I just wanted to be a fighter and fit into the world of boxing and this is a dream come true,” Martin said. “I’m always excited to come back to Canastota, but to come back this year will be very special.”
Rijker (17-0, 14 KOs) is considered by many to be the greatest woman fighter ever. The former kickboxer probably gained her greatest fame when she appeared in the Oscar-winning film “Million Dollar Baby.”
“This is very moving. It makes me feel emotional,” Rijker said. “As I entered normal life after boxing there is a memory of boxing that is in my heart and soul. There is really a strong connection I have to that era and I am really honored to be reminded of that time because sometimes there is a time in your life where everything comes together – mind, body and spirit – and definitely my boxing career aligned all three of them to be the best I could be on all levels. I’m very grateful for that and grateful to be recognized.”
