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.”
Follow Sean Nam on Twitter @seanpasbon