RETRIBUTION
Kovalev gets his revenge on Alvarez and returns to the light-heavy summit
SERGEY KOVALEV had a reputation for being an intimidating bully, both inside the ring and out. When things started unraveling in his career, he never seemed to take accountability. We would hear one excuse after the other. Outside of the ropes, Kovalev is due in court, facing the possibility of four years in prison due to a felony assault charge from June, in which he is alleged to have punched a woman. Yet despite this baggage, the Fort Lauderdale-based Russian was the sentimental favourite as he tried to regain the WBO light-heavyweight title he had lost to Eleider Alvarez via seventhround KO in August.
The public loves underdog stories, and Kovalev engaging in his 15th consecutive world title bout was one. For the close to 5,000 fans at the Ford Center at the Star (Top Rank and Main Events), this was potentially to be Kovalev’s farewell on the big stage. Yet, at nearly 36, he defied expectations in turning in one of the better performances of his career in schooling Alvarez over 12 rounds to regain his throne. Kovalev finished up with 116-112 scores from judges Levi Martinez and Jesse Reyes, while Lisa Giampa tallied 120-108. Luis Pabon refereed.
So how did Kovalev turn the clock back? Credit must be given to his new team of trainer Buddy Mcgirt and strength and conditioning coach Teddy Cruz. Kovalev’s three prior losses were in large part due to his fading over the course of the contest, but on this night he was focused in adhering to the fight plan and fit enough to carry it out.
For his part, Alvarez was a huge disappointment in suffering his first defeat. The Colombian, who resides in Montreal, had no apparent strategy beyond waiting for Kovalev to tire, which would enable him to land his thunderbolt once again. As we got to the later rounds of the rematch, Alvarez’s corner was in panic mode. Alvarez would occasionally catch Kovalev with a solid blow, but had difficulty getting off for the most part. Kovalev kept a stream of jabs coming all night, and his straight punches down the slot were getting through. Alvarez was being forced to fight off the back foot more than anticipated, but as tempting as it was for Kovalev to exchange punches, he refrained from doing so for
long periods. Instead, he was content to put rounds in the bank. Kovalev was bouncing around throughout – the fountain of youth rediscovered.
There are three other world lightheavyweight titlists out there, but Kovalev has regained his mantle as the centrepiece of the division. Whether that is temporary or not will be determined by a court that carries much more sway than that of public opinion.
With all due respect to Kovalev, the most heartwarming story of the evening belonged to Ghana’s Richard
Commey, who won the vacant IBF lightweight title by halting Russian
Isa Chaniev at 39 seconds of round two. It was second time lucky for the Brooklyn-based African, who had come tantalisingly close in his previous attempt at world honours in September 2016.
There were some brisk exchanges before Commey broke through late in the first, dropping Chaniev with a devastating straight right. There was not enough time in the round to finish the job, but Commey was not to be denied. He immediately pounced to start the second, flooring Chaniev twice, the first time from a left hook, then again with a pair of uppercuts which resulted in referee Laurence Cole stopping the fight. Commey won’t be able to rest on his laurels for long. On April 12 in Los Angeles, he is pencilled in to box poundfor-pound star Vasyl Lomachenko, unless the injury to a knuckle in his hand is more severe than thought. Even before WBO featherweight champion Oscar Valdez
landed a punch, challenger Carmine Tommasone
had planned to be on his knees in the ring. At the conclusion of Tommasone’s seventh-round defeat, he dropped down and proposed to his girlfriend. She said yes. Well, as they say, one out of two ain’t bad, especially when no one gave Tommasone a chance against Valdez. Boxing outside of his native Italy for the first time, Tommasone was pesky and technically sound, but had no power. He was a perfect opponent for Valdez to reboot his career following the broken jaw suffered by the Mexican during his victory over Scott Quigg 11 months ago. Tommasone moved around the ring and Valdez hunted him down. It was that simple. Tommasone went down twice in the fourth, the second time from a body punch. He was game, but dropped again in the sixth, his right eye cut. Then as soon as the seventh started, Valdez landed a right uppercut which crumbled Tommasone in a heap. Referee Mark Nelson stopped it nine seconds into the session without bothering to count. With this tune-up out of the way, Valdez mentioned Josh Warrington and Carl Frampton as the two men he would prefer to face next.
Touted Brooklyn lightweight Teofimo Lopez is only 21, but it would be nice to see his youthful exuberance toned down. He impressed in knocking out Las Vegas’ former two-time world title challenger Diego Magdaleno at 1-08 of the seventh round in a scheduled 10. But it was the aftermath that garnered the most attention, when Lopez celebrated over his fallen southpaw opponent, who was out cold, having also been decked the round before. As distasteful as Lopez’s actions were, the primary culprits are Magdaleno’s corner, referee Gregorio Alvarez and the ringside physicians, who disgracefully let it go on for as long as they did.
THE VERDICT Revenge is sweet for a revitalised Kovalev.