Last Saturday, newly-crowned WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev made a statement with his title-winning victory over the previously undefeated Nathan Cleverly. Many considered it to be an impressive performance by the hard-hitting Kovalev, who dropped the former champion two times en route to a 4th-round stoppage. One person who is not impressed with Kovalev, however, is IBF light heavyweight champion and future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins.
"When Murat couldn't get visa. By the IBF rules the next guy was @sergeykovalev I was ready to fight him. He went the other way," Hopkins wrote earlier today on his official Twitter page, reminding his followers that he was more than ready to defend his title against the mandatory challenger, but it was Kovalev who decided to go in a different direction. As far as Hopkins is concerned, Kovalev is no different than several other big punchers who were predicted to defeat him. "Tito, Kelly Pavlik, Traver n Cloud all are the same flat footed punchers who come forward. Kovalev is no different," he explained, comparing Kovalev to Felix "Tito" Trinidad, Kelly Pavlik, Antonio Tarver, and Tavoris Cloud, all fighters that Hopkins defeated with relative ease, despite the fact that they were considered the favorites to win.
Hopkins is currently scheduled to defend his title against mandatory challenger Karo Murat on October 26 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ and televised live on Showtime Championship Boxing.
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