As Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev (24-0-1, 22 KOs) prepares to defend his WBO Light Heavyweight World Title against Blake "Il Capo" Caparello on August 2nd on HBO Boxing After Dark from Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ, the media is buzzing about the possibility of a unification fight between Krusher and IBF/WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Bernard "The Alien" Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs).
In a recent interview with BoxingScene.com, Hopkins called out Kovalev saying, "I got two titles and a legacy. What's Kovalev got? A punch and a WBO title - let's do it." He added, "The perception is, is that Kovalev is a killer and [Adonis] Stevenson doesn't want to fight him, he wants to fight an old man. If that's the case, I'll knock off Kovalev first, because I believe that I can beat him. I believe that he's a tough fight, but I believe that I can beat him. It's a fight where if I make a mistake I can get knocked out. And yeah Bernard Hopkins can get knocked out too, and so can Kovalev and so can Stevenson, who's been knocked out once in his career."
Hopkins, of course, is referring to the planned title unification fight on HBO between WBO Champion Kovalev and WBC Champion Adonis Stevenson, which was scuttled when Stevenson and his Promoter chose to take a path avoiding Kovalev. That decision is now the subject of ongoing litigation.
Main Events CEO Kathy Duva added, "After reading Bernard's comments to BoxingScene.com, I immediately reached out to all of the parties potentially involved on the Hopkins side to try to make the fight happen. But what I heard from all of them is 'I don't know,' including when I asked who would represent Bernard in negotiations. If Bernard Hopkins truly wants to fight Sergey Kovalev, I know we can make a deal. Like Sergey, we will focus on our preparations for his title fight against Blake Caparello on August 2nd, while Hopkins sorts out his promotional situation."