Kovalev isn?t taking his opponent lightly. ?He is hungry,? said Krusher about Caparello, ?and has nothing to lose??
On Saturday, August 2, at Revel Casino Hotel?s Ovation Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey ?Krusher? Kovalev (24-0-1, 22 KOs), from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, by way of Chelyabinsk, Russia, makes the third defense of his title against unbeaten Blake ?Il Capo? Caparello, (19-0-1, 6 KOs), fighting out of Melbourne, Australia.
Like his fellow Beast from the East, Gennady Golovkin, Kovalev takes no prisoners. His heavy hands and killer instinct have dispatched almost everyone he has fought and there?s no reason to think this fight will be any different.
But the 31-year-old Kovalev isn?t taking his opponent lightly. ?He is hungry,? said Kovalev of Caparello, ?and has nothing to lose.?
The 27-year-old Caparello agrees. ?I am hungry,? he told the Atlantic City Weekly. ??He (Kovalev) has a lot to worry about in this fight. I?m coming to win, not just coming to survive. I want to win this fight and become the new champion.?
There are other light heavyweights better suited to Kovalev than an ambitious, light hitting Aussie. Adonis Stevenson, in pursuit of greener pastures, or perhaps protected pastures, flew the coop for the warm embrace of Golden Boy Promotions. But ageless wonder Bernard Hopkins says he?d like nothing better than to teach Krusher a thing or two about ring generalship.
?I would easily beat Kovalev,? he told RingTV. ?That would be the easiest fight. That fight, for me, would be just as easy as beating Kelly Pavlik. That fight would be real easy. Less than easy. If not, easier, and don?t forget the ?er? on the end of that word, than the Kelly Pavlik fight. I?m telling you.?
It?s easy to dismiss Hopkins, but not as easy as it used to be. He continues to prove himself where it counts?in the ring?and until someone punches him into retirement, only a fool would not take Hopkins? pronouncements, however grandiose, seriously.
Until that fight is made we need content ourselves with watching Kovalev in another stay-busy fight. We wish Caparello luck, however.
Something tells me he?s going to need it.
