SONAHR: MONTREAL, Quebec – January 31, 2016 – On Saturday night, WBO/IBF/SBA (?Super?) light-heavyweight champion and certified bad-ass Sergey Kovalev beat the crap out of a Haitian-born, Quebec-based challenger at the Bell Centre in Montreal, which has become Kovalev?s second home. It was yet another dominant win for the undefeated Russian. Trouble was, the Haitian-born, Quebec-based fighter in the opposite corner was not the one Kovalev really craves to meet.
The Haitian-Canadian boxer with whom Kovalev wants to get into the ring more than any other light-heavyweight is WBC champion Adonis Stevenson. Kovalev has been calling Stevenson out for years, spewing crude trash- talk like a broken toilet pipe. But Stevenson has proven to be as elusive as Floyd Mayweather Jr. ? probably because he knows ?Krusher? Kovalev would be too much for him, despite Stevenson?s own proven prowess as a puncher.
Instead, Kovalev?s Saturday night fight was a rematch with Jean Pascal, a one-time light-heavy world title-holder and Montreal fan favorite. Last year, Kovalev stopped Pascal in eight rounds. But the scrappy Pascal put up more of a fight than most of Kovalev?s other opponents have managed. The question was, could he do even better this time?
The answer to that question: No way. The wear-and-tear inflicted by the wars Pascal fought over the course of his career caught up with him on Saturday. After scoring a knockdown that was ruled a slip in the first round, Kovalev proceeded to dismantle Pascal slowly and methodically until Pascal?s trainer, Freddie Roach, pulled his battered charge out of the fight after the end of the seventh round. There was simply no need for Pascal to absorb further punishment. His spirit was more than willing, but his flesh was unequal to the task of defeating an opponent who outmatched him in every way.
Kovalev immediately resumed his campaign to secure a unification bout with Stevenson, referring to his rival as ?Chickenson,? among other things. But name-calling isn?t going to make that potential superfight happen. Only a promoter with deep enough pockets to lure Stevenson into taking the risk of a hellacious beating will stand a chance of turning this dream fight into reality.
In the absence of Kovalev-Stevenson, another big-fight possibility is a showdown with Andre Ward, who has moved up from super-middleweight, where he reigned supreme before injuries and a contract dispute relegated him to the sidelines. The supremely talented and undefeated Ward, who fought at light-heavyweight as an Olympic gold-medal winning amateur, would provide a true test for Kovalev.
Another possibility would be a move up to cruiserweight. The division is packed with fellow eastern Europeans such as Grigory Drozd, Denis Lebedev, Oleksandr Usyk and newly-crowned WBO champion Krzysztof Glowacki. Could Kovalev?s vaunted punching power hurt a top-level 200-pounder? It would sure be fun to find out.
In the meantime, Kovalev remains secure in his position as the scariest light-heavyweight champion since the great Bob Foster, who passed away last month. Wins over Stevenson and Ward would burnish Kovalev?s own credentials for greatness beyond all doubt.
Now, if he would just consider toning down that mouth of his ?
