Sergey Kovalev vs Sullivan Barrera

[diddy]

Sounds like this one may happen toward the end of the year. I like Barrera but I definitely am not picking him against Kovalev until I see someone not named Andre Ward put the screws to this guy.

Kovalev wins a clear but competitive decision.

[hulkmaniac]

Wouldn't surprise me if Barrera finishes Kovalev. Kovalev looked mentally broken after the Ward fight, his aura of invincibility is gone...

[caldo2025]

If Kathy Duva sets this fight up for Kovalev then she's an absolute idiot. No way I would put Kovalev anywhere near this guy Barrera right now after what just happened to Serge. Kovalev needs a nice tuneup, maybe two, to get his confidence back up. What i wouldn't do is put him in there with a technically skilled boxer like Barrera. Not right now. Kovalev would beat Barrera on most nights but I wouldn't even chance it. Not for a title? no big payday? all risk no pay? screw that.

[victor-romeo]

If Kathy Duva sets this fight up for Kovalev then she's an absolute idiot. No way I would put Kovalev anywhere near this guy Barrera right now after what just happened to Serge. Kovalev needs a nice tuneup, maybe two, to get his confidence back up. What i wouldn't do is put him in there with a technically skilled boxer like Barrera. Not right now. Kovalev would beat Barrera on most nights but I wouldn't even chance it. Not for a title? no big payday? all risk no pay? screw that.

Correct..

[victor-romeo]

I think Kovalev needs and easy fight like A Karpency, Fonfora, Yunieski Gonzalez type fight, to get confidence back , and complete his HBO contract, re-tool and maybe get a European Promoter. Promoters from these countries would be best for him Russian , German,English in that order.

I think Barrera better than Stevenson right now.

Kovalev getting old at 34 probably has 3 good fights in him unless he retooled and changed weight divisions or got a coach that find some unmined abilities in him ala Freddie roach developing Pacquiaos right hand.

[caldo2025]

I think Kovalev needs and easy fight like A Karpency, Fonfora, Yunieski Gonzalez type fight, to get confidence back , and complete his HBO contract, re-tool and maybe get a European Promoter. Promoters from these countries would be best for him Russian , German,English in that order.

I think Barrera better than Stevenson right now.

Kovalev getting old at 34 probably has 3 good fights in him unless he retooled and changed weight divisions or got a coach that find some unmined abilities in him ala Freddie roach developing Pacquiaos right hand.

Agreed. I might even hold Kovalev out for a year and let him get this one out of his system. He's old in boxing years so i doubt anyone will be able to teach him anything new. From everything that we hear, Kovalev is his own man and doesn't listen to anyone in camp. He thinks that his skills are what's been paying the bills and he has all the answers. But you're right, he does need a change in a trainer especially after Jackson talked so much crap the last two fights behind his back.

[victor-romeo]

I think Kovalev needs and easy fight like A Karpency, Fonfora, Yunieski Gonzalez type fight, to get confidence back , and complete his HBO contract, re-tool and maybe get a European Promoter. Promoters from these countries would be best for him Russian , German,English in that order.

I think Barrera better than Stevenson right now.

Kovalev getting old at 34 probably has 3 good fights in him unless he retooled and changed weight divisions or got a coach that find some unmined abilities in him ala Freddie roach developing Pacquiaos right hand.

Agreed. I might even hold Kovalev out for a year and let him get this one out of his system. He's old in boxing years so i doubt anyone will be able to teach him anything new. From everything that we hear, Kovalev is his own man and doesn't listen to anyone in camp. He thinks that his skills are what's been paying the bills and he has all the answers. But you're right, he does need a change in a trainer especially after Jackson talked so much crap the last two fights behind his back.

How about a new promoter?

[caldo2025]

I think Kovalev needs and easy fight like A Karpency, Fonfora, Yunieski Gonzalez type fight, to get confidence back , and complete his HBO contract, re-tool and maybe get a European Promoter. Promoters from these countries would be best for him Russian , German,English in that order.

I think Barrera better than Stevenson right now.

Kovalev getting old at 34 probably has 3 good fights in him unless he retooled and changed weight divisions or got a coach that find some unmined abilities in him ala Freddie roach developing Pacquiaos right hand.

Agreed. I might even hold Kovalev out for a year and let him get this one out of his system. He's old in boxing years so i doubt anyone will be able to teach him anything new. From everything that we hear, Kovalev is his own man and doesn't listen to anyone in camp. He thinks that his skills are what's been paying the bills and he has all the answers. But you're right, he does need a change in a trainer especially after Jackson talked so much crap the last two fights behind his back.

How about a new promoter?

I actually like how Kathy Duva has handled his career and I also like how she defended Kovalev after the fight. You want a promoter that will have your back like that. Plus, you never know if Kovalev would have been as popular a fighter had he been with Hayman, TR or GB. Two PPV events for a light heavyweight is very rare. Not sure if it's been done before actually so she's done a great job imo.

[Tanzio]

I am all for this fight. It would show exactly where each fighter stands. If Krushedner is done he could lose a tune up fight. Krushedner v Barrera would do reasonably well and if the Russian lost a close battle he could still have a decent payday or two afterward. If he wins big over the Cuban he is immediately back in the mix.

[lookingaround87]

I thought Kovalev was going up to Cruiser?

[PsychoGamerTwo]

Before Ward II: Kovalev easily wins this, Barrera gets knocked out.

After Ward II, robbery & low blows, Kovalev shouldn't fight Barrera, because his confidence isn't enough.

[Badhusker]

Kovalev doesn't need a tune-up at this stage of his career, imo. Barerra is still relatively in experienced in the pros, and would be a good opponent, to me a 60/40 kind of fight in favor of Kovalev. Stevenson would be good too. He's almost 40, so he may finally be ready to fight since Kovalev lost.

[Mexi-Box]

Kovalev doesn't need a tune-up at this stage of his career, imo. Barerra is still relatively in experienced in the pros, and would be a good opponent, to me a 60/40 kind of fight in favor of Kovalev. Stevenson would be good too. He's almost 40, so he may finally be ready to fight since Kovalev lost.

Yeah, I don't think Krusher needs a tuneup either. He's old in boxing years, and he needs to move fast if he wants to get back in the mix. A win over Barrera would mean a lot more than fighting fringe contenders/gatekeepers. It's high-risk, high-reward.

I do think Kovalev might be done, though. He seems to have taken that defeat in the worse way. I also think his relationship with Jackson wasn't at all healthy. You could see it when Jackson got called out for trying to jump ship to the Ward camp. The way Jackson talked about it seemed to me like he was more embarrassed that it happened rather than it being Ward's team who approached him. Kovalev should try and get with Robert Garcia. Garcia did wonders for Maidana when he was an older fighter.

Roach is also doing really well with his countryman, Denis Lebedev. I'm not sure if he's still with Roach, but I do see his right-hand, Marvin Somodio, in his corner.

Kovalev was even thinking about joining up with Hunter who has been a horrible trainer to anyone not named Ward.

[ValMar]

I am all for this fight. It would show exactly where each fighter stands. If Krushedner is done he could lose a tune up fight. Krushedner v Barrera would do reasonably well and if the Russian lost a close battle he could still have a decent payday or two afterward. If he wins big over the Cuban he is immediately back in the mix.

Well done, Tanzio !

[Best Coast]

Normally I would not hesitate to have Kovalev face Barrera and he would be a clear favorite. But the Ward fight may well have taken a lot out of him, both mentally and physically. We just dont KNOW how much it will affect him in the ring. One confidence-builder should be enough to see how much affect the Ward loss had on Sergei. If he handles that then Barrera is a good 2nd step on the road back.

[MachoTime]

I'd imagine Kovalev is still under contract to HBO. That has a lot to do with who will be a acceptable opponent for Kovalev. Pretty sure Barrera will be more than suitable as Kovalev's next opponent.