So Kovalev will fight another bum

[IronFrost]

I thought that LHW division will be one of the best this year..... Well i've saw almost notting.

Inactive Beterbiev who fought some random bum for Championship belt.


Kovalev who promised "this and that" against Ward in the rematch and it was him who was getting HURT.

Now he fights another bum.


Why they wont make some big fights?

[Tanzio]

Team Krushedner wanted Barrera who chose to challenge for Bivol’s belt. Sets up what looks like a mini tourney.

It is beginning to look like Team Krushedner is avoiding the heavy hitters of the division to me. Mikhaldin (who I do not consider a bum) will be Krushedner’s fifth consecutive fight against lighter hitting opposition, and he got stopped in the third of those fights.

If Team Krushedner avoids Bivol, if he defeats Barrera, and fights another light hitter, the apparent trend becomes a clear strategy.

[Enlightened-One]

I wouldn’t say that Vyacheslav Shabransky and Igor Mikhalkin are both “bums” per se, but neither was considered qualified world title challengers by the WBO at the time Sergey’s fights were announced by Main Events. Also, both guys weren’t considered top-ten world-rated 175lb-ers by the vast majority of the media outlets.

Simply put: Vyacheslav Shabransky and Igor Mikhalkin haven’t earned the right to challenge for the WBO belt, but Main Events have somehow managed to orchestrate a situation whereby Sergey Kovalev is able to face easy unranked opposition, whilst still being able to boast about these fights being genuine “world title” bouts.

In fact, almost nobody from this forum had articulated any praise for Vyacheslav Shabransky and Igor Mikhalkin prior to their bouts against Sergey Kovalev being announced, which kind of suggests that nobody rates them, but somehow Krusher’s fans now consider them to be quality opposition. Go figure!

[caldo2025]

I thought that LHW division will be one of the best this year..... Well i've saw almost notting.

Inactive Beterbiev who fought some random bum for Championship belt.


Kovalev who promised "this and that" against Ward in the rematch and it was him who was getting HURT.

Now he fights another bum.


Why they wont make some big fights?

This criticism is not warranted. Kovalev is the only light heavyweight that has fought anyone. He's had 2 fights with Ward for goodness sake. I think that affords him a couple light workdays.

You rip Kovalev but what about Adonis? He just received yet another approval to not fight his mandatory Alvarez. If you want to criticize someone at LH then I'm surprised that you didn't hit the buzzer on this clown. Kovalev has given his due and then some for our entertainment.

[tennessee]

I still can't fathom how easily he beat shabransky. Alot of power with so little effort.

[boxing_rocks]

Hmm. I am wondering why OP didn't mention the main bum fighter, Stevenson.

#DUMMYGRAPHIC

[IronFrost]

Hmm. I am wondering why OP didn't mention the main bum fighter, Stevenson.

#DUMMYGRAPHIC

Stevenson is already washed up old bum. He is not irelevant and he should retire before someone knocks his ass out.

[IronFrost]

I thought that LHW division will be one of the best this year..... Well i've saw almost notting.

Inactive Beterbiev who fought some random bum for Championship belt.


Kovalev who promised "this and that" against Ward in the rematch and it was him who was getting HURT.

Now he fights another bum.


Why they wont make some big fights?

This criticism is not warranted. Kovalev is the only light heavyweight that has fought anyone. He's had 2 fights with Ward for goodness sake. I think that affords him a couple light workdays.

You rip Kovalev but what about Adonis? He just received yet another approval to not fight his mandatory Alvarez. If you want to criticize someone at LH then I'm surprised that you didn't hit the buzzer on this clown. Kovalev has given his due and then some for our entertainment.

I liked Stevenson some years ago. I do not fallow his career anymore and i do not give a fuk about him. He is 40 years old and he has notting to do anymore

[Enlightened-One]

This criticism is not warranted...

You rip Kovalev but what about Adonis?

Sergey Kovalev rejected a guaranteed opportunity to fight Adonis Stevenson.

[Enlightened-One]

I still can't fathom how easily he beat shabransky. Alot of power with so little effort.

It's not complicated. Vyacheslav Shabransky wasn't a world-class fighter.

[Enlightened-One]

Here's a pretty harsh article that criticises this farce of a so-called “world title” fight… and I can provide more articles of a similar nature if need be:

"Failing HBO Boxing Arranges For Another Kovalev Soft Touch"

One would like to think that the Harvard scholar in charge of HBO Boxing would’ve learned a lesson from the poor TV ratings and wistful laments of fight fans this past year. But, apparently, nope.

Executive vice president of HBO Sports, Peter Nelson, even after what should’ve been a humbling 2017, still assumes that he’s the smartest man in the room when it comes to the fight game and seems intent upon wedging his Bizarro World wisdom into the programming schedule for yet another year.

According to reports, Sergey Kovalev will be back in the ring on March 3, but not against one of the many young, hungry bangers at 175 or even one of the entertaining, but limited second-tier light heavies. Instead, the HBO braintrust has seen fit to toss the surly Russian another tune-up fight against another light-hitting Eastern European in Igor Mikhalkin.

Who is Igor Mikhalkin?

Long story—Mikhalkin is a light-hitting 32-year-old Russian who fights mostly out of Germany. He’s also the current IBO light heavyweight champ—something which, when added to a buck in loose change, can get him something from the dollar menu at McDonald’s. He has a good-looking record at 21-1 (with 9 KOs), but has only scored two knockout victories since 2009 (and both of those KOs were less about concussive force than about his opponent being gassed into acquiescence). He’s a solid enough southpaw with decent skills that show he’s been in the gym, but don’t scream of anything greater than him being in the gym and learning some stuff.

Short Story—Mikhalkin is another Vyacheslav Shabranskyy. Decent and politely skilled, but placed before Kovalev to lose…and lose spectacularly.

Rebuilding a tamed beast via sacrificial lambs is nothing new in boxing. The hardcore boxing fan gets the idea that Kovalev’s people want Kovaelv to put some blood-trailed distance between where he is now and the emasculating frustration of fighting (and losing to) Andre Ward twice in a row. After all, how the hell can you a sell a monster clutching at his nutsack and crying to the world about how he’s been victimized?

But back in the good ol’ days, it would be Kovalev’s manager and promoter looking for soft touches for a comeback and then meeting resistance from the network that actually has to try and sell the fights to the public. And at some point in this behind-the-scenes battling, a happy compromise would be made. Maybe Team Kovalev wouldn’t get the creampuff they wanted and the fight-buying public wouldn’t get the 5-star match-up they hoped for, but a good, solid fight would be put together to satisfy everyone.

That doesn’t happen anymore, especially not on HBO under Nelson, who seems reasonably adept at pushing super flyweights into good fights, but utterly submissive when it comes to getting the network headliners to fight anyone in anything resembling a competitive match-up. And, at the risk of offending boxing purists, battling 115-pounders won’t bring back half the boxing audience HBO has already lost under Nelson.

Without knowing what, exactly, is going on behind the scenes, it’s kind of hard to assign specific blame for the all-around shit HBO Boxing has become. Maybe the network suits are making it hard for Nelson to apply his, as HBO president of programming Michael Lombardo said when announcing the Nelson hiring in December of 2015, “comprehensive understanding of boxing.”

As bossman, however, the buck stops with Nelson and the reality is that, under his watch, the one-time home for premium-level boxing has become a place for budget battles and showcase bouts for stars who can’t sell their soft touches as viable opposition anywhere else. Anything worth watching on HBO Boxing these days goes straight to PPV, and, even then, fewer and fewer fans are bothering to watch.

And 2018 is looking to follow up on the pattern established in Nelson’s previous two years. The January 27 Lucas Matthysse vs. Tewa Kiram and Jorge Linares vs. Mercito Gesta double bill is solid, as is the card headlined by Srisaket Sor Rungvisai vs. Juan Francisco Estrada on February 24. Neither, however, is going to do more than attract the minimum TV rating any bit of boxing attracts on any given Saturday night HBO Boxing date. And on March 3, when a genuine possible attraction in Kovalev IS on the schedule, he’s paired off in an absolutely unappealing squash.

Boxing isn’t about TV ratings, of course, but TV ratings and, in HBO’s case, subscriptions, keep money flowing through the sport which, in turn, allows for bigger and better fights to be made without taking everything to PPV. Nelson inherited a network which had already burned bridges with adviser Al Haymon and his entire mega-stable of fighters and he followed up on that right cross by making an enemy out of longtime HBO ally Bob Arum. The list of bankable talent NOT affiliated with either Haymon or Arum is small and growing smaller all the time. Miguel Cotto has just retired and one wonders how long it’s going to take for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to realize the he doesn’t really need Golden Boy or HBO to sell his fights. Putting their top available talent in off-putting match-ups is the boxing equivalent of suicide-by-cop and Nelson seems either too dense to understand that or too arrogant to admit that he’s been wrong.

But maybe HBO Boxing has to crash and burn for it to be reborn. Or maybe it has to disappear altogether and let some other network take over with more energy and greater dedication. Given the quality of its current product, not too many people will mourn the absence of HBO Boxing should it go away.

Nobody but nobody considers romps like Kovalev vs. Shabranskyy or Mikhalkin to be premium content and, correspondingly, fewer and fewer are watching.

[Thomastearns]

Hmm. I am wondering why OP didn't mention the main bum fighter, Stevenson.

#DUMMYGRAPHIC

Before we go any further in criticising Kovalev's choice of opponents we should be asking, like many others, who is this Stevenson character so often mentioned but never seen?

I think it's reasonable to expect champions to fight at least 3 times a year. Boxing suffers far too much of this holding belts to ransom business.

Perhaps we need more of this : World Boxing Super Series Schedule

USYK VS BRIEDIS
Cruiserweight Semi Finals
January 27th 2018 Riga Arena, Riga, Latvia

GASSIEV VS DORTICOS
Cruiserweight Semi Finals February 3rd 2018
Bolshoy Ice Dome, Sochi, Russia

GROVES VS EUBANK
Super Middleweight Semi Finals February 17th 2018 Manchester Arena, Manchester, UK

SMITH VS BRÄHMER
Super Middleweight Semi Finals tba

[jamamb]

tbf non bum and decent hitter barrera has turned down fighting kov multiple times and has admitted offers were made for multiple hundred k.

[jamamb]

Team Krushedner wanted Barrera who chose to challenge for Bivol’s belt. Sets up what looks like a mini tourney.

It is beginning to look like Team Krushedner is avoiding the heavy hitters of the division to me. Mikhaldin (who I do not consider a bum) will be Krushedner’s fifth consecutive fight against lighter hitting opposition, and he got stopped in the third of those fights.

If Team Krushedner avoids Bivol, if he defeats Barrera, and fights another light hitter, the apparent trend becomes a clear strategy.

if that were true though why the offers to barrera, who clearly has some power. barrera admits turning down down several hundred thousand from kovs side

[Tanzio]

Team Krushedner wanted Barrera who chose to challenge for Bivol’s belt. Sets up what looks like a mini tourney.

It is beginning to look like Team Krushedner is avoiding the heavy hitters of the division to me. Mikhaldin (who I do not consider a bum) will be Krushedner’s fifth consecutive fight against lighter hitting opposition, and he got stopped in the third of those fights.

If Team Krushedner avoids Bivol, if he defeats Barrera, and fights another light hitter, the apparent trend becomes a clear strategy.

if that were true though why the offers to barrera, who clearly has some power. barrera admits turning down down several hundred thousand from kovs side

I think Barrera has limited power that is more accumulative.

[jamamb]

see i think hes a pretty solid puncher. certainly enough to discourage opponents quickly.

[SenorPipino]

You would keep your man away from real bangers too, if he was still reeling and insecure from the humiliation of being stopped by Andre Ward.

Now Ward is certainly a HOF fighter, but he ain't no puncher.

It's unlikely Kovalev's damaged psyche will ever recover from being pummeled and KO'd by Ward.

So it's best to to feed The Krusher a diet of light punchers so that he doesn't encounter nightmarish flashbacks during a fight with actual dangerous opposition.

[KiwiRider]

Kov's team low balled Barrea so bad, it was like they wanted him to go away. Then they announce this sad beatdown
I'm losing my respect for the Krusdonator, Ward must have popped his goolies. He dosent seem to have any now.

[jamamb]

Kov's team low balled Barrea so bad, it was like they wanted him to go away. Then they announce this sad beatdown
I'm losing my respect for the Krusdonator, Ward must have popped his goolies. He dosent seem to have any now.

what did they offer barrera this time. you must know if ur claiming low ball

i think they offered 300k for the card kov eventually fought shab on and barrera fought valera on.barrera admitted turning it down.

kovs had 1 fight since a series with an atg and ur already on the im now losing respect game?typical shitty boxing fan of the internet age.

[Kalan]

You would keep your man away from real bangers too, if he was still reeling and insecure from the humiliation of being stopped by Andre Ward.

Now Ward is certainly a HOF fighter, but he ain't no puncher.

It's unlikely Kovalev's damaged psyche will ever recover from being pummeled and KO'd by Ward.

So it's best to to feed The Krusher a diet of light punchers so that he doesn't encounter nightmarish flashbacks during a fight with actual dangerous opposition

Kovalev beat Ward twice... Everyone knows Kovalev should have received the decision in their 1st fight and and awarded the 2nd fight on DQ for the many low blows Ward landed even after he was sternly warned by the referee... I think the agreement was for Weeks to officially warn Ward once and ignore all other low blows like he didn't see them.

[IronFrost]

You would keep your man away from real bangers too, if he was still reeling and insecure from the humiliation of being stopped by Andre Ward.

Now Ward is certainly a HOF fighter, but he ain't no puncher.

It's unlikely Kovalev's damaged psyche will ever recover from being pummeled and KO'd by Ward.

So it's best to to feed The Krusher a diet of light punchers so that he doesn't encounter nightmarish flashbacks during a fight with actual dangerous opposition

Kovalev beat Ward twice... Everyone knows Kovalev should have received the decision in their 1st fight and and awarded the 2nd fight on DQ for the many low blows Ward landed even after he was sternly warned by the referee... I think the agreement was for Weeks to officially warn Ward once and ignore all other low blows like he didn't see them.

Kovalev got his ass whooped in second fight. Stop crying and bitching about 3 low bordeline shots. Maidana was even more dirtier against Floyd and you even did not give a fornicate for sure.


Kovalev got rocked badly and did some chicken dance. After that he was running with his hands down without any defence. His mistake ;)

Boxing rule number 1. - ALWAYS PROTECT YOURSELF