Sergey Kovalev to Exercise Rematch Clause Against Eleider Alvarez

[Ruthless-RKO]

Good idea?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Alvarez will come into this with a lot of confidence. Wait another 6-7 rounds and then go for a KO.

[SenorPipino]

Alvarez will come into this with a lot of confidence. Wait another 6-7 rounds and then go for a KO.

That's what I think will happen.

Alvarez has plenty of confidence. After what has unfolded the past 2 years, Kovalev must have a lot of self-doubt.

Just 2-3 in his past 5 fights. Two losses by KO.

It's win or ease into retirement for Kovalev. Otherwise he becomes a stepping stone.

[Perseus]

No matter how the fight goes kudos to Kovalev for giving it another shot.
Getting right back in there with a man who knocked you out is one of the hardest things to do in this sport.
After getting KO'd a lot of boxers don't want to find themselves in the ring with THAT person again regardless of how the fight was going before getting put down and out.

[Stuarty]

No matter how the fight goes kudos to Kovalev for giving it another shot.
Getting right back in there with a man who knocked you out is one of the hardest things to do in this sport.
After getting KO'd a lot of boxers don't want to find themselves in the ring with THAT person again regardless of how the fight was going before getting put down and out.

[Lackeos]

Guess he won't be fighting Stevenson anytime soon, then. Doesn't matter, anyway. Fight is past its expiration date.

[Enlightened-One]

Kovalev is past his prime. He may win. It's not impossible for him to do so.

However, any fighter that is capable of enduring Sergey's early onslaught will likely defeat the Russian, since Kovalev is a veteran that lives an unhealthy lifestyle that results in him running out of gas after the halfway point of fights.

Therefore, I'm favouring a victory for Alvarez.

[Enlightened-One]

Guess he won't be fighting Stevenson anytime soon, then. Doesn't matter, anyway. Fight is past its expiration date.

It's a HBO versus Showtime issue. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the fighters.

[victor-romeo]

Kovalev is a bad a$$, most likely get ko'd again, hope he doesn't get hurt, but a bad a$$ for accepting challenge.

The question I suppose though will Alvarez get in the ring with him?

[G.McClellan]

Kovalev rocked Alvarez in the 4th and was walking him down throughout the fight. Kovalev tired himself out with the frenetic pace he set. He usually paces himself. If he does that in the rematch, he should win by KO.

Low blows and leaning over the ropes with Kovalev where he might have injured himself informs me, Alvarez's needed to use the dark arts to zap some of Kovalev's spirit. If a fighter has to resort to such practices it usually means he's unsure of his own ability or afraid of his opponent's.


IMHO this is the first loss of his career.

[DrDuke]

It's not easy to say, how it will turn out now. Kovalev was able to establish his game after the first bad rounds, until he got KOed. But still Alvarez was landing the biggest shots through the fight. Alvarez is a helluva counterpuncher. Kovalev needs to work on his game. He can't just pressure Alvarez. He needs to provoke Alvarez for attacks, he needs to repeat his own attacks selectively, to alternate offensive and defensive moves. He needs to be more elusive.

[KiwiRider]

It's not easy to say, how it will turn out now. Kovalev was able to establish his game after the first bad rounds, until he got KOed. But still Alvarez was landing the biggest shots through the fight. Alvarez is a helluva counterpuncher. Kovalev needs to work on his game. He can't just pressure Alvarez. He needs to provoke Alvarez for attacks, he needs to repeat his own attacks selectively, to alternate offensive and defensive moves. He needs to be more elusive.

He needs to be fitter too. Stamina let him down somewhat.

[Blodhemn]

No matter how the fight goes kudos to Kovalev for giving it another shot.
Getting right back in there with a man who knocked you out is one of the hardest things to do in this sport.
After getting KO'd a lot of boxers don't want to find themselves in the ring with THAT person again regardless of how the fight was going before getting put down and out.

Yep. Best thing he could do here. Good that he didn't allow himself to get talked into taking easy fights for now and do the rematch later, but let's face it, this has been Kovalev's mindset from the start. If he doesn't do the rematch, he most likely would've retired.

[Thomastearns]

No matter how the fight goes kudos to Kovalev for giving it another shot.
Getting right back in there with a man who knocked you out is one of the hardest things to do in this sport.
After getting KO'd a lot of boxers don't want to find themselves in the ring with THAT person again regardless of how the fight was going before getting put down and out.

Yep. Best thing he could do here. Good that he didn't allow himself to get talked into taking easy fights for now and do the rematch later, but let's face it, this has been Kovalev's mindset from the start. If he doesn't do the rematch, he most likely would've retired.

Yes, this is the right response from Kovalev. He now knows how good Alvarez is, so this decision shows he doesn't lack confidence.

If Kovalev can get his mojo back then Alvarez will really be up against it. A more focused Krusher will be a more dangerous Krusher.

Alvarez will be up against it, but if he wants to

[gilgamesh]

The right thing to do for Kovalev definitely. The only way he can regain his standing in the division somewhat is by getting this win back. Alvarez will be even more confident this time definitely so Kovalev is damn sure gonna have to work on his defensive flaws that allowed him to get caught.

[NateJR]

Kovalev is broken a imidiate rematch will be a disaster. Kovalev is a front runner, your typical 6 round fighter. He will come out gun shy, tentative and very tense in the rematch. Alvarez beats him easier in the rematch. Alvarez KO.

[gilgamesh]

Kovalev is broken a imidiate rematch will be a disaster. Kovalev is a front runner, your typical 6 round fighter. He will come out gun shy, tentative and very tense in the rematch. Alvarez beats him easier in the rematch. Alvarez KO.

He may well lose, but in my opinion not pursuing a rematch would be equally as damaging to his rep as losing the rematch. If you just accept a defeat against a guy you were supposed to have beaten, and start fighting soft touches to try to get your confidence back that ain't exactly doing your career no favors either especially when you're in your mid 30's and the clock is rapidly ticking away on your career.

This way he at least gives himself A CHANCE to regain his standing, and get himself back in the mix for meaningful fights in the division.

If he can't win, oh well, but at least he took his best shot.

[Mexi-Box]

It's a pick em' now. Kovalev did extremely well and the fight was looking like Kovalev was going to dominate Alvarez into a stoppage. We'll see how it goes in the rematch. Kovalev needs to do something about that stamina. Saw on Twitter that Kovalev was drinking throughout training camp. Who knows if that's true or not, but Kovalev needs to get serious.

[Thomastearns]

If Kovalev has been drinking too much, then he needs to get it sorted asap. Probably causing more than stamina issues.

Sure it relaxes, but it's not the kind of fuel a top athlete needs. Perhaps his trainers can ration it as an end of week treat, unless of course it's gone past that stage. In which case they can't allow him back in the ring till he gets clean.

[Evander]

I finally caught up with the 1st fight over a week ago and it was a very entertaining bout.
The rematch is a crossroads fight for Kovalev now whether he likes it or not.
To begin with after watching the 1st bout there was no doubt Alvarez stopped Kovalev clean, I was surprised especially after Kovalev had given him such a hard time in one of the previous rounds.
Coming in I had seen Alvarez and knew he had decent boxing ability, nevertheless I still thought Kovalev would eventually catch up to him with his dominant power.
Alvarez's chin, will to win, boxing ability and drive collectively was beyond my expectations so I would imagine he's going to be hard to beat again.
Kovalev will have to be have to be at the top of his game and be prepared to go through a wall.
Some say he's the bully who likes to hit but can't take it back now, well Kovalev has something to prove and there's a lot on the line in this rematch.

[Cent0089]

Alvarez is beast, i am surprised Kovalev take that rematch, but that is somebody what world elite should do. IMO if he can find that Kovalev who destroyed Cleverly and Pascal, he can defeat and even stop Alvarez. If that version of Kovalev will not be in the ring, it will be end for Sergey, because Alvarez, despite being 35 is at absolute peak IMO

[Ricky]

I've not seen the first bout yet but there was some quotes from Kovalev in the build up that had me thinking his head wasn't right.

[klitoris]

Sergey will drink vodka during training camp and come into the fight with no stamina, getting stopped again. Maybe even out-boxed this time too.

[SFW]

Alvarez handled everything Kovalev could throw at him, and knocked him out badly. And that was even before Kovalev's bad stamina gave way. It will happen again. I don't understand the mentality of excusing absolutely everything Kov does or doesn't do. He's a damn good fighter but he was flawed from the jump. Same flaws he arrogantly never corrected. He seems to have become a cult icon, maybe his racist sexist shameful behavior is a common interest I dunno. But I'm glad he's gotten brutally stopped twice, can't twist that fact. By two non-punchers no less! Beautiful. The look on queen duva's face when Kov was ass up kneeling had to be art worthy. Up there with Hearn sharting a pebble seeing AJ on the deck. Hopefully we get another brutal finish and for once no excuses. It was a fun journey to watch, years ago, but it's gatekeeper time for Kovalev. Chin is only gonna get softer, training is only gonna get harder (something he didn't excel at to begin with), body and reflexes only getting slower, competition only getting tougher. The end is near.

[caldo2025]

Good move by Kovalev I think. This is only way he can pull a nice last payday out of his career. I think that there will be some solid interest in seeing these two again. Certainly more money than they made in the first one I bet.

But I also think that we are seeing why Kovalev never made it past that corner to be great. He was always the smartest guy in the room in his mind. It’s too bad but still a wonderful career no matter how it ends.