Dmitry Bivol: Sergey Kovalev fight could happen in 2018

Boxingnews24.com

By Allan Fox

Dmitry Bivol (13-0, 11 KOs) believes that he could be facing WBO 175-pound champion Sergey ‘Krusher’ Kovalev in a unification before the end of the year. WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol and Kovalev will be sharing the same card this Saturday night on August 4 on HBO World Championship Boxing at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City.

If the two champions successfully defend their respective titles, they could be facing each other in November or December. The 27-year-old Bivol will be defending his WBA title against Isaac Chilemba (25-5-2, 10 KOs) in the co-feature bout on the card. For his part, Kovalev (32-2-1, 28 KOs) will be making a voluntary defense against Eleider ‘Storm’ Alvarez (23-0, 11 KOs) in the main event on the HBO televised card.

“I think the Kovalev fight will be soon, maybe at the end of this year or in the beginning of next year. I feel my skills are ready for a fight against another champion,” Bivol said to RingTV.com. “I feel that is the plan and I’m glad.”

The 35-year-old Kovalev seems to be on board with facing Bivol. However, it remains to be seen whether Kovalev will in fact that the fight, as he would have a better chance of maintaining his status as the World Boxing Organization light heavyweight champion if he milks his title against weaker opposition, which you can argue he’s already been doing since he won the belt last year in November. Kovalev’s first defense of his WBO came against Igor Mikhalkin, who he stopped in the 7th round last March in an easy win. That fight was a mismatch for Kovalev. The 34-year-old Eleider Alvarez is a step up for Kovalev from Mikhalkin, but it’s still a very winnable fight for him.

Bivol looked very impressive in his last fight in beating Sullivan Barrera by a 12th round knockout on March 3.

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Bivol needs to look impressive in beating Isaac Chilemba this Saturday night on HBO. The only guy that has dominated Chilemba is Oleksandry Gvozdyk, and he was injured in that fight.

A win for Bivol over Kovalev would be a huge boast to his career, but it wouldn’t cement him as the best in the light heavyweight division, as the Krusher’s stock has dropped off the map with his two losses to Andre ‘SOG’ Ward. For Bivol to raise his stock, he’s going to beat not only Kovalev but also Artur Beterbiev, Adonis Stevenson, Badou Jack and Oleksadr Gvozdyk. Some of those fights likely will never get made for Bivol. Gvozdyk is good fighter, but he’s promoted by Top Rank, a company that is careful in who they match their fighters against. Bivol is an HBO fighter, and he would likely need to fight Gvozdyk on ESPN for that fight to take place.

Bivol vs. Kovalev is a good fight, but it’s not a match that would prove who the best fighter is in the light heavyweight. Kovalev is too far gone at this point for Bivol to receive a lot of credit for beating him. If Andre Ward came back to face Bivol, it would give him a chance to take his career to the next level by beating him. Ward hasn’t shown much interest in returning to the ring. Even if Ward did return, he likely wouldn’t be interested in facing a young lion like Bivol. There’s not enough upside in Ward fighting him.

“He’s a tough and persistent guy,” Bivol said about his fight with Chilemba on Saturday. “He has a good chin. I expect him to move a lot, jab a lot and look to counter attack.”