Fights

The triumphant return of Kovalev! Sergei did not notice the resistance of the invincible boxer

Published

4 years ago

May 15, 2022

Jayden

The triumphant return of Kovalev! Sergei did not notice the resistance of the invincible boxer

Sergey Kovalev / Photo: © Ethan Miller / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

The Russian defeated a difficult opponent with a huge advantage, boxing in a new weight category. And this at 39 years old!

Russian boxer Sergei Kovalev is certainly one of the brightest light heavyweights in history. But the peak of the career of the famous athlete, obviously, was left behind. Many fans have already begun to doubt that the Crusher will return to the ring at all.

But the Russian still resumed his career, and his return turned out to be as bright as possible. Kovalev decided to fight in a new weight category, and even against an opponent with zero defeats in the asset – and ended the fight with a powerful triumph.

Judges with a big stretch gave the opponent only a couple of rounds!

Invincible Bulgarian

Sergey Kovalev returned to the ring after a long downtime. The last time a Russian entered the ring was in 2019. Then his opponent was Saul Alvarez, who sent the Russian boxer into a hard knockout with several powerful blows. After that, there was an unsuccessful attempt to return in January 2021, but due to doping discovered in the Crusher, the fight with Bektemir Melikuziev was canceled.

Coming back after such a long break is really hard. Kovalev did not even begin to drive the mass to the usual light heavyweight category. He decided to compete in the first heavyweight division.

To return to the ring, Sergei picked up an extremely difficult opponent. Bulgarian Tervel Pulev (16-0) has never lost in his professional career. But if you dig deeper, you can understand that the opponent was quite tough for the Russian. Tervel has 16 fights behind him, but there were no top class rivals in his track record yet.

The boxer from Bulgaria switched to professionals relatively recently, in 2016. But you need to understand that Pulev is no longer young. He boxed amateurs for a long time and achieved some success, but now Tervel is already 40. He is even older than Kovalev, and he has not yet had serious titles.

I took mine in class

The Bulgarian started the fight with a serious pressure. He immediately wanted to take his duel against a smaller opponent, but Sergey adequately responded to Pulev’s attacks. In the first two rounds, the opponents looked about the same, but by the third round, the forces began to leave the Bulgarian fighter. The Crusher remained fresh. His left jab began to pass unhindered past Tervel’s gloves and hit right in the head.

The longer the fight lasted, the less strength the Bulgarian athlete had. Sergei, on the other hand, boxed smartly, surpassing his opponent in skill and clearly saving his strength for the ending. The serious advantage of the Russian remained until the fifth round. By this time, Kovalev also began to run out of steam. Boxers were somewhat trimmed, but the initiative still came from our athlete. He confidently controlled the center of the ring, and his jab regularly hit the target. From one of these blows, Tervel almost lost his mouthguard.

In the last rounds of this fight, Pulev began to openly aim, hoping to get a lucky punch from a swoop. He practically stopped delivering regular blows from the stand, but Sergey saw everything – and competently parried them. Dirt was added to the actions of the Bulgarian. At the end of the seventh round, he apparently began to forget that he was in the boxing ring, and not in the MMA octagon, and hit our boxer with his elbow in the head. It took Kovalev a few seconds to recover, after which the fight continued.

Before the tenth round, both corners understood how the fight would end if the Bulgarian did not knock out Sergei. Pulev was pumped up as best they could for the decisive stretch so that he would not give up.

“He’s small, go and smash him,” Tervel’s coach shouted during the break between rounds.

But it did not help. Although Sergei was very tired, he perfectly saw the blows of the opponent, whose strength was also running out. As a result, the fight ended with the final gong.

Win by a huge margin

After a short pause for summing up, entertainer Michael Buffer announced the results. A confident victory by unanimous decision was won by Russian boxer Sergei Kovalev. All three referees gave the win to the Crusher with a big advantage: 98:92; 97:93; 98:92.

The score in the referee cards is also supported by statistics. During this ten-round fight, the Russian significantly outperformed his opponent both in the total number of strikes (500:309) and in accurate hits (103:63). Even the powerful blows that the Bulgarian hoped for in the end, Kovalev delivered more (150:118).

The result of the duel was also easily traced by the faces of the opponents. Kovalev did not have any hematomas or cuts. It seems that Tervel never really hit our boxer on the head. Pulev’s face was noticeably swollen.

After the announcement of the winner, a joyful Kovalev approached the commentators and spoke about his ambitious plans for the future.

– A long break in my career made my return a little difficult, but I returned. Now I have to keep getting in shape. Ahead of a week’s rest, and then I will continue training. I’m looking forward to the next fight. Of course, I was worried about the outcome of this fight, because I missed a lot of time. My body suffered from such a long downtime and added 10 pounds. I want to fight like this every three or four months. I think the next fight will not be much higher level. Give me one more fight and I’ll be ready,” the boxer said.

Source: Sportbox

Jayden

Hi, my name is Jayden James. I am a writer at Sportish, and I mostly cover sports news. I have been writing since high school and have been published in various magazines and newspapers. I also write book reviews for a website. In my free time, I enjoy playing soccer and basketball.

Fights

CHISORA: “What kind of courage are we talking about? This boxer did not go to fight for his country.”

Published

1 hour ago

December 25, 2025

Madelyn

CHISORA: “What kind of courage are we talking about? This boxer did not go to fight for his country.”

British heavyweight boxer Derek Chisora He spoke harshly about Jake Paul’s courage following his fight with Anthony Joshua. In a debate with heavyweight Vidall Riley, Chisora challenged Paul’s argument that he showed courage by entering the ring.

“What Paul did was not brave. He did not go to fight for his country. When he went to defend his state at the front, that is courage.”

What kind of courage is Paul talking about? He ran away in the first round and when he didn’t have enough strength to run, Joshua broke his jaw,” Chisora said.

A big boxing show took place in Miami, USA, on the night of December 19-20, 2025. In the main fight, American entertainer Jake Paul and former world champion Anthony Joshua entered the ring. The fight ended in the sixth round – AJ brutally knocked out his opponent.

Source: Sport UA

Madelyn

I am a sports writer and journalist who has written for various online publications including Sportish. I’m originally from the UK but currently live in Toronto, Canada. I’m also an author on Sportish and have written several articles on a variety of sports-related topics.

Fights

Wardley topped the list of the world’s best heavyweights. Where is Usik?

Published

4 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Madelyn

Wardley topped the list of the world’s best heavyweights. Where is Usik?

Magazine Ring released the updated ranking of the best heavyweight boxers. He was managed by interim WBO champion Fabio Wardley. Due to inactivity, Tyson Fury fell out of the rankings and Joseph Parker left the list due to a failed doping test.

Ring remains league champion Alexander UsikHe continues to hold the WBC, WBA and IBF titles.

Don’t miss everything about boxing! Subscribe to the channel USA Vusika on YouTube

Interim WBC champion Agit Kabayel takes the second place on the list, while Daniel Dubois is in the top three.

Promising heavyweight Moses Ithauma moved up from ninth to seventh.

Ring’s Heavyweight Rankings:

Champion – Alexander Usik

Fabio Wordley
Agit Kabayel
Daniel Dubois
Filip Hrgovic
Zhang Zhilei
Martin Bakole
Moses Ithauma
Efe Ajagba
RichardTorres
Murat Gassiev

Source: Sport UA

Madelyn

Fights

FURY: “After Klitschko, boxing seemed dead in Germany. Now there is someone who throws punches”

Published

4 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Madelyn

FURY: “After Klitschko, boxing seemed dead in Germany. Now there is someone who throws punches”

British boxer Tyson Fury gave an interesting video interview in which he talked about Agita Kabayel, Alexander Usik, Saudi Arabia and their plans:

– Agit Kabayel. What do you think about it?

– I first met him in 2016 when I invited him to a training camp in the Netherlands before his fight with Klitschko. Afterwards, he constantly came to England and trained with us. This is how our relationship developed; We have known each other for more than 10 years.

– Why did you invite Agit to training?

– It was German, European style; continuous progress, good work.

– What was your first impression of him as a person?

– Listen, people are people. All boxers are normal. I’ve never met a “bad” person. Usually the people who get punched in the face for money are pretty decent people.

– What impressions did your first discussion leave on you? Kabayel said there were 8 tough rounds.

– I don’t even remember how many rounds it was. I was the current world heavyweight champion, I had just beaten Klitschko. It was an ordinary work day for me. Nothing special. But over the years we grew closer, spent a lot of time together and became friends.

– How did you initially evaluate his boxing skills? Did he see the potential to reach the top?

“Then I didn’t think anything of it.” I just kept an eye on him and stayed in touch with him and his manager. We met and talked about boxing. I kept him on my radar and when opportunities arose to put him on the undercard I did so. So he came to Saudi Arabia.

– What role did you play in his participation in the Riyadh Season show?

– At that time, Agit was almost unknown. He was known only in Germany and among the Kurdish community. He was a European champion, signed with Top Rank, but apparently couldn’t even get a fight. He was number one in the IBF rankings for a long time but in reality he remained inactive neither here nor there. It even looks like Top Rank gave him his contract back. It was as if he had been stuck in time for three years.

When the opportunity arose to exhibit this in Saudi Arabia, I suggested it. Everyone asked: Who is this? I replied: Believe me, he knows how to box. She had to be set up with a big Russian man, Makhmudov. Everyone thought he would destroy him in a few rounds, but I said: no, he can handle it. I remember his fight with Dereck Chisora in 2017 – it was a good fight.

– He is known as a boxer who works hard on his body. How do you evaluate his style?

“I think the boxing world has only seen a small fraction of what he can do. He doesn’t just go forward and strike to the body. Agit knows how to box: good footwork, good skills. I even taught him the “three step” move around his opponent. He’s very technical.

– How dangerous is the future “home” struggle (January 10)? After all, Damian Knyba is a very hungry opponent.

– All fights in the heavyweight division are dangerous, especially with such a big man. Knyba is a big, undefeated Polish puncher. Maybe the next Mariusz Wach; strong, durable. We don’t know how good he is. This is a difficult but correct choice. This fight will take Agit to the top. This is his return home to Germany. Yes, everyone will come to the arena, many tickets have been sold. This is his true emergence.

– Nearly 10 years have passed since your fight with Klitschko in Germany. How important is it to bring big boxing back there?

– This is good. Germany hasn’t had a big star for a long time. The early 2000s had Klitschko, Arthur Abraham, Marco Huck – a real era. Then after Klitschko everything seemed to die, there was a void. I think Agit can fill that.

– Your brother Roman Fury will also be on the card. Will we see you at ringside?

– I’ll try to come. I’ll be at ringside if I can.

– How do you see the path to the championship fight if Kabayel wins?

“The thing is, it’s not just about fighting ability. Fighting ability is about 10% of everything. You have to be commercially attractive. You have to be popular. All of those things go together. The ability to be a ‘destroyer’ in the ring is just a small part. And I’ve heard Spence touch on that before: you need to build an audience on social media, you need to be known worldwide. And he’s moving in that direction. He’s working on it.”

Yes, the WBC has already scheduled Okolie vs. Itauma as a mandatory fight for the title, but Agit is the interim champion. So yes, they should force Usyk to either defend the belt or release it. I personally don’t think Usyk will fight someone in the WBC rankings because it doesn’t make commercial sense. There’s no money in these fights.

Will he make big money from his fight with Agit Kabayel? Or will he make big money to fight Lawrence Okolie? No. If you’ve already made big money fighting Tyson Fury, you don’t go back and fight someone else for little money. So I don’t see Usyk defending the title against any of these names. So he’s looking at a fight with Wilder or someone with a big name and a big audience.

I think Usyk will leave the WBC belt just like he left the WBO. He will also need to release the WBC, and then Agit will be promoted to a full-fledged world champion. And only then will he be able to defend his title against the winner of the fight between Okolie and Itauma.

– What do you think would happen if we imagine a fight between Usik and Kabayel?

– It won’t happen. It’s like saying: Can I fly a plane? No, I can’t. But if I could… But I can’t. I don’t think this fight between Usyk and Kabayel will ever happen. There is no commercial sense in this. It’s like you said to me: Do you want to fight those people over there for 50 pounds, or do you want to fight Anthony Joshua for 20 million? Do you know what I mean?

This doesn’t make any sense. And remember: boxing is a business. We’re all here to make money, have fun, and get out of here. That’s what matters. Winning the world championship is a great thing. And to make money you need to win titles.

But at Usyk’s current level, you want the biggest fights and the biggest paydays. You want to walk away with the big jackpot. You don’t want to fight the toughest opponents without money. Agit is a challenge for everyone. But right now it doesn’t make commercial sense for Usyk to fight Agit or anyone else in the WBC top 10 because neither of them are big names yet.

– If Agit still wins the WBC title, is a fight between him and him possible?

– Listen, Agit and I have been friends for a very long time. And we return to the same scenario again. I won’t fight with random people without money. I need the biggest fees. The days of struggling for money are long gone. I’m not 20 years old anymore. I’m actually approaching 40. So if I go back, like I said before, I go back to a quarter billion. I won’t be back for 50p.

Source: Sport UA

Madelyn