It has been a truly stellar year for the sport of Boxing.
Among several well-matched fights that have taken place this year the spotlight
has also shined on rising stars who have become major players in their respective
divisions. Two such fighters who have each made a major impact in their
division in 2013 are Light-Heavyweight champions Adonis Stevenson and Sergey
Kovalev.
Both fighters successfully made the transition from top
contenders to world champions in 2013. Stevenson, winning the WBC world title
by scoring a devastating one punch knockout over longtime division cornerstone
Chad Dawson in June of this year, and Kovalev scoring a knockout over
previously undefeated WBO world champion Nathan Cleverly in August.
An argument could be made that Stevenson has in some ways
received more attention than has Kovalev. This argument could be based on
Stevenson after all winning his world title by defeating a fighter in Dawson
who had just faced the legendary Bernard Hopkins in two fights. Dawson status
as one of the top fighters in the Light-Heavyweight division for several years
coupled with his fights against Hopkins and a brief drop down in weight to
challenge undefeated Super-Middleweight champion Andre Ward, a man in the upper
tier of most pound for pound debates. This certainly drew the attention of the
Boxing world and thus all eyes were focused on Dawson when he got in the ring
with Stevenson a fighter with a career knockout percentage of over 80%.
A very justifiable argument should be made that Adonis
Stevenson became a star in the sport literally with one punch by knocking out
Dawson. In his first title defense Stevenson scored a seventh round stoppage in
a dominating performance against former IBF Light-Heavyweight world champion
Tavoris Cloud. In addition to being former world champions of the
Light-Heavyweight division, both Dawson and Cloud were able to garner attention
and notoriety by facing Hopkins. Stevenson’s knockout victories immediately
placed him as a likely candidate to eventually face off with Hopkins. There is
little dispute that although there are five recognized world champions
currently in the division, it is Hopkins who due to his legendary status one
might argue is the most lucrative fighter the Light-Heavyweight division has to
offer. Based on this it is not hard to understand why everyone in the division
would not be looking for an opportunity to face Hopkins. One fighter who could
have had an opportunity to fight the future Hall of Famer is Sergey Kovalev.
The undefeated Kovalev became the mandatory challenger
for Bernard Hopkins after scoring a third round knockout over contender
Cornelius White in June of this year. Kovalev however, opted to take what was
seen by some to be a gamble by choosing to challenge Nathan Cleverly for the
WBO title instead of facing Hopkins. It proved to be a great move for Kovalev
who not only dethroned Cleverly, but also raised his name recognition value in
the process. Much like Adonis Stevenson Kovalev has a high career knockout
percentage of over 70%. Much like Stevenson, Kovalev has the ability to end a
fight with one punch.
Although Hopkins clearly has the most marquee value of
anyone in the division; the idea of a potential clash between Stevenson and
Kovalev is certainly intriguing. A potential clash which may now happen in the
near future as Hopkins appears to be at least for the moment entertaining, the
thought of dropping down in weight back to the Middleweight division for a
potential fight with Floyd Mayweather. The potential Mayweather-Hopkins fight
would at least for a brief period leave the Light-Heavyweight division without
it’s marquee attraction, but an opportunity for a unification bout which may
ultimately determine who will face Hopkins.
The groundwork for a potential Stevenson-Kovalev battle
seemed to be laid when the two world champions defended their respective titles
on the same card on November 30th in Quebec City, Canada. Kovalev successfully
made the first defense of his WBO title by scoring a devastating second round
knockout over top contender Ismayl Sillakh. In that fight Kovalev showed his
power knocking Sillakh down with a solid right hand and finished Sillakh off
with a brutal combination seconds after Sillakh had gotten up from the knockdown.
Kovalev’s seek and destroy mentality was on full display in this fight in that
once he saw an opening he quickly took Sillakh out.
Following Kovalev’s knockout victory over Sillakh,
Stevenson stopped top contender and mandatory challenger Tony Bellew in defense
of his WBC title in six rounds. A fight where Stevenson consistently beat
Bellew to the punch with his left hand, dropped Bellew with a left hand in
round six and finished the “Game” challenger off with a brief barrage of left
hands before the fight was stopped.
The performances of both Stevenson and Kovalev have
surely set the stage for an intriguing battle of knockout artists if that was
indeed the goal of the promoters who staged this card. There are however, other
possibilities for both Stevenson and Kovalev if a fight between the two is not
in their immediate futures. An obvious possibility could be that the winner of
the upcoming Light-Heavyweight fight between Jean Pascal and Lucian Bute face
either Stevenson or Kovalev. If the potential Stevenson-Kovalev clash is indeed
next for both champions, what could result is a scenario that would ultimately
be a four-man box off between Stevenson, Kovalev, Pascal, and Bute.
There is no doubt that such a scenario would generate
significant attention and interest. Other possibilities that could be presented
to either champion could be a potential unification clash with WBA champion
Beibut Shumenov, Shumenov is scheduled to defend his world title against
undefeated contender Tamas Kovacs on December 14th. Should Shumenov be successful
a unification bout for either Stevenson or Kovalev could be attractive if they
do not set their sights on each other. One possibility that has not been
mentioned is a possible unification bout with the fifth champion of the
division Blake Caparello the International Boxing Organization (IBO) champion.
Although not held in high regard by some, the IBO has
risen in prominence in the last decade and in the eyes of this observer should
be held in the same light along with the WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO. Caparello,
undefeated in nineteen professional fights who is perhaps not well-known
outside of his native Australia, recently captured the vacant IBO title by
scoring a twelve round unanimous decision over former top Super-Middleweight
contender Allan Green.
Now as a world champion Caparello would likely welcome
the opportunity to face any of the other champions in the division not only to
gain more recognition on the world stage of the sport, but also establish
credibility among those who may not give him the recognition of a champion.
Whether or not Stevenson or Kovalev would be open to facing Caparello at this
stage of their respective careers is a question that only they can answer.
An element that should also be taken into consideration
is the current political landscape that has dominated much of what has
transpired in the sport in recent times. Rival networks and rival promoters at a
standoff although all looking to put on the best fights possible, in actuality create
almost insurmountable obstacles. For
those whose opinions really matter, the Boxing fans, once again are left out of
the equation.
In terms of fights
that look like they might be a solid pay-per-view draw a fight between
Stevenson and Kovalev certainly looks as though it would fit the criteria of a
fight that Boxing fans worldwide would pay to see. As of this writing there is
no foreseeable “Business Roadblocks” that would prevent this fight from
happening.
From a business standpoint it is an interesting dilemma
for a promoter or a network to face. On one hand you have two knockout artists,
both with exciting styles, each considered rising stars. An Interesting
question that will face promoters and a network will be whether or not to put
this fight together as soon as possible and assuming that the goal would be to
sell this fight as a pay-per-view event to Boxing fans, with the hope of solid
returns in terms of pay-per-view revenue. On the other hand, they could continue
to grow interest in this fight by having the two fighters face off against top contenders
and maybe even the other world champions in the division possibly on the same
cards so that a potential pay-per-view clash would be an even bigger draw.
No matter what happens one thing that is certainly clear
is the Light-Heavyweight division in recent times has provided excitement and
generated interest. Fighters like Stevenson and Kovalev could eventually be
viewed as the cornerstones of what could be a great era for the division.
Given the exciting styles and punching power of both
fighters an eventual pay-per-view showdown is indeed possible and makes sense
as a main event of a pay-per-view card. There are only two questions in this
observer’s mind. Is it the right place at the right time under the right
circumstances for the fight to happen? Will the current political landscape in
the sport of Boxing stand in the way of not only this fight, but rather any of
the potential bouts that could take place in the division?
Personally I believe that championships should be unified
so in actuality there would be simply “One Undisputed World Champion.” After all, we live in “One World!”
“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”
The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau
Denison All Rights Reserved.
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