Sergey Kovalev (boxer)
Sergei Alexandrovich Kovalev (Russian: Сергей Александрович Ковалёв; born April 2, 1983 in Kopeisk ) is a Russian professional boxer and current world champion of the WBO light heavyweight.
Amateur career
Sergei Kovalev began at the age of eleven years with boxing, fought from 1998 to 2009 in the Russian national team and won 193 of his 215 amateur fights. At the national level it was in 1997 and 1999 Russian Junior Champion, and 1998 Russian Deputy Youth Champion. 2000 and 2001 he was Vice - Russian Junior Champion. In 2004 he came second in the middleweight division at the Russian Championships. He was there failed in the final against Matvei Korobov. He was Russian middleweight champion in 2005 and in 2007 reached number 3 in the light heavyweight division after this time he was almost eliminated in the semi-final against Artur Beterbijew with 24:25. In 2008 he was runner-up again.
As a soldier of the Russian armed forces, he took first time in 2005 at the Military World Championships in Pretoria in part, hit the starter from Ukraine, Germany, Netherlands, USA and Turkey and thus won the gold medal in the light heavyweight division. In the military world championship 2006 in Warendorf he reached # 2 in the light-heavyweight after he got out due to an injury in the final and thus the German Gottlieb Weiss was declared the winner. In 2007 he won again the Military World Championships in Hyderabad, after he was able to prevail in the light heavyweight division against Moussa Konate from Mali, Donald Makola from South Africa, Saur Teimurow from Azerbaijan, Abdelhafid Benchabla from Algeria and Oleg Dimkowets from Belarus.
Professional career
In 2009 he was in the U.S. professional and moved it to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Among his coaches or include Don Turner, Abel Sanchez and John David Jackson. He won his first nine fights in a row by KO in one of the first two rounds. In October 2010, he defeated Darnell Boone, who had a sensational Adonis Stevenson knocked out six months earlier. After five more wins, four Ko, he won 29 July 2011 by Ko in the second round against Douglas Otieno Okola, the U.S. champion title of the NABA.
On 27 August 2011, he boxed against Grover Young, and this had to stop by an accidental foul the fight due to an injury in the second round. Because the injury was not caused by impact action but an accidental foul, the bout was scored a draw. On December 5, 2011 Kovalev won the Asia Cup the WBC after his countryman Roman Simakow in the seventh round by TKO had defeated. Simakow had to be taken with a carrying out of the ring and died from the injuries suffered in the fight three days later.
Kovalev still won four more fights by KO, including again against Darnell Boone and Gabriel Campillo. On August 17, 2013, boxed in Wales against the undefeated WBO champion Nathan Cleverly. He had already said it was the Welsh in the third round twice on the ground to the first rainfall in the professional career of Cleverly. In the fourth round Kovalev started after vigorously and brought Cleverly to the brink of knockouts, before the referee intervened and broke off the fight. Kovalev was the winner by t.K.o. explained.
His first title defense, he played on 30 November 2013 in Canada against Ismail Sillach and won by KO in the second round.