Certain nations have always been known for producing boxing talent: Mexico, Great Britain, the Philippines, Japan and, of course, the United States.
And now Russia stands on the brink of joining this elite company. The latest Russian import from Irkutsk in eastern Siberia, light heavyweight Igor Mikhalkin (21-1, 9 KOs), faces the greatest challenge of his career as he makes his United States debut.
Kathy Duva: Welcome everyone to the Sergey Kovalev vs. Igor Mikhalkin and Dmitry Bivol vs. Sullivan Barrera international media conference call. This is Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events. I just want to, on a personal note, tell everybody it’s great to have you back after these few months. This is a long cold winter. Happy to be able to get back into action.
Sullivan Barrera (21-1, 14 KOs) of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Felix Valera (162, 13 KOs) of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic scored knockdowns in the first round.
In the second round, Valera began to taunt Sullivan with his antics but Barrera countered with hard shots that put a quick end to the showboating. However, Barrera suffered a cut over his left eye that started to swell in the second round. Shortly after the bell rang to start the third round, Valera hit Barrera with a low blow that cost him a point on the judges’ scorecards.
Former IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (31-2-1, 27 KOs) overpowered Vyacheslav Shabranskyy (19-2, 16 KOs) in obliterating him in 2 short rounds to win the vacant WBO light heavyweight title on Saturday night in their fight on HBO World Championship Boxing at Madison Square Garden in New York.
This Saturday’s Kovalev-Shabranskyy HBO World Championship Boxing® telecast will include a battle between two of the light heavyweight division’s biggest punchers when Sullivan Barrera and Felix Valera square off at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Below is the scouting report for this exciting match-up:
Sullivan Barrera – “Camp has been great. It continues to get better with my new coach, Derik Santos. Every camp we work on different things. I am enjoying camp because I am learning a lot from him and we mix well. Nov 25 expect a great performance from me!”
“The door is wide open for everyone in the light heavyweight division. There are a lot of great fights to be made and I’m just looking to continue being in the mix with all the great fighters we have in our division.”
What Joe Smith, Jr. (23-2-0, 19KO) failed to remember in his bout with Sullivan Barrera (20-1, 14KO) at the Forum in Inglewood, CA was something punchers should never forget. Great knockout artists like Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano never forgot it, and in a big way it was responsible for their greatness. It was something that would lay the foundation for them, something a construction worker like Joe, of all people, should know.
Popular Long Island light heavyweight contender JOE SMITH JR. (23-2-0, 19 KO’S), gritted his way through Saturday’s ten round battle with SULLIVAN BARRERA (20-1-0, 14 KO’s), after suffering a broken jaw early in the 2nd round. Even with a broken jaw, Smith Jr. dug deep to fire away at the skilled Barrera until the final bell, in which he ultimately fell short by scores of 96-93 and 97-92 twice.