He may not be the biggest name in the light-heavyweight division and he is far from the most exciting, but one thing South Africa’s Isaac Chilemba is, is hard to knock out. Never stopped in his 11-year, 24-3-2(10) pro career, the 29-year-old is experienced, tricky and can be a just plain nightmare to fight. Next up for Chilemba, on July 11th, is a surprise shot at king of the division Sergey Kovalev and his three world titles.
Kovalev is of course taking the Chilemba fight as a tune-up for an end of the year showdown with Andre Ward; is Kovalev hoping to get some preparation for the expected frustration and boxing trickery he will face against Ward? Ward can also be a nightmare to fight – with great fighters such as Carl Froch to name just one, realising up close and personal how hard it is to nail Ward with a clean shot – and Kovalev faces, potentially, the hardest night of his entire career against the unbeaten boxing master.
Chilemba too is slippery – he has been in with punchers such as Edison Miranda and new WBC cruiserweight king Tony Bellew (twice) and never really been badly hurt by a headshot – and it will be interesting to see if Kovalev can get him out of there; or if he will even try to do so. Maybe “Krusher” wants to get in rounds, practice showing the patience he displayed against the ultimate tricky fighter in Bernard Hopkins in his big 2014 points win, and look to go home with a decision win. Kovalev will win in July (barring The Upset of The Year), that much is seemingly certain, it’s how he copes with Chilemba’s cuteness that will be the interesting factor.
It might be a dull fight and it’s possible neither guy will look great, but Kovalev knows the win is all that matters as he moves on to a super-fight; one we all hope WILL prove memorable and entertaining. Kovalev will win a wide UD against Chilemba and then enter the Ward fight – a genuine 50-50 affair – armed with more knowledge of how to deal with a defensive minded boxing brain.