Fighting in his own hometown for the first time in his professional boxing career, WBO World Light Heavyweight Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (33-3-1, 28 KOs) takes on the WBO’s mandatory challenger, Anthony Yarde (18-0, 17 KOs) of the UK, on Saturday, August 24th at the Traktor Arena in Chelyabinsk, Russia. The event will be presented by RCC Promotions, Main Events, Krusher Promotions and Queensberry Promotions. This will be Kovalev’s 16th consecutive world title bout. That is more than the three other light heavyweight champions combined.
The Three-Time World Light Heavyweight Champ, Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev, explained the significance of this fight. “I am thrilled to fight for the first time in my home town of Chelyabinsk. It is a dream to defend my WBO title in front of all my friends and family back home. Thank you to Igor Altushkin, Egis Klimas and Main Events for making this dream a reality and thank you to Anthony Yarde for agreeing to fight in my backyard.”
Challenger, Anthony Yarde, replied, “I am more than happy to achieve my goal in Russia and I think it is only right that a great world champion such as Kovalev is given the opportunity to defend in his home country. He has earned that right. What I know is that on Aug. 24 another World Title belt will be under British ownership and I will have done it the hard way-one that nobody will be able to question” He continued, “This is my time and I am going to show the world what I am all about. Everything has fallen perfectly into place for me. This will be my coronation as world champion and I am going to realize my dream by beating the most decorated of the current world title holders.”
“We are so pleased that Sergey, one of boxing’s greatest all-time road warriors, will finally get the chance to defend his title in his own hometown, where he grew up and where his most-devoted fan base resides,” said promoter Kathy Duva of Main Events. “I can only imagine how excited Sergey’s friends and neighbors will be to finally get the chance to see him perform in person. We are most grateful to Igor Altushkin, RCC Promotions, Queensberry Promotions and Anthony Yarde for making this great event possible.”
Kovalev’s long-time manager and friend, Egis Klimas added, “Sergey has wanted to fight in his hometown for a long time. But he has always been the one to go and fight in another fighter’s backyard. Now that he is back where he rightfully belongs, on top of the light heavyweight division, it is exciting that he finally gets this opportunity. Thank you to RCC Promotions, Igor Altushkin, Queensberry Promotions and, of course, Anthony Yarde for making this fight possible.”
“It is a fantastic opportunity for Anthony and he has earned his shot by working his way to the No.1 spot in the rankings. He has showed what he is all about by being prepared to go into Kovalev’s backyard and it demonstrates the confidence he has in his own ability,” explained Yarde’s promoter, Frank Warren. “Everybody knows Kovalev is a tremendous puncher and a fearsome presence in the ring. It is something we first saw over here when he fought Nathan Cleverly, and he has continued to operate at the very highest level. Anthony possesses tremendous self-belief and we back him to come away with the spoils. But whatever does happen in the fight, it is one that he will take a lot of valuable experience from.”
The fight will be seen on Match TV in Russia, BT Sport in the UK and US distribution information will be released soon.
ANTHONY YARDE WILL challenge long-standing world champion Sergey Kovalev for his WBO World Light Heavyweight championship in Chelyabinsk, Russia on August 24. The fight will be broadcast live and exclusive in the UK on BT Sport.
Yarde, 18-0 with 17 Kos, has again accepted the delayed mission of heading into the home nation of the world champion known as Krusher in order to fulfil the first part of his dream of holding multiple world title belts and ruling the division for years to come.
The 27-year-old now gets the opportunity to take on the most experienced and formidable of the current world champions, with the 36-year-old having clocked up 28 Kos from his 33 wins. Kovalev has operated in world title competition since parting Nathan Cleverly from his WBO belt in August 2013 in Cardiff.
“This is my time now and I am going to show the world what I am all about,” said the challenger, the self-styled Beast from the East of London. “Waiting for my time to come around could have been a frustration but we turned it into a positive and I am even more ready to seize the moment.
“Everything has fallen perfectly into place for me, this will be my coronation as world champion and I am going to realise my dream by beating the most decorated of the current world title holders.
“I am more than happy to achieve my goal in Russia and I think it is only right that a great world champion such as Kovalev is given the opportunity to defend in his home country. He has earned that right.
“What I know is that on August 24 another world title belt will be under British ownership and I will have done it the hard way, one that nobody will be able to question.
“My promoter and my manager have made all the right moves to get me into this position and I thank Frank Warren and Tunde Ajayi for creating this opportunity for me. They have done their part and it is now up to me to deliver.”
Frank Warren said the self-belief of his light heavyweight star was the key to accepting a mandatory challenge on away territory.
“It is a fantastic opportunity for Anthony and he has earned his shot by working his way to the No.1 spot in the rankings,” said the promoter. “He has showed what he is all about by being prepared to go into Kovalev’s back yard and it demonstrates the confidence he has in his own ability.
“Everybody knows Kovalev is a tremendous puncher and a fearsome presence in the ring. It is something we first saw over here when he fought Nathan Cleverly and he has continued to operate at the very highest level.
“Anthony possesses tremendous self-belief and we back him to come away with the spoils but, whatever does happen in the fight, it is one that he will take a lot of valuable experience from.”
Yarde’s trainer-manager Tunde Ajayi added: “We’re here now! It’s been stage by stage, it’s been calculated and everything is timing, which I have said from the start.
“The time is now and we are about to shock the world. I cannot remember a fighter with so little experience going over to another man’s back yard to take on a great champion, so I don’t want to hear any excuses when Anthony knocks him out.
“I know that is going to happen.”