It has been confirmed by HBO how former light-heavyweight king Sergey Kovalev will make his ring return on November 25, against once-beaten contender Vyacheslav Shabranskyy of Ukraine. The bout will take place at Madison Square Garden Theatre and it’s possible Mexican warrior Orlando Salido could also return on the same card.
Kovalev, 30-2-1(26) is of course coming off back-to-back losses to Andre Ward, the second fight in June being a KO defeat for “Krusher.” Some people felt the Russian puncher would take a considerable amount of time off after being halted the way he was by Pound-for-Pound king Ward, but, no, he’s back less than six months on – and against a pretty good fighter.
Shabranskyy lost his highest profile fight when he was stopped by Sullivan Barrera in December of last year, but he has won two fights, both via stoppage since and he is young enough at age 30 to be able to come again. And if Kovalev is suffering from any ill effects courtesy of the Ward loss/losses, maybe, just maybe, Shabransky will find himself in the right place at the right time. On paper, though, a Kovalev KO win looks a good bet.
As for Salido, Dan Rafael of ESPN.com reports how there are talks going on to have “Siri” appear on the HBO card, against Puerto Rico’s Jonathan Oquendo. Salido, approaching the end of a long, hard and at times glorious career, last fought in May of this year, when he stopped Aristedes Perez in Mexico. This fight followed a layoff of a year, with Salido taking time off after two tough draws with Roman “Rocky” Martinez and, in an absolute classic, Francisco Vargas.
There were hopes of Salido, being the only man to have beaten Pound-for-Pound star Vasyl Lomachenko at pro level, engaging in a rematch with Lomachenko, but it seems this particular sequel is one that is destined never to happen. Oquendo, 27-5(15) will be a considerable underdog against Salido if the fight happens. Unless Salido has aged badly – and at 36 and after such a gruelling career it’s always possible – Oquendo will struggle to see the final bell, much less win the fight.
His best win coming over Jhonny Gonzalez, Oquendo, no spring chicken himself at age 34, has been beaten by Juan Manuel Lopez (a stoppage defeat), Wilfredo Vazquez Junior (also a stoppage) and by Abner Mares and Jesus Andres Cuellar (both decision losses). Winner of his last fight – which came in July of this year, after Oquendo had taken a year-and-a-half off – the Puerto Rican might give Salido, 44-13-4(31) something to think about in the fight, but unless we see another upset in a year that has already had its share, Salido’s long career will continue for a little while longer at least.