On Saturday night, in an impressive upset victory, Eleider Alvarez defeated Sergey Kovalev dropping him three times en route to a seventh round stoppage victory. With the win, Alvarez is now the new WBO light heavyweight champion of the world.
It was an exciting affair, where both combatants showed a lot of heart and grit. Kovalev got off to a bit of a slow start as Alvarez took command of the early action. Kovalev began making adjustments and finding a groove in round 3, and in round 4 Kovalev appeared to stun Alvarez more than once in a round where he landed a slew of power shots.
Into round 7, Kovalev continued boxing well, and he appeared to have the momentum on his side. But later in the right, Alvarez dropped Kovalev with a sharp right hand, and this marked the beginning of the end. Kovalv bravely tried to battle on, but Alvarez overwhelmed him dropping him twice more in short order before the fight was over.
A lot of fans are now saying that Kovalev was ruined in his previous losses against the now retired Andre Ward. But is that really the case? Or are people underrating the tremendous effort put forth by Alvarez, not to mention, the game effort by Kovalev where he successfully made adjustments after a slow start out of the gate?
This edition of Rummy’s Corner provides a brief recap of the fight that took place between Alvarez and Kovalev, as well as exploring the idea that maybe these two guys aren’t getting the credit they each deserve for the strong performances in the terrific fight that had its fair share of drama. The light heavyweight landscape has just become more interesting, with guys like Artur Beterbiev, Adonis Stevenson, and Dmitry Bivol all reigning title holders at this time. Please watch and enjoy the video for one man’s take on the situation.