Alvarez vs. Kovalev II Scouting Report – New Champion vs. Veteran Challenger
When current WBO Light Heavyweight World
Champion, Eleider Alvarez, steps in the ring to face Sergey “Krusher”
Kovalev in their much-anticipated rematch on February 2 at the Ford
Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas live on ESPN+
(https://plus.espn.com), it will Kovalev’s fifteenth consecutive world
championship fight. As the challenger, Kovalev will seek to utilize his
extensive championship experience to avenge his title loss in his ESPN+
debut and take back his title. Alvarez looks to prove his upset over
Kovalev in their last fight was just the beginning of a championship
run. Below is the scouting report for this exciting event:
Category
|
Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev
|
Eleider “Storm” Alvarez
|
Age
|
35
|
34
|
Record
|
32-3-1 (28 KOs)
|
24-0-0 (12 KOs)
|
Strength
|
Coming into his 15thconsecutive championship bout, The
Krusher has more elite level experience than any of the current light
heavyweight titleholders. He also possesses significant knockout power
in both hands.
|
The Storm has quick hands, possesses a sharp and accurate jab and
is a great counter-puncher. He is patient in the ring. He waits for his
opponents to make a mistake, which showed in the first Kovalev bout.
|
Weakness
|
Sergey needs to preserve his energy for the later rounds, if he
cannot score a knockout early in the fight. He will need to be prepared
to go into deep waters with the champion.
|
Alvarez is an accurate puncher, but he needs to turn up the volume
on his punch output. Although he earned the stoppage win in the first
bout, he was down on all three scorecards going into the seventh round.
|
Experience
|
The championship experience of the former champion is his main
strength. He has fought nothing but the best opposition available
throughout his career and has comeback after adversity.
|
The champion gained vast experience in capturing the title from The
Krusher. He overcame some big shots and was down on the scorecards
before he turned the tables on Kovalev.
|
Power
|
The Russian’s power is still the most dangerous component heading into this fight.
|
Although he is not known for being a puncher, he did land the perfect knockdown punch in their first encounter.
|
Speed
|
The challenger has good speed and even quicker combinations.
|
The champion has quick hands and is an even quicker counter-puncher.
|
Endurance
|
He has been a full 12-rounds just three times in his lengthy career
against top-notch competition including Bernard Hopkins and Andre Ward.
|
Eleider has been a full 12-rounds on three occasions as well, including two former Kovalev foes, Isaac Chilemba and Jean Pascal.
|
Accuracy
|
One of Kovalev’s secret weapons has always been his jab. When he
fully commits to it, the rest of his offensive weapons are even more
effective.
|
Patience has been one of the champion’s most prominent strengths. He picks his shots wisely and does not waste any punches.
|
Defense
|
Kovalev has always been an offensive-minded fighter. His best
defense is his jab and he will have to keep it busy to avoid a repeat of
what happened in the first fight.
|
Contrary to his opponent, Alvarez focuses much more on defense. He
moves his head well and shows great composure while waiting for his
opponents to make a mistake.
|
Chin
|
Kovalev has always been known to have a strong chin. He’s only been stopped twice as a professional.
|
Alvarez has a proven chin; he has withstood shots from some of the division’s heaviest hitters.
|
Style
|
Kovalev has always had a fan-friendly style. He likes to come
forward and press the action from start to finish. He is an aggressive,
in-your-face fighter that utilizes an aggressive jab and legitimate
power shots during the fight.
|
Eleider is a counter-puncher with quick hands and a solid jab. He
is patient in waiting for his opponents to make a mistake and
capitalizes once they do. He has also shown that he is not afraid to
stand toe-to-toe with anyone.
|
Crowd Support
|
Although he has never competed in the state of Texas, he has been
one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world for several years. He
is expected to have significant crowd support.
|
This will be just his third appearance on U.S. soil and his debut
in the state of Texas. He is not expected to have a vast amount of crowd
support.
|
Intangibles
|
It has never been in
Kovalev’s nature to take tune-up bouts, whether it be following a win or
coming off a loss. He exercised his right to an immediate rematch and
got right back into the gym to correct what went wrong in the first
fight.
|
Alvarez waited a long time
for his shot at the title and seized the opportunity against Kovalev. He
fully understands that if he wants to fully dethrone Kovalev for good,
then he needs to defeat the Russian one more time for his name to be
discussed as one of the elites in the light heavyweight division.
|
The Match-Up
|
1. Will Kovalev be able to keep his stamina for the later rounds?
2. Will Alvarez go in there looking for one shot and get caught by Sergey?
3. Will Kovalev be able to stick to the game plan with his new corner?
4. Will Alvarez be able to take Sergey’s power the second time around?
|
Main Events’ matchmaker, Jolene Mizzone
commented, “Who doesn’t love a rematch in a fight that was an upset
win? This is what boxing is all about! Kudos to both fighters to
sticking to promises and contracts and moving forward with it so
quickly.”
Their first fight ended with a dramatic
knockout that shook up the Atlantic City Boardwalk. The rematch between
Eleider “Storm” Alvarez and Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev will bring two of
the light heavyweight division’s biggest names to The Star.
READ WATCH LIVE On ESPN+: Alvarez vs Kovalev Rematch & Lopez vs Magdaleno
Alvarez will defend his WBO light
heavyweight world title against former unified light heavyweight world
champion Kovalev on Saturday, Feb. 2 at Ford Center at The Star in
Frisco, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys practice facility.
Alvarez (24-0, 12 KOs) scored a
come-from-behind knockout against Kovalev on Aug. 4 in a major upset to
shake up the division. Kovalev (32-3-1, 28 KOs), who has made nine title
defenses across two reigns, will seek to become a three-time world
champion and regain his position in boxing’s pound-for-pound top ten.
Alvarez-Kovalev 2 and a soon-to-be
announced co-feature will headline a special edition of Top Rank on ESPN
beginning at 10 p.m. ET. The entire undercard will stream live
beginning at 7 p.m. ET in the United States on ESPN+ – the new
multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The
Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment in
conjunction with ESPN.
Promoted by Top Rank, Main Events and
Krusher Promotions, in association with Groupe Yvon Michel, tickets,
priced at $225, $165, $85, $55, and $25 (including facility fees), go on
sale Friday, Dec. 14 at 10 a.m. CST and can be purchased at
Seatgeek.com.
”The fact that Kovalev said it was a
mistake and that I was lucky is motivation for me,” Alvarez said. “He is
a sore loser, and I will make sure there will be a second ‘accident.’
‘I expect Kovalev to be stronger in that second fight. I expect the best
Kovalev because he won’t underestimate me this time, but I am fully
aware of this. I am able to be even better than in the last fight.”
“I am very thankful to fight on ESPN on
Feb. 2,” Kovalev said. “I will look to take back my title and put on a
great show for the fans. Together with my new trainer, Buddy McGirt, I
will be ready for Alvarez.”
“Sergey and Eleider are two of the
world’s best fighters, and we look forward to hosting their rematch and
another great night of boxing at Ford Center at The Star,” said Stephen
Jones, Chief Operating Officer of the Dallas Cowboys. “Ford Center at
The Star has proven to be a premier fight venue, and there is no better
way to continue that legacy than to bring the world light heavyweight
championship to North Texas.”
READ WATCH LIVE On ESPN+: Alvarez vs Kovalev Rematch & Lopez vs Magdaleno
Alvarez, 34, a native of Colombia who now
resides in Montreal, turned pro in 2009 following an amateur career
that included a pair of Pan American Games gold medals and a 2008
Olympic berth. In 2013, he defeated former middleweight world champion
Edison Miranda by unanimous decision, and by 2015, he had established
himself as one of the world’s top light heavyweight contenders. He
earned the shot at Kovalev following a trio of high-profile wins: a 2015
majority decision against perennial contender Isaac Chilemba, a 2017
knockout of former longtime super middleweight world champion Lucian
Bute, and a majority decision over former light heavyweight kingpin Jean
Pascal. That all led to his triumphant night on the Atlantic City
Boardwalk, a feat he hopes to duplicate in Frisco.
Kovalev is one of the most dominating
world champions of his era, a devastating puncher with nine title
defenses across two title reigns. He won the WBO world title in August
2013, traveling to Wales and knocking out hometown champion Nathan
Cleverly in the fourth round. He became the unified champion in November
2014 with a dominating 12-round decision against future Hall of Famer
Bernard Hopkins and further enhanced his résumé with a pair of knockout
wins against Jean Pascal. He lost his world titles in November 2016 via
controversial decision to pound-for-pound great Andre Ward. Nearly seven
months later, Kovalev was stopped in the eighth round by Ward, a bout
remembered in part for the multiple low blows that immediately preceded
the stoppage. Kovalev rebounded, winning the vacant WBO light
heavyweight title with a second-round TKO against Vyacheslav Shabranskyy
in his next bout. He defended the title once, a seventh-round TKO of
Igor Mikhalkin in March, before running into Alvarez.
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