WBO light heavyweight titlist, Nathan Cleverly is out to “break “the heavy-handed Russian, Sergey Kovalev in their Aug. 17 bout in Wales, U.K., but as we’ve seen that is easier said than done.
Kovalev is 21-0 with 19 of those wins coming by way of knockout, giving him an outstanding KO percentage of 90 percent.
Making a step up in competition, we will see if Kovalev’s power will translate with a world champ in front of him.
Cleverly (26-0, 12 KOs) doesn’t possess the power his opponent has, but he does have the boxing skills to make up for the difference in power. Cleverly will have extra motivation, as he will be making his HBO debut and will be sure to put on a show to ensure he makes a return.
Although Kovalev was named the mandatory challenger for Bernard Hopkins after disposing of Cornelius White via Round 3 KO in June, he chose to face Cleverly instead.
With Kovalev being the mandatory challenger to Hopkins, it is likely that the winner of this bout will get a shot at Hopkins in a unification bout somewhere down the line.
The hometown crowd could be a factor for Cleverly, as it’s Kovalev that is taking the risk here, heading into Cleverly’s hometown of Wales to face the hometown champ. In the biggest fight of the two fighters careers, the pro-Cleverly crowd could play a factor if the bout goes to the scorecards.
