The top 10 pound-for-pound boxers pre-Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev II

4. Sergey Kovalev

Although Sergey Kovalev, thanks to flooring Andre Ward in the second round with a sharp right hand and his early dominance, appeared to have piled up enough points to retain his light heavyweight straps roughly six months ago, he’s since spent the bulk of his time spitting venom at Ward or trumpeting the litany of excuses that can supposedly account for his mixed performance and the ensuing questionable result, from his alleged overtraining to accusations of home cooking on U.S. soil.

Kovalev’s performance against Ward was perplexing in that it complicated his pound-for-pound standing. Should Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) be given more credit for appearing as if he’d defeated Ward, even if that came mostly on the strength of his performance in the first half of the fight? Or does the fact that Kovalev faded and couldn’t muster a Plan B after he should have knocked Ward out mean the Krusher loses points?

Regardless of which narrative you privilege, Sergey Kovalev is undeniably one of the four best fighters on the planet. While Kovalev’s pound-for-pound status is at stake on June 17, he’s under even more pressure to reassert his aura of menacing destructiveness. Even if you don’t think Andre Ward deserved the nod against Kovalev last time, he certainly tamed the fearsome Russian.

Kovalev is an exceptional boxer, and it’s easy to forget that he out-jabbed Ward over the first five rounds of their bout last November. Now, though, Kovalev needs to prove that he can sustain that level of excellence against the best opponent of his career. For Kovalev, both legacy and reputation are on the line when he looks to exact revenge against a foe he’s grown to loathe.