Why is Sergey Kovalev fighting Igor Mikhalkin?
Sergey Kovalev is the WBO light heavyweight champion of the world. So why is he wasting his time in the ring with Igor Mikhalkin?
From 2013-2016, Sergey Kovalev dominated the light heavyweight division. He held every major title except for the WBC belt, which has been occupied by Adonis Stevenson for nearly five years. Stevenson spent that time ducking Kovalev, while Andre Ward proved to be the best pound-for-pound boxer, beating Kovalev twice. Kovalev has since rebounded, but he finds himself heading into a bout against unknown Igor Mikhalkin.
Despite his losses to Ward, Kovalev is still a force to be reckoned with in the light heavyweight division. It’s hard to remember a boxer in the division with heavier hands than Kovalev.
He spent years trying to goad Stevenson into a matchup, even going so far as to refer to him as “Adonis Chickenson.” Stevenson avoided him at all costs, fighting scarcely against the likes of Andrzej Fonfara, Tommy Karpency and Sakio Bika.
Ward proved to the world that Kovalev could be beaten, and there are plenty of boxers that would like a shot at Kovalev. He has a bitter rivalry with Russian countryman Artur Beterbiev stemming from their amateur days. There are big money fights out there for Kovalev, so why is he fighting Igor Mikhalkin?
The only answer is that he knows he will win. This is not a competitive title fight. It’s nothing more than a slightly glorified tune-up bout for Kovalev, but nobody is fooled.
Rising star Dmitry Bivol is fighting on the undercard against Sullivan Barrera. Barrera is a solid title contender, but that’s all he is, a contender. He will never be a major world champion unless a title is vacated and he is selected to fight for it against another career challenger.
Bivol is young and lacks experience against elite competition, but his skills are impressive regardless of his opposition. He looks like a young Kovalev.
It’s no coincidence that Kovalev and Bivol are on the same card. The plan is for both men to win on March 3 and look good doing it. Their fights are an elaborate advertisement for their future bout. It makes perfect sense for the promoter, Main Events.
Main Events is the promotional team for Kovalev and Barrera. It also has partial representation rights on Bivol. ESPN’s Dan Rafael reported in November that Main Events is representing Bivol’s American fights. A fight between Kovalev and Bivol is easy for them to make, and they don’t have to split the proceeds with another promotional company. It’s a win-win situation for them.
Main Events wants to hype up Bivol as much as possible so he looks like a legitimate threat to Kovalev which he is. Main Events can’t lose.
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If Kovalev wins, they can continue to successfully market him. If Bivol wins, then they have the hot new kid on the block. They can place all of their promotional force behind their bright new star and put their old racehorse out to stud.
Bivol should knock out Barrera, and Kovalev will be victorious over Mikhalkin. Boxing is a vicious sport inside the ring and out. Kovalev and Bivol are pawns in Main Events’ ploy to maximize earning potential in their nearly inevitable matchup. It might seem cold that Main Events is playing with the future of their stars, but that’s business.