Famous Russian boxer Sergey Kovalev announced that he soon intends to complete his professional career. According to the current WBO light heavyweight world champion, he is going to play for a year and a half, after which he plans to hang gloves on a nail and focus on family life.

“The end of 2020 is good: it's time to bring up a kid, he goes to hockey, he must be purposeful. No longer ambitious. Belts are not as interesting as before. Of course, it would be nice to combine them, but this is not the main thing. Titles are good. But you need to finish well, ”Kovalyov said during a live broadcast on his Instagram page.

In addition, the Russian boxer has confirmed that his fight with Briton Anthony Yard will still take place and will be held on August 24 in Chelyabinsk. It was originally scheduled for June, but was later moved to the last month of summer. In addition, the parties for a long time could not come to an agreement on the venue for the fight, as a result of which even promotional trades were appointed. But in the end, representatives of the athletes managed to reach a compromise.

Thus, if Kovalev really decided to hang the gloves on a nail at the end of 2020 and at the same time meet with Yard in August, it is worth believing that before the end of his career, he had to spend no more than three fights. At the same time, even this forecast is quite optimistic, since from 2016 he never entered the ring three times a year.

In light of this, the Russian boxer will most likely be extremely serious about choosing rivals in his last career battles. He himself stressed that he was going to “finish well.” Such statements suggest that Kovalev intends to, if not strengthen his heritage in the sport or win a couple of championship belts, then at least earn.

Duel with Alvarez

About a week ago there were rumors that the highest paid boxer in the world, Saul Alvarez, expressed a desire to meet in the ring with Kovalyov. Later information was confirmed by both the representatives of the Mexican and the Russians. True, the parties have not yet been able to agree: Sergey's promoters found the proposal unacceptable.

However, we should not exclude that the fight between Kovalyov and Alvarez may take place in the future. Kanelo indicated his interest in the battle with Sergey, which means that the case was left for small. There is no doubt that Golden Boy Promotions and DAZN will have enough money to convince the Russians to enter the ring.

As for Kovalev, the fight with Alvarez can bring him not only money, but also unprecedented popularity. Of course, he has long been considered a boxing star, but the really grandiose rush caused only his fight with the legendary Bernard Hopkins, as well as the duologue with the undefeated Andre Ward. The battle with Kanelo exactly promises to be one of the main events of the year in sports, and the triumph is able to eliminate all past failures of the athlete.

In addition, if Kovalev wins, the prospect of a rematch is not excluded. In this case, the Russian fee can increase several times, which will allow him to seriously improve his well-being before retiring.

Unification fights with the Russians

Another way to put your name in the history is to fight with the current light heavyweight world champions. At the same time, Kovalev’s potential rivals should be considered exclusively by his compatriots - Arthur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. The reason is that another owner of the belt is Sergey’s partner in the team, Ukrainian Oleksandr Gvozdik. Earlier, the Russian has repeatedly stated that he does not intend to meet with him in the ring, so this scenario can be ruled out.

Of course, this option is inferior financially, but it is no less attractive in terms of status and heritage. So, Kovalev can confirm that he has every right to be called the greatest Russian light heavyweight boxer in history.

Up to November 2016, this title was not in doubt, but two consecutive defeats from Andre Ward, an American, shook Kovalev’s position. Later, he lost to Colombian Elejder Alvarez and became even less profitable to look at against the background of the undefeated Bivol and Beterbiev. Thus, in order to regain his status, he needs to defeat his compatriots and for the second time in his career combine three of the four most prestigious light heavyweight belts.

Until now, rumors have repeatedly circulated about the possible organization of unification battles between the Russians. At the same time, the most likely battle seems to be between Kovalyov and Beterbiyev, who are also united by a history of opposition in amateurs. So, Sergey himself admitted that his defeat by Arthur helped him to gain the necessary motivation to become professional.

In this case, Bivola should not be written off. He has never concealed that he is interested in holding unifying fights and is ready to fight with our favorite champions. It is noteworthy that conversations about his fight with Kovalyov were conducted as early as August 2018, but then Alvarez intervened in the matter. As a result, Sergey focused on the return of the title, and the meeting was postponed indefinitely.

Revenge with Ward

At the moment, two failures in battles with an undefeated American remain the darkest moment in Kovalev's career. The Russian approached those fights in the status of one of the main stars of the martial arts world, and the American sports media holding ESPN did put him in third place on the list of the best fighters in the world, regardless of weight category. Ward was located only on the fifth line and was considered by many as an outsider.

As a result, Ward won twice, but each of the fights ended in scandal. In the first of them, the judges gave the victory to the American, which caused surprise not only among the fans, but also the journalists who worked in the fight. In the second, Kovalyov lost by knockout in the eighth round, but before that he received several blows to his groin. Sergei hurried to point this out to referee Tony Weeks, but he considered that Andre was beating above the belt. Subsequently, he admitted he was wrong.

A possible rematch with Ward would be the perfect ending for Kovalev's career. This fight could be advantageous both in terms of prestige and in the matter of money. In the event of a victory, Sergei would be able to avenge his counterpart for the defeat, which he considers unfair, and also make good money. It is hardly necessary to doubt that the final duel of the trilogy between two athletes could not have attracted the attention of both promoters and spectators.

The only problem is that Ward is currently retired. The undefeated boxer ended his career immediately after the second fight with Kovalyov. According to BoxingScene, the cause of this decision was a knee injury, which prevented the Americans in preparation for the battles with the Russian.

However, in January, there were reports that Andre was ready to return to the ring, however, only if he received a large fee. Callum Smith and Alexander Usyk were called possible rivals, but at the moment rumors have not been confirmed.