Home victory: Kovalev defended his champion title in Chelyabinsk

Crowded arena and Yard's verbal attacks

The fight between Sergei Kovalev and Anthony Yard was certainly considered one of the main events of the year for Russian boxing. In February, a domestic athlete took revenge from Elader Alvarez and regained the WBO light heavyweight world champion title.

And less than six months later, Cracher was to protect him from the attacks of a young fighter from the UK, who by the age of 28 had not suffered a single defeat in the professional ring and won 18 victories, 17 of which by knockout. True, the Englishman did not meet with truly serious rivals.

Kovalev also had the opportunity not only to once again please the fans, but also to hold the first fight in Chelyabinsk. And for the sake of this, Sergei even refused a duel with Saul Alvarez. Of course, the evening of boxing gathered an impressive audience and there were no empty seats in the Tractor ice arena.

However, the battle with Alvarez is likely to take place in the very near future, but for this the Russians needed to defeat the Yard first. Experts generally agreed that Kovalev was a clear favorite of the confrontation, but in the Yard’s homeland they believed in their boxer. For example, Tyson Fury said that the Englishman is able to end the fight ahead of schedule.

Anthony himself noted that Kovalev was nervous and did not want to fight him. In response, Kovalev promised to "re-educate the lion cub."

“He calls himself a lion, but I would say that he is a lion cub. I will re-educate him. By virtue of experience, I calmly take this - there were a bunch of them. But it can also be understood. We will put in place, he posts a lot of unpleasant things. No need to bother at all, this is his business and his right, ”Sergey wrote on Instagram.

Yard called Chelyabinsk "the toughest place in Russia" and complained about the lack of hot water at the hotel. However, it is unlikely that this household moment could prevent the Briton on his way to the title.

The hardest seventh round and dedication of victory to Dadashev

However, the Briton from the first rounds showed that he did not intend to surrender to the favor of the favorite. Kovalev immediately seized the advantage and set the tone for the battle, but Yard calmly enough left the champion's branded jabs and regularly answered with his own. Moreover, he showed very good speed.

Nevertheless, in the first rounds, Kovalev improved the hit statistics and gradually increased pressure. At some point, it even seemed that Yard was frankly tired and simply did not understand what to do in this situation and how to defeat Sergey.

However, in the middle of the fight, Anthony showed that he still had a plan, and suddenly pushed up the pace. The Briton passed several armor-piercing hard strikes, after which Kovalev frankly “swam” and began literally to survive in the ring. The 36-year-old Russian was very close to knockout, and his coach Buddy McGirt watched with pain. It was he who was in the “corner” of the recently killed Maxim Dadashev in a fatal battle with Subriel Matias.

Fortunately, Kovalev did not receive serious injuries and managed to avoid a knockout. Yard did not take his chance and gradually began to lose strength. In addition, it must be understood that the Briton spent a maximum of seven rounds in the ring during his career. Just after the seventh, Anthony began to pass, which did not escape the attention of the most experienced Kovalev.

Sergei could still decide in the tenth three-minute period, when he began to literally beat his opponent, but the British saved the gong from early defeat. However, it quickly became clear that he only delayed the knockout. In the penultimate round, Kovalev brought a hard left jab to the applicant’s jaw and sent the opponent to the floor.

Thus, the Russian successfully held the first defense of the title, although he experienced serious problems, and took a confident step on the road to confrontation with Alvarez. Kovalev won the 35th victory and the jubilee 30th - by knockout. And Cracher dedicated this success to Dadashev.

“I dedicate the victory to Maxim Dadashev. May the earth rest in peace, heaven be with him, ”Kovalev said.

As for the course of the battle, Sergei emphasized that he had achieved what he wanted.

“Thank you for your support and for being there. This is our victory. Thank God for everything! At least every month would come here, at least every weekend. But I'm sorry, while my career is going on, I just can’t live and train in Chelyabinsk, and there to box. We must work on the spot. Thank you for your understanding, for coming here and supporting me. Have a rest! Saturday Sunday. A good reason to celebrate, ”added Kovalev.