Sergey Kovalev lost by knockout to Saul Alvarez and was unable for the second time to defend the light heavyweight world boxing title. For the Russian, this defeat was the fourth in his career, and the second in 15 months. In August 2018, he lost to the Mexican namesake Eleider, but subsequently was able to take convincing revenge.

The fight between Kovalev and Canelo lasted 11 rounds. During the penultimate three-minute period, the Russian stagnated at the ropes and allowed his opponent to inflict a series of smashing blows that sent him into a deep knockout. The domestic boxer hardly came to his senses, but was able to do without medical assistance and left the arena himself. After examining the doctors, it became known that he did not receive serious injuries.

“I had a fight as planned. Unfortunately, it turned out like this. Congratulations to Alvarez, he made a story. He boxed more with jab so as not to open the case. I think that it was a good experience, ”TASS quotes Kovaleva.

The 36-year-old athlete admitted that one of the causes of the defeat was his imperfect physical condition. According to the boxer, a sufficient amount of time to rest after the battle with Anthony Yard, held in late August, affected.

“Tired after the sixth round. Did not have time to recover after my last fight, he was just recently. I know that I can still combine all the light heavyweight titles. Still ready for this, ”concluded Kovalev.

According to the promoter of the athlete, the head of Main Events Katie Duva, Kovalev “apologized for the defeat” from Alvarez. At the same time, she expressed the opinion that the Russian boxer has nothing to apologize for, since he "did everything that depended on him."

After the fight, many suggested that the worst defeat would put an end to the future career of Sergei Kovalev. However, his manager Egis Klimas assured that the boxer will soon be back in the ring.

“Of course, Sergey is not going to end his career. We are going to return our title, ”said the representative of the athlete.

This was confirmed by the mentor of the "Crusher" Buddy McGirt. Former coach of the late Maxim Dadashev said that Kovalev is still able to continue to speak.

“Sergey completely fulfilled the whole plan for the battle. This happens unfortunately. Sergey is still young and will be ready to return to the ring as soon as he rests, ”said McGirt.

The newly-made champion in four weight categories paid tribute to Kovalev and praised the importance of success.

“It was a very difficult fight, but we knew what and how it would be. Made a story, this is the most important career victory. I respect my opponent very much, he had a good fight, ”said Canelo.

In the event of a victory for Kovalev, most likely his opponent could be compatriot Dmitry Bivol. The current WBA world champion and his promoter Andrei Ryabinsky confirmed this information, and the athlete himself arrived in Las Vegas to personally observe the performance of a possible vis-a-vis. But defeat changed his plans for the future.

“Rumor has it that Saul is going to stay. That would be great for light heavy. Of course I would like to fight Canelo. This is better done now than at 36 years old. The meeting with Kovalev is not so interesting. He lost, without a title. I’m now interested in the battles in which I can earn a belt, ”RIA Novosti quotes Bivola.

According to the athlete, in a duel with the Mexican Kovalev was not like himself.

“He looked age, tired, bitten by a wolf. He recently had a tough fight with Anthony Yard. Maybe he’s underreported somewhere, plus he’s 36 years old. But Sergey is also good at boxing at this age, ”Bivol added.

At the time the match stopped, Kovalev was in a difficult position. He lost two of the three judges on the referee cards and was forced to rely solely on knockout. At the same time, the general secretary of the Boxing Federation of Russia Umar Kremlev did not agree that the “Crusher” looked weaker than the vis-a-vis.

“The fight was equal, I would not say that Sergei lost. He worked a lot with his front hand, that's good. But in boxing it’s hard without the right to make a mistake: apparently, he almost noticed, missed a shot. I think you can’t be upset ... There was an opportunity to win, ”Kremlev said.

He also cited the lack of aggression on the part of the Russian and the fact that Sergey used his strong right hand a little, as possible reasons for the failure. Kremlev added that he was not impressed with Alvarez’s actions in the ring and promised to try to organize a duel with Kovalev’s participation in Russia.

According to prominent promoter Vladimir Khryunov, due to several factors, Alvarez’s success in the battle with Kovalev was almost a foregone conclusion. In particular, he indicated the date of the battle and the controversial judges' assessments at the time of the stop

“The organizers did everything so that Alvarez won. The fight was scheduled almost immediately after Sergey’s previous one, which deprived him of strength ... This was confirmed by weighing on the day of the match and, of course, referee notes ... In my opinion, the clearly winning Russian was two points behind the judges, and the third had a draw, ”said Khryunov.

Grigory Drozd, former world boxing champion in first heavyweight, did not agree with the promoter. He said that Kovalev did not succeed in the battle with Alvarez.

“He looked helpless, and most importantly, hesitantly. And Canelo, on the contrary, studied his opponent well; he managed to neutralize his front hand. Sergey was not his own, but the Mexican was gaining from round to round. Everything still ended with such a hard knockout. Nobody expected such a situation, now it’s somehow sad, ”said Drozd.

Ex-WBC Silver champion in the first heavyweight champion Dmitry Kudryashov was also unhappy with the actions of Kovalev. According to him, the compatriot was "too accurate" and too clearly adhered to the team plan.

“He was number two. If Sergei rested somewhere and began to act as sharply as before, then Alvarez could have felt the full power of the Russian. I understood that the battle pattern would be like that. I would like to see that "Crusher" who could stop with his blows. Maybe today Kovalev was worried that he would be tired in the second half, ”Kudryashov expressed his opinion.

Olympic champion Yegor Mekhontsev advised Kovalev to hang gloves on a nail. According to the athlete, he should think about his health, and not about the fights with Beterbiev and Bivol.

“I think Kovalev should leave ... Compatriots and fans will support him, including me. His decision should be masculine: either finish or continue. He has a family, small children. Everything happens, for example, like Dadashev. Sergei himself boxed with a guy who died after a duel with him. Here you have to think for yourself how your internal instincts will tell ... As for the battle with compatriots - Bivol or Beterbiev - I would not advise him, ”Mekhontsev quotes the“ Championship ”.