Tonight at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, WBO light heavyweight world champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (34-3-1, 29 KOs) will defend his title against WBC franchise, WBA middleweight/super middleweight world champion Canelo Alvarez (52-1-2, 35 KOs). For the scouting report for this explosive match-up, see below.
|
Category
|
Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev
|
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez
|
|
Age
|
36
|
29
|
|
Record
|
34-3-1 (29 KOs)
|
52-1-2 (35 KOs)
|
|
Strength
|
In his last fight, a TKO win over the previously unbeaten and heavy-handed Anthony Yarde, the Krusher showed that he still has plenty of torque in his arsenal. He is also the most experienced light heavyweight champion in the division right now and possesses a top-notch jab as well.
|
Canelo’s power has always been one of his biggest assets. He delivers thunderous combinations and has done so against some of the best at both 154 and 160 pounds. Alvarez has proven he possesses a granite chin and at just 29 years of age he is in the prime of his career.
|
|
Weakness
|
Sergey has been stopped in the past. He will have to tighten up his defense for this bout considering the power of Alvarez. Kovalev also tends to take his foot off of the gas in the later rounds, which is something Canelo would surely capitalize on if it occurs here.
|
Canelo’s willingness to engage with just about anyone is something that may backfire in this fight. Although it has worked out for him in the past, the significant move up in weight may strike a nerve if he decides to stand and trade with the Krusher.
|
|
Experience
|
Kovalev’s experience is one of his strongest assets. He has been arguably the top light heavyweight in the world for many years and has faced the best available 175-pound fighters throughout his reign.
|
Canelo has faced nothing but the best available competition throughout his career. He has a ton of experience and has been fighting in the pro ranks since he was 15 years old.
|
|
Power
|
His power has been his biggest asset throughout his career. It will be interesting to see what Canelo can withstand when he gets hit by an elite light heavyweight for the very first time.
|
Regardless of what weight class Canelo was competing in, his power always managed to follow him there. He throws with bad intentions and has put the lights out on many top contenders and titleholders.
|
|
Speed
|
Kovalev’s speed has been under-appreciated throughout the years. He has a quick jab that he snaps at ease and throws devastating shots behind it.
|
Alvarez has quick hands and is super explosive with his combinations.
|
|
Endurance
|
Critics have questioned the endurance of the Krusher in recent years, however, he was able to step on the gas in the later rounds of his bout, with previously unbeaten powerhouse, Anthony Yarde. A fight which ended with an 11th round TKO victory for Sergey.
|
Canelo has been pushed to the brink in recent years by the likes of Gennady Golovkin, Miguel Cotto and Daniel Jacobs. He has proven time and time again that he has enough gas in the tank to go the distance and he will continue to press the action from bell to bell.
|
|
Accuracy
|
When Kovalev commits to his jab, it proves to be very difficult to defend and he seems to land it at will.
|
Alvarez is sharp and accurate with his shots. He fights with confidence and knows he can end any fight if he can land the right shot.
|
|
Defense
|
Kovalev’s best defense as of late is his jab. If he can capitalize on being the taller, rangier fighter then he may frustrate Canelo and prevent him from finding an offensive rhythm.
|
Canelo has superb head and body movement. In recent years, he has made elite-level fighters question whether they can get going offensively.
|
|
Chin
|
Kovalev is a gritty veteran and is as tough as they come. However, he has been stopped before and will want to steer clear of the tough shots from Canelo.
|
Alvarez handled himself well during his two bouts with the heavy-handed Gennady Golovkin. However, the boxing world is curious to see if his chin can hold up after receiving shots from The Krusher.
|
|
Style
|
Sergey is an aggressive and crafty veteran who likes to stick the jab and break down his opposition. He still carries plenty of pop in his shots and is always looking to finish the fight.
|
Canelo is a power-puncher with good defense and plenty of experience in championship fights. He likes to press the action and unload his power in an attempt to end the night early.
|
|
Crowd Support
|
Kovalev has had big fights in Las Vegas in the past and has been the face of his division for a number of years. Expect a portion of those in attendance to be pro-Kovalev for this matchup.
|
He is one of the biggest names in the sport and has fought some of the biggest fights in his career in Las Vegas. The crowd will be majority pro-Canelo for his light heavyweight debut.
|
|
Intangibles
|
In a time where big fights can be hard to make, this fight represents everything positive about the sport. Sergey Kovalev has been arguably the best light heavyweight in the world since 2014 and has never turned down a fight during his impressive run at the top. He has nothing left to prove to the fans or to the sport. However, he understands the magnitude of this fight and the challenge that it presents. A win will cement his spot in history and without a doubt allow him to go down as one of the best light heavyweights of all time.
|
Canelo has been a credit to the sport and has never backed down from a challenge. He has built a resume that may be the most impressive in boxing today. He’s been through the gauntlet at 154 and 160 pounds and has decided to jump directly back into the fray by moving up two weight classes to face the strongest 175-pound fighter in the world. Canelo is always looking to prove his critics wrong and is motivated once again to rewrite history and become the new WBO Light Heavyweight champion on November 2nd.
|
|
The Match-Up
|
|
|
According to Main Events’ matchmaker Jolene Mizzone, “This is a true throwback fight! I wish more people in this business would put the politics aside and fight each other. Fighters make fights! Kudos to both Kovalev and Canelo!”
This fight is all hype, no substance.
yur comment has zero substance also
One could have also summarized the comparison in one sentence:
A faded champ who desperately needs cash vs. a repeated PED user.
Krusher needs cash? Where you get that info my friend?
He just sold his ass with the 6 weeks training camp,and the 185 lb weight limit.
A blind man can see it.
Can’t wait! One of the biggest fights of the year. Decent scouting report. I think Kovalevs jab will be too much. Jabs often get overlooked and you find out once your in there. Kovalevs jab wears Canelo down. Loses a decision here I’m predicting. I was at 115-112, but I’m leaning closer to 116-111. Canelo complains of cramps or knee or back issues at the end of the fight but that will be because of Kovalevs jab.
They will never give Kovalev a decision. Stoppage is his only chance. But getting millions will be a good win anyways.
I remember the huge matchup in the 1990’s when James Toney was going up against Roy Jones Jr. and the hype was blown thru the roof! However, Jones dismantled Toney with his arsenal of hand speed and movement. Boy, the hype sold tickets and the casinos were hot! However, in the end, that’s all it was…..simply hype…….
Hype? Jones was the undefeated middleweight champ and was moving up to challenge the 44-0 James Toney who was not only the super middleweight champion but was also considered the number 1 boxer pound for pound at the time. No hype there my friend, just a great, great match up.
You off on this one bro.
I always felt the problem for Toney in that match was that he had trouble making the weight, and was not in the best condition. He also would lose twice to Montel Griffith. I would have like to see a rematch when both Toney and briefly Jones were at heavyweight. Might have been a different outcome, just like when Jones would fight Hopkins.
I think Kovalev is on the tail end of his career, is vulnerable, and this is why Canelo took this fight. Kovalev took this fight for the money. He had problems making weight, which indicates that his training wasn’t ideal, and he didn’t do enough road work. This means that his endurance is suspect. Not good. He can be hit and hit often, which spells doom when facing Canelo. Kovalev also does not have the power to stop Canelo, especially since Canelo is a smart fighter, and not easy to hit flush. Canelo upped his weight and will take his time waiting for that shot. He does have the power and leverage in his shots to hurt, who has been knocked out once a year for the last two years. Similar to his fight with Kahn, Canelo will wait until the middle rounds when Kovalev begins to tire, and he’s had a chance to read him and get his timing. Canelo by late round stoppage.
…and of course, this is EXACTLY what happened!☺️
After one of his fights DLH was asked do you think this fight was fixed? His reply was I just don’t know, when asked if he felt cheated he replied he clearly won that fight, and he really cannot believe the decision loss. Now as a promoter DLH is doing EXACTLY what he hated so much when he clearly won a fight and the decision was on the level of a WBC/WWE fraud job. Now we have a man Kovalev that ruled his division with an iron fist, and after he got robbed in the Ward fight, decided he must fight Ward again immediately and basically got a HUGE BANANA the 2nd time around. After not looking unbeatable anymore, he did stop a tough fighter to win the belt he has now. With that said, this sport does not know how to conduct itself. At one time believe it or not, it was the 2nd most important sport in the U.S. Many years ago (during the days of Dempsey,and later on with Joe Louis. Now we have a sport that is barely listed in a newspaper, and what we have instead is a phony stock listed in the penny section of the market. Canelo will get his win tonight because DLH has about as much class as that penny stock. And we the public know there is no question we need a commissioner that will not go along with all this fake B.S. and 40 champs in 100 divisions.
Just a bunch of excuses for Kovalev
I think Alvarez will be trying to go to the body.. And hes gonna get a couple shotgun rounds to the head from Kovalev’s gloves. That May put him on the deck
CANELO is gonna get caught reaching in..
I think so too. I hate all the people trying to discredit this fight. Kovalev is a LH champ no matter what anyone says. This fight means something. Just like it did when Manny fight De la Hoya. And that wasn’t even for a belt.
A brutal early round..a ko win for kovalev round 5 or 6
I think SK will do well in the early rounds but will fade later in the fight and CA will take advantage of it. As Vince Lombardi once said”fatigue makes cowards of us all” and SK has shown that propensity.The big factor is Canelos ability to take a punch so SK will have to be ready to out box him and hope his stamina holds up.If SK goes for the KO early he may tire himself too Quickly.I wouldn’t bet against CA.
Even getting paid 3-1?
Taking a crack on the chin at LH from Seigei is different from ability to take punch at lighter weights. Now if Kov is busy and punches none stop this may make probs Canelo that he can’t handle. Thought I believe Canelo is only taking fight because Seigei looks like he is on the slide. Prob always been while Saul is top notch champ its always loaded in his favour so we are always a bit cynical when he fights. ( Bet SC will not be in a hurry to fight Beterbiev or Dvodzyk).
I spotted a couple of errors in this scouting report. The first one is Canelo never turns away a challenge. He literally did this two months ago when presented Golovkin, whom he ducked numerous times before finally getting two gift decisions against him. The second is Alvarez is jumping two weight classes tonight. He currently OWNS a bogus super middleweight belt.
He fought GGG twice that’s enough! Ggg needs to fight a live body and stop with the march of cans
I felt like Kovalev just fought like a few weeks ago. It was only two months before this fight and there’s a rehydration limit.. he can’t even eat some pasta. Canelo is really trying to catch him at the perfect time.. he had six months to prepare for his next fight. I think it’s unfair but it’s still boxing anything can happen but so far with the timing and the rules Kovalev might look old in the ring simply because of how it’s happening. It might make canelo look strong and unstoppable lol.. for most fans.
Oh God if this fight has been arranged at a catch up weight. I can’t imagine the comments about it. There have been some Canelo’s fights that was justifiable to criticize, like the one vs. Josesito Lopez, Amir Khan, Fielding and even the one against Chavez Jr. but not this one, this one is not a cherry picking.
Almost every major player have been involved in cherry picking, being this accepted sometime for loyal fans. I remember expressions like:…….he was his mandatory……he got no choice……the guy is undefeate……is bigger than him and so on.
Here IMO the most notable recently: Lomachenko vs. Crolla, Golovkin vs. Roll, Golovkin vs Martirosyan (ducking Andrade in the process), Spence vs. Ocampo, Tyson Fury vs. Schwarz and Wallin (very sour cherry at the end) and some others.
Everyone that says this is cherry picking is an uneducated person. Even IF Kovalev is a paper champ over the hill boxer. He’s still champion. He still has ko power, he can still stop LH fighters. He in all reality is the man to beat at that weight. Haters trying to discredit this fight are mostly if not all sour GGG fans. And that’s just a fact!
Calling the drug cheat Canelo ”nothing but a credit to the sport” is a joke
Kovalev had to struggle to make weight. This might be a problem for him. Amazed that this fight has been made so soon after his last tough fight were he almost got stopped in the eighth round. If Kovalev does put on a fight, and then it goes the distance, and many fight feel he won like he did the first time against Andre Ward, I can see another controversial decision. But because he had trouble making weight, I would not be surprised that he loses with honor, but without controversy. As some have also pointed out, Alvarez has only stopped one man in the last three years. Can Kovalev use his reach advantage will be an interesting question. This match is intriguing none the less. While Kovalev might be now the weakest of the three champs at light heavyweight division, still got to give Alvarez props for taking on this challenge.
100% paid off!-!!! Fake fake fake!!!
The hard punch didnt hurt Kovalev.. But the 2 glancing, flim flam shots put him to sleep?!?!? That looked 100% fixed!!!!