Kovalev-Yarde on ESPN+

It was officially announced today that ESPN+ will stream WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev’s fight with mandatory challenger Anthony Yarde on August 24 from Traktor Arena in Kovalev’s hometown of Chelyabinsk, Russia. The 36-year-old Kovalev (33-3-1, 28 KOs) is a veteran of 15 world title bouts and has won the light heavyweight world title on three occasions. Yarde (18-0, 17 KOs) is an unbeaten KO artist who is taking a giant step up in competition.

The stream will also showcase the co-feature bout between unbeaten cruiserweight contender Aleksei Papin (11-0, 10 KOs) and former world title challenger Ilunga Makabu (25-2, 24 KOs).

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  • For me, one of the biggest mystery fights in a while. Yarde looks skilled and has looked 100% comfortable in all of his fights, but the list of opponents is shocking for someone about to fight someone like Kovalev. I can’t tell if he is the real deal or not. He could either KO Kovalev or get absolutely destroyed himself.

  • What I will say is that I saw an interview with Yarde on YouTube and he absolutely exuded confidence. Sometimes you see guys in his position show an aggressive portrayal of confidence which can look false. Yarde looks very happy and that he’s relishing the challenge

  • Yarde has done little to deserve this shot, will a past his prime Kov expose him….or will Yarde rise to the occasion and shock most of us?….I think he gets exposed.

  • A nice card of Knock out artist. If I was a promoter this is the type of matchups Im looking for. Solid opponents with extraordinary high KO %. A no-brainer to tune-in.

  • I will be happy if Kovalev can go through this wall, but for some reasons I have the feeling he will succumb in the attempt and barely 30 minutes after the bell rang he could be on the dressing room leaking his wounds with maybe the last loss of his boxing career

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