ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — A first round flash knockdown was the only brief hiccup for Sergey Kovalev, who rose to drop Blake Caparello three times for a second round TKO and clear the way for a November 8 unification bout with Bernard Hopkins.
QUICK WORK: After a feel-out first two minutes, Kovalev was squared up after an exchange and caught a left hand on the gloves. With his balance compromised, Kovalev toppled to the canvas. Kovalev quickly got up and started to land right hands to close the round.
The second round was all Kovalev. The Krusher’s right hand was cruelly accurate with a harpoon shot to the midsection that folded Caparello for the first knockdown. The second happened off a right cross upstairs made Caparello fall to his knees while trapped on the ropes. With no knockout power, there would be no Hail Mary return shots for the Australian challenger. Caparello never made it out the corner as Kovalev pounced again with rights hand to force the stoppage.
HOPKINS VS. KOVALEV: HBO held a dual post-fight interview with Bernard Hopkins to hype what might be the most important title fight of the year. As usual, Hopkins took over the proceedings and did his job in promoting the bout.
The reason this fight is so important is that it marks the end of the “Cold War” we’ve had between HBO and Golden Boy. It gives the fans an intriguing fight between title-holders and features rival promoters working together. And it makes Adonis Stevenson, who left HBO for Showtime and presumably a Hopkins showdown, look absolutely foolish for “playing games” as Hopkins revealed in this excellent BoxingScene piece on why Stevenson missed out.
The fight itself is a dangerous one for Hopkins. Yes, he’s historically eaten punchers for lunch. But at 50, and noticeably being caught more in his last few fights, Kovalev has a real chance to end the B-Hop’s run. With that said, I’ve learned a long time ago not to bet against the Executioner turned Alien.
The fight is being targeted for either Atlantic City or Brooklyn. Who’s your early pick?
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 