Sergey Kovalev fights Anthony Yarde on Saturday — is Canelo Alvarez subsequent?
Steve KimESPN
Sergey Kovalev may very well be in line for a big-money struggle with Canelo Alvarez if he efficiently defends his WBO gentle heavyweight title in opposition to Anthony Yarde on Saturday. Mikey Williams/Prime Rank
Sergey Kovalev defends his WBO gentle heavyweight title on Saturday in Russia in opposition to Anthony Yarde. That struggle continues to be days away, however there’s already discuss what may very well be subsequent for Kovalev: a showdown with middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
After spending a lot of the summer time attempting to make a Kovalev-Alvarez struggle occur in 2019, Golden Boy, Canelo’s promoter, and Important Occasions, which promotes Kovalev, have been unable to strike a deal in time for Kovalev to bypass this struggle. Alvarez is scheduled to return to motion on Nov. 2.
“I believe if we might been in a position to make different preparations in Russia, if we hadn’t been so absolutely dedicated to that, we might’ve gotten it accomplished,” stated Kathy Duva, the promoter and CEO of Important Occasions.
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Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+: Sergey Kovalev vs. Anthony Yarde, 12 rounds, for Kovalev’s WBO gentle heavyweight title.
Duva informed ESPN that by the point the dialog turned severe the primary time, cash had already been put into escrow for Kovalev-Yarde, and tickets for the struggle had already gone on sale.
Nonetheless, all of that dialog won’t be for naught if it simplifies the fight-making course of the second time round.
”It is arduous to say as a result of we lower off negotiations the place we did,” Duva stated of constructing Kovalev-Alvarez on Nov. 2. “I believe we have been shut then. Until their perspective has modified, I believe we must be in good condition. However first we have got to get by this struggle and win. That is all I am occupied with proper now as a result of I do not wish to jinx it.”
Golden Boy Promotions just lately introduced that Canelo can be bypassing his customary mid-September date to deal with securing an appropriate opponent for later within the fall. It was no secret that Kovalev was one of many major causes for concentrating on that later date.
Simply how excessive is Kovalev on the record for Canelo at this level?
For Sergey Kovalev, accepting a struggle with Canelo Alvarez should not be a difficulty. “He would not simply settle for the problem. He jumps at a problem,” stated Kathy Duva, whose Important Occasions promotes Kovalev. AP Photograph/Adam Starvation
“He is one of many names being thought of,” stated Eric Gomez, the president of Golden Boy. “We’re engaged on totally different concepts. He is not the one one. There’s different [names] we’re engaged on as properly. Canelo does wish to struggle by the tip of the 12 months, and we’re engaged on that.”
Whom Canelo is asking to struggle is a central situation for Golden Boy, Canelo and DAZN. The streaming platform signed the Mexican star to a ballyhooed deal that may pay him in extra of $360 million for 11 fights. Canelo has confronted Rocky Fielding and Daniel Jacobs in his first two fights of the contract.
Final week, Joe Markowski, the chief vp of North America for DAZN, met with Golden Boy officers, and the record of accepted opponents for Alvarez was expanded.
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“I believe it is no secret that [Kovalev] is somebody we might prefer to see Canelo struggle. I believe Canelo want to struggle him in some unspecified time in the future. Whether or not or not that is doable in November, it is to be decided. He is obtained a struggle this weekend,” Markowski stated. “We have got quite a lot of names that we’re chatting with. He’s one.”
Markowski stated that an announcement of Alvarez’s subsequent opponent might come shortly. With the necessity to get the promotional and advertising and marketing machine rolling for an occasion that includes their largest shopper, time is of the essence.
“The earlier we all know, the higher,” Markowski stated.
On the opposite facet, Golden Boy stays steadfast in its provides and negotiations with different fighters.
“The primary individual to take the deal that we’re providing, that is the individual we’ll go along with,” Gomez stated.
Ought to Kovalev retain his title, there’s little doubt that he would settle for the project, which might include a career-high payday.
“He would not simply settle for the problem. He jumps at a problem,” Duva stated. “All he needs to do is be within the largest fights he could be in — and that is the most important struggle he could be in.”