According to ESPN, Sergey Kovalev and Marcus Browne have come to terms for a bout to be scheduled for early this summer at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. The bout will be for Kovalev’s WBO light heavyweight title.
Kovalev is coming off a two-fight win streak after back-to-back losses to Andre Ward. The one-time three-belt world champ would get back one of those belts last November after Ward’s surprising retirement from the sport by knocking out top contender Vyacheslav Shabranskyy for the vacant strap. Since then, the Russian has made one defense of his title, stopping Igor Mikhalkin this past March in seven rounds.
Much of the boxing world assumed that a unification bout with WBA light heavyweight champ Dmitry Bivol would be next for Kovalev since Bivol’s win over Sullivan Barrera was the co-feature underneath Kovalev-Mikhalkin on HBO. Maybe HBO, themselves, are a bit blindsided by Kovalev’s decision to fight Browne.
Still, Kovalev-Browne is a good fight and it’s easy to see why HBO would greenlight it when they may have wanted Bivol, instead.
The 27-year-old Browne may be heavier-handed than anyone Kovalev has faced thus far in his career and is brimming with confidence after wins over second-tier challengers like Thomas Williams and Sean Monaghan. Browne is also mandatory challenger to Artur Beterbiev’s IBF title, but apparently opted for the bigger name and likely bigger payday that Kovalev brings.
Still, this is a huge step up in class for Browne and an even bigger leap of faith for his team. A Kovalev at full form should be able to handle Browne, but the question remains whether a post-Ward Kovalev is at full form. If there are chinks in the heavy-handed Russian’s armor and some confidence issues left over from the Ward de-pantsing, then the challenger has a real chance of walking away with the upset win.
Team Browne’s calculated risk was also likely encouraged by the current title picture at 175. Title bouts with other champs Beterbiev and Bivol are just as risky as a Kovalev fight, but not as financially beneficial. And with WBC champ Adonis Stevenson signed to defend against Badou Jack on May 19, a shot at that belt may be out of reach for quite some time.
Kovalev, meanwhile, has plenty to prove, himself. Since the two losses to Ward, the “Krusher” has languished in excuse-making and denial, changing his trainer and giving every appearance of being a fighter in need of a sports psychologist. Two relative soft touches since the Ward fights got him a world title and put some distance between him and the defeats, but a confident, prime, and big-throwing Browne could be the kind of test that shows whether Kovalev is really ready to move forward.
An actual date has yet to be set for this fight.