Moments ago at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Eleider Alvarez captured the WBO light heavyweight title in emphatic fashion, dropping former champion Sergey Kovalev three time to earn a TKO victory. The fight was a back-and-forth chess match early as Alvarez looked to establish his jab and control distance, while Kovalev worked his way in to land his heavy artillery. By the middle rounds, it appeared as though Kovalev was starting to take over, landing the more telling shots that were starting to take their toll.
To his credit, however, Alvarez was game and willing to fight fire with fire. Not afraid to let his hands go, Alvarez fired back and was catching Kovalev with some decent shots of his own. In the 7th round, Alvarez found a home for a devastating right hand the stopped Kovalev in his tracks and dropped him to the canvas. Although he beat the count, Kovalev was on unsteady legs and Alvarez wasted no time in jumping on him. Another barrage of punches that ended with a left hook, right hand combination sent Kovalev to the canvas for the second time of the fight. Again, he beat the count and the referee let the fight continue although he probably could have stopped it then. Another follow-up barrage from Alvarez and the same left hook, right hand combination sent Kovalev crashing to the canvas for the third and final time of the fight, prompting the referee to call a halt to the assault. At the time of the stoppage, Kovalev was ahead on all three scorecards.
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