At the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Sergey Kovalev didn’t disappoint fans relishing another ‘Krusher’ knockout. Kovalev was at his devastating best, but this was more ‘glorified sparring match’ than ‘challenging title defense’.
Like we already knew, of course…
Nadjib Mohammedi (37-4, 23 KO) may have got through the opener unscathed, but things turned violent soon after. The Frenchman was knocked down twice in the 2nd, only hearing the bell by clinging on for dear life. In the 3rd, he was then dropped for the final time courtesy of a Kovalev one-two.
I don’t think we’re alone in hoping Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KO) shares the ring with a true test in his next fight. The Russian bulldozer dwarfed his opponent tonight, and had the upper hand on far too many levels. Like the Buglioni vs Castaneda card, this was a showcase fight.
Not that the Kovalev vs Mohammedi card didn’t contain plenty of decent fights on the undercard; Pascal vs Gonzalez was an action-packed classic. Although the bout stirred a lot of boxing fans with the verdict, BoxingBase.com had no qualms scoring it 96-94, Pascal.
Both men fought their hearts out, and for that, won the hearts of the crowd who stood and applauded at the final bell. For us, the wiser, experienced Jean Pascal (30-3-1, 17 KO) did enough to secure the victory. Great footwork, zipping shots and counters – just great smarts and generalship.
Gonzalez (16-1, 12 KO) was the bigger, stronger fighter, with ferocious fight-changing power in both hands. He was a threat throughout, fought valiantly, and shouldn’t be too hard on himself. The guy made it neck and neck.
In the bout prior, Sullivan Barrera stopped Hakim Zoulikha in the 8th round. Also on the undercard, Joel Diaz Jr stopped Alejandro Rodriguez in the 4th round, Rodney Hernandez won a Split Decision over Brice Ritani-Coe, and Cassius Chaney scored a 1st round stoppage of Edward Ramirez.
Kovalev vs Mohammedi Live Round by Round
Round 1: Size difference is staggering without question as action gets underway. Both men feeling each other out here. Kovalev reach makes his powerful jab even more dangerous. Mohammedi gets a couple of straight shots off. Right-hand from Kovalev. Kovalev, 10-9
Round 2: Kovalev slips, goes down, Mohammedi aggressive, fancying it. But then Kovalev lands several straight shots, drops Mohammedi! Mohammedi in a bad place, goes down again. Survival mode, holding on for dear life, falls over. Mohammedi does not want to be in there. Kovalev, 10-8 (20-17)
Round 3: Kovalev looking to finish what he started. Landing big right-hands. Mohammedi holding his own, just… Kovalev willing to walk through anything to land that fight-ending shot. Kovalev scores another knockdown off a one-two. Mohammedi counted out. Fight is over!
Result: Kovalev wins via 3rd round KO
Let your thoughts on Kovalev vs Mohammedi be known below, fight fans!
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