Sergey Kovalev, the undefeated WBA, IBF and WBO light heavyweight champion is scheduled to fight Nadjib Mohammedi on July 25, but boxing fans are truly craving a unification bout with WBC champion Adonis Stevenson, whose moves over the past year and a half bring up questions about his desire to ever fight Kovalev.
Stevenson engineered a move from HBO to Showtime and Al Haymon last year that he believed would garner a date with Bernard Hopkins, a bigger name than Kovalev. Hopkins surprised the boxing world by taking on Kovalev anyway, losing his title in the process. The fight was a boon for Kovalev's stature, and Stevenson's took a hit. Stevenson is now part of Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions stable, and a fight vs. Kovalev has never seemed further away.
In fact, Kovalev is the one now giving up on Stevenson.
"Stevenson is a piece of s**t," Kovalev said. "I'm not chasing him. I don't have to prove myself to him. He's not ready to fight me."
Kovalev has been facing superior competition to Stevenson. He defeated Hopkins for the belt, then defended it vs. Jean Pascal in Quebec, Pascal's hometown. Stevenson has faced Andrzej Fonfara and tasted the canvas, then defeated Dmitry Sukhotsky and Sakio Bika, who have a combined eight losses between them.
Kovalev has set his sights higher than Stevenson, openly stating he's willing to take on super middleweight standout Andre Ward, considered by some to be the best fighter in the world pound-for-pound.
"I'm ready to fight anyone. I want to fight the best," Kovalev said. "If Andre Ward wants to fight then let's do it. I would welcome that very much."
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