Boxing Coverage on Sherdog.comEleider Alvarez shocked the boxing world on Saturday night by knocking out Sergey Kovalev on HBO.
Kovalev bounced back from back-to-back losses to Andre Ward by stopping Vyacheslav Shabranskyy and Igor Mikhalkin, recapturing the WBO light heavyweight title in process. Most expected the knockout artist to continue his winning ways inside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, but Alvarez had other plans.
Kovalev (32-3-1, 28 KOs) was dominating his Colombian adversary early and often and appeared to be well on his way toward victory. However, a long lead right to the jaw dropped “Krusher” in the seventh and the tide of the fight was forever changed. Kovalev rose to his feet and tried to clear his head, but “Storm” lived up to his nickname by dropping the defending champ again with short left-right to the noggin.
Kovalev beat the count again and tried fighting back but with time running out in the frame, he was felled by a three-punch burst. As soon as the battered Kovalev crumbled onto the canvas, referee David Fields ended the mugging. The time of the sensational and shocking TKO came at 2:45 of the seventh, allowing Alvarez to not only improve to 24-0 with his twelfth knockout, but also capture the WBO title.
REPLAY: @stormalvarez with a trio of knocks downs on @KrusherKovalev to earn a tremendous KO victory in Round 7. #KovalevAlvarez pic.twitter.com/GdNw0ScKrd
— HBOboxing (@HBOboxing) August 5, 2018
