The 41-year-old Russian is now close to retiring
Former world light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (35-5-1) lost to the Swedish boxer Robin Safar (17-0, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision.
The ten-round heavyweight bout took place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the undercard of the unification bout for the undisputed heavyweight world title between Alexander Usik And Tyson Fury.
The Swede looked much fresher and sharper than his veteran opponent. He clearly outplayed his opponent on points and could have ended the fight with an early victory, but Kovalev survived. In the last, tenth round, Sergey still found himself on the canvas, but there were seconds left before the gong, and therefore Safar had to be content with a victory on points. The judges’ verdict was 97-92, 99-90 and 95-94.
Kovalev, 41, is reportedly now seriously thinking about retiring.
Let us remind you that earlier this evening, Ukrainian Daniel Lapin knocked out Portuguese Octavio Pudivitra in the first round, winning the WBA Continental championship belt.
The unification fight between Usik and Fury will begin approximately after midnight. The referee in the ring will be Mark Nelson, and the boxers’ actions in rounds will be counted by Manuel Oliver Palermo from Spain, Craig Metcalf from Canada and Mike Fitzgerald from Jacksonville, USA.
The most convenient way to follow the main fight of the year, as well as the fights preceding it on the undercard, is in our informative and operational text online broadcast.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
