In the latest in a string of exciting stoppage victories, WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev rose from a first round knockdown to stop unbeaten Blake Caparello in the second round Saturday night at Revel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) dropped Caparello with a painful body shot in the second round that almost left the Aussie on the canvas permanently. Caparello (19-1-1, 6 KOs) rose grimacing but was soon knocked down twice more; once to a knee after taking a right in the corner and, finally, halfway through the ropes after taking a combination before the fight was called off at the 1:47 mark.
“That body shot was devastating. It was like a Roy Jones body shot,” Caparello promoter Lou DiBella said afterward.
The fight started off in surprising fashion when Caparello dropped Kovalev with a straight left down the middle. Kovalev seemed partially off balance but the knockdown was legitimate. When he rose, after taking an eight-count from referee Sparkle Lee, he went back to loading up on big shots. Kovalev was warned for punching behind the head before the round concluded but he came out differently in the second round and was soon standing over his opponent.
With the win against Caparello, the topic of conversation for Kovalev now shifts to his next opponent. On Friday, it was announced that current WBA and IBF title-holder Bernard Hopkins would be that fighter (assuming Kovalev won against Caparello). Hopkins, never one to miss a chance to talk and talk and talk, was in attendance at Revel and spoke to the media prior to the main event.
“I realized that I want to be undisputed,” Hopkins said. Many thought that that goal would have been fulfilled on Hopkins behalf, but against linear/WBC champion Adonis Stevenson, instead. Stevenson, after all, had backed out of an agreed upon fight with Kovalev to move over to Showtime in hope of an eventual fight with the 49-year-old.
That fight is moot, now.
“You know who lost? Stevenson lost,” said an agitated Hopkins about the failure to secure the fight. “He didn’t have the balls of the intelligence to do it. Nine out of 10 fights get made if we put our foot down.”
Thankfully, Kovalev and Hopkins have done just that and the two will now fight each other (on regular HBO) in the fall. The network change is largely due to the thaw in relations between Golden Boy Promotions and HBO. “Now that we’re dating again, hopefully it becomes a full blown relationship,” Hopkins said.
“November 8th is the biggest thing in boxing right now,” Hopkins said. “I am not going to knock him out. I am going to the ring for boxing,” Kovalev said afterward. “If I knock him out I will be happy. It’s a very big fight and a very interesting fight for me, myself and the boxing world.”
“I still think a legitimate boxer like Hopkins can do well,” DiBella said after the fight. “But Kovalev has dynamite in his gloves. I think it’s a great matchup.”