Today, former world-famous light heavyweight Russian "bone crusher" Segi Kovalev (34-4-1, 29KO) told the media that he was not in the state when he played with the first superstar of active boxing in 2019, Sur Avarez (57-1-2, 39KO), and the oil in the tank was insufficient.
Kovalev said: "I was not in shape when I played with Sur Avarez, when there was no oil in the tank. In 2019, I raced heavily, just took back the gold belt from Ered Avarez in February, after which the WBO forced me to play a statutory match with Anthony Yard (22-2, 21KO), which was originally scheduled to play in Russia on June 27, I returned to Russia a month before the game, but the game was rearranged on August 29. I was in Russia for a while, weighing as much as 203 pounds, and then I went back to the U.S. to celebrate my wife's birthday, and back to training camp, which was June 20. A month before the game, I went back to Russia again to continue training, and the game with Yad was tough, I was exhausted at the time, and I was going back and forth between the United States and Russia, and the weight went up and down. The day after I beat Yard, I received an offer from Avarez. I said I could not play 2-3 weeks later, and Avarez said no, either on November 2 or not, for someone else. I never liked canceling games, and I hadn't had the chance to play against superstars like Mayweather and Avarez before, so I said yes. ”
Kovalev went on to say, "It's really difficult for me to press the 175-pound ceiling again in such a short period of time. I usually weigh 92 kilograms, so when I walked up to the ring, there was no fuel in the tank and I couldn't punch hard. After Round 7, I said to coach Mike Gert that I was tired. Everyone saw what was going on and wondered what would happen if I filled my tank with fuel. Definitely very different. I definitely play more aggressively and proactively. The 175-pound limit was too tough for me, so I decided to upgrade to 200 pounds, where I hope to win the World Champion Gold Belt and end my boxing career with this result. ”
The 39-year-old Kovalev is about to return to the ring in May to face Terwell Plev (16-0, 13KO), his first official landing in the second heavyweight.