Canelo Álvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev was a professional boxing match contested on November 2, 2019, for the WBO light heavyweight championship.[1] The fight took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada and Álvarez won by 11th-round knockout.
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| Date | November 2, 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBO light heavyweight title | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Álvarez wins via 11th-round KO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
editÁlvarez made his debut at light heavyweight and was looking to become a three-weight world champion[*] by challenging WBO titleholder Kovalev, who was defending his title after having fought two months prior on August 24.
The fight
editAfter a competitive first ten rounds in which Kovalev found success with his jab while Álvarez largely utilized power punches, the latter produced a left hook, straight right combination to stop Kovalev in the eleventh round to become a three division world champion.[2] Kovalev was stopped for just the third time in his career. At the time of the stoppage, Álvarez led 96–94 on two of the judges' scorecards, with the other scorecard even at 95–95.[3] He joined Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Mike McCallum as the only former light middleweight champions in history to win a title at light heavyweight.[4][5][6][7]
Aftermath
editImmediately after the bout, many fight fans started asking Kovalev on social media about why he allegedly took a dive. The former champion answered via several videos on his Instagram page,:[8]
"It was impossible for me to win that fight because of all the demands and contract clauses I have signed, and my physical conditioning problems. But financially it was very interesting for me... so, yeah, I accepted the fight I was not supposed to win."[9]
Álvarez responded by calling Kovalev a "bad loser".[10]
Fight card
editConfirmed bouts:[11]
| Weight class | vs. | Type | Round | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light heavyweight |  Canelo Álvarez
|
def. |  Sergey Kovalev (c)
|
KO | 11/12 | 2:15 | Note 1 |
| Lightweight |  Ryan Garcia
|
def. |  Romero Duno
|
KO | 1/12 | Note 2 | |
| Super welterweight | Bakhram Murtazaliev
|
def. |  Jorge Fortea
|
UD | 12/12 | ||
| Flyweight | Seniesa Estrada
|
def. | Marlen Esparza
|
TD | 9/10 | Note 3 | |
| Welterweight | Blair Cobbs
|
def. | Carlos Ortiz
|
RTD | 6/10 | Note 4 | |
| Middleweight |  Meirim Nursultanov
|
def. | Cristian Olivas
|
UD | 10/10 | ||
| Light heavyweight |  Bektemir Melikuziev
|
def. | Clay Collard
|
TKO | 4/8 | 1:11 | |
| Super welterweight | Evan Holyfield
|
def. | Nick Winstead
|
KO | 1/4 | 0:16 | Note 5 |
| Super welterweight | Tristan Kalkreuth
|
def. | Twon Smith
|
UD | 4/4 |
^Note 1 For WBO light heavyweight title
^Note 2 For vacant WBC Silver lightweight title
^Note 3 For WBA female flyweight title
^Note 4 For vacant WBC-NABF welterweight title
^Note 5 Holyfield's professional debut
Broadcasting
editThe fight was streamed live on DAZN in the United States and nine other countries, televised on both FTA Azteca 7 in Mexico and Channel One in Russia.[12][13]
Fight purses
editAccording to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Álvarez earned an official purse of $35 million and Kovalev a $3 million purse. These figures are the final figures they will earn as Canelo has a subscription deal which means no potential PPV revenue.[30]
Guaranteed base purses
- Canelo Álvarez ($35 million) vs. Sergey Kovalev ($3 million)
- Ryan Garcia ($250,000) vs. Romero Duno ($50,000)
- Bakhram Murtazaliev ($55,000) vs. Jorge Fortea ($20,000)
- Seniesa Estrada ($50,000) vs. Marlen Esparza ($50,000)
- Blair Cobbs ($20,000) vs. Carlos Ortiz ($5,000)
- Meiirim Nursultanov ($12,500) vs. Cristian Olivas ($12,000)
Notes
edit- 1.^ Canelo is a 2-division champion because his WBA (Regular) super middleweight title was a secondary title. The universally recognized WBA super middleweight champion during this fight was WBA (Super) champion Callum Smith.
References
edit- ^ "Saul Alvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ "Canelo produces sensational Knockout of the Year contender to finish Kovalev". talkSPORT. 2019-11-03. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
- ^ "Canelo Alvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev - Official Scorecards". BoxingScene.com. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
- ^ "Canelo Alvarez finishes Sergey Kovalev for WBO light heavyweight title". sports.yahoo.com. 3 November 2019.
- ^ Rafael, Dan (3 November 2019). "Canelo stops Kovalev in 11th to win historic title". ESPN. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ Sanderson, Tom (4 November 2019). "Now A Four-Division Champion, Where Does Canelo Alvarez Stand In The Pound-For-Pound Picture?". Forbes. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ "Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez beats Sergey Kovalev for WBO light-heavyweight title in Las Vegas". BBC Sport. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ Kovalev answers via Instagram videos
- ^ Сергей Ковалев: Те, кто верил в мою победу над кабанчиком-Канело, профаны, retrieved 2019-11-22
- ^ "Canelo: Kovalev a 'bad loser' for weight excuse". ESPN.com. 2019-11-23. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ "BoxRec - event".
- ^ "Первый канал покажет поединок Ковалев - Альварес в прямом эфире". РИА (in Russian). 2019-10-21. Archived from the original on 2019-10-26. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
- ^ a.esteban (2019-11-02). "Televisa y TV Azteca llevaron en vivo pelea entre Canelo y Kovalev". www.record.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-07.
- ^ "Canelo v Kovalev - $49.95 | MAIN EVENT". Main Event. Archived from the original on 2001-02-02. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
- ^ "[拳击]WBO轻重量级争霸赛：阿尔瓦雷斯VS科瓦列夫". CCTV. Archived from the original on 2019-11-10. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- ^ Se Canelo vs. Kovalev på Viaplay, retrieved 2019-11-02
- ^ "Canelo vs Kovalev le 2 novembre sur beIN SPORTS". beIN Sports (in French). Archived from the original on 2019-11-02. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
- ^ "Mola TV on Instagram: "Berita baik untuk penggemar Boxing! Akhir pekan ini Mola TV akan siarkan duel dari ring tinju antara Canelo Alvarez vs Sergey Kovalec.…"". Instagram. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
- ^ "Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez vs Sergey Kovalev live on Sky Sports". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 2019-10-26. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
- ^ ""Канело"-Ковалев жекпе- жегін "QAZSPORT" телеарнасы көрсетеді". Qazsport. November 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-11-02. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
- ^ "Astro Malaysia". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
- ^ "Lo Mejor del Boxeo on Instagram: "Este sábado a las 8pm desde Las Vegas: Canelo Álvarez vs Sergey Kovalev por el campeonato mundial semi pesado. Por @telemetro.…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
- ^ "CIGNAL TV - Canelo vs Kovalev x KSI vs Logan Paul PPV". Cignal TV. Archived from the original on 2019-10-26. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
- ^ "Sports5". Facebook. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
- ^ "Plans and Bundles - Canelo Vs Kovalev & KSI Vs Logan Paul PPV Bundle". Sky Cable. Archived from the original on 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
- ^ "Canelo i Kowaliow w limicie. Przed nimi jednak drugie ważenie". Polsat Sport (in Polish). 2 November 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-11-02. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
- ^ "Canelo goes heavy to nail place in history - live on SuperSport". SuperSport. Archived from the original on 2019-11-02. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
- ^ "Eleven Sports TW on Instagram: "🥊WBO輕重量級拳王爭霸賽倒數五天🤜 Kovalev vs Canelo 🤛 ⭕️拳王限定通行證 限時開賣 單月看兩場 來自俄羅斯，流著戰鬥民族的血液，拳王Sergey Kovalev對決墨西哥巨星Canelo Alvarez，拳力出擊！！！ 👀Kovalev本場看點…"". Instagram (in Chinese). Retrieved 2019-11-07.
- ^ "Bilgehan Demir on Instagram: "Gel de uyu 🤔 3 Kasım pazar sabahı tam ne zaman? Harbiden saatleri 4'e kurdunuz mu? #CaneloKovalev @boksgecesi @dmaxtr"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
- ^ Dan Hiergesell (November 2, 2019). "Official Canelo vs. Kovalev fight purses: Alvarez banks $35 million for light heavyweight debut". mmaweekly.com.