HBO Fight Preview

Sergey Kovalev vs. Jean Pascal II

Most boxing fans are still waiting for Sergey Kovalev and Adonis Stevenson to do battle.  Others are excited thinking about the fight between Kovalev and Andre Ward that is supposed to happen in late 2016.  There is also plenty to be excited about this weekend on HBO when Kovalev takes on Jean Pascal in a rematch on of their electric 2015 fight.  This fight is scheduled for 12 rounds in the light heavyweight division where most people consider Kovalev the man to beat.  Redemption will be on the line for Pascal who lost the first fight by way of eighth round stoppage and for Kovalev, his IBF, WBO, and WBA titles will be on the line.

Most Kovalev opponents don't see the final bell

Kovalev goes by the nickname "Krusher" and he does just that to most opponents.  The Russian, now living in Florida is one of the heaviest hitters in the sport and he also seems to enjoy inflicting punishment more than most fighters do.  Kovaelv is an orthodox fighter with a stiff jab and power in both hands.  While he is known as a power puncher he showed against Bernard Hopkins that he also has plenty of boxing skills to go along with his power.  Kovalev has dropped opponents with jabs but he usually hurts them with left hooks and straight right hands, either of which can end a fight.  When Kovalev gets an opponent in trouble he wastes no time going in for the kill but occasionally he will focus too much on offense and end of eating some clean punches upstairs like he did against Pascal in their first fight.  

It is often hard to judges the resumes of fighters like Kovalev and Gennady Golovkin because not many other top opponents want to get in the ring with them.  By far the biggest name on Kovalev's resume is Hopkins who he dropped in the opening round and out boxed the rest of the night on his way to a wide unanimous decision victory.  Among his other notable wins are stoppages of Nathan Cleverly and Pascal.  During his career, which started in 2009, Kovalev has put together a record of 28-0-1 with an almost unfair 25 knockouts.  One thing "Krusher" can't do is overlook Pascal by thinking about the upcoming Ward clash or possible Stevenson fight.

Many fans felt Pascal lost to Gonzalez

Pascal is a very athletic orthodox boxer puncher who sometimes abandons his boxing skills in favor of a slugfest.  Because of his athleticism Pascal will often keep his lead hand very low which got him in trouble against Kovalev.  Although Pascal does have a quick jab he doesn't use it extremely often and many times he just uses it as a measuring stick for has favorite punch, his overhand right.  Pascal's quick hands allow him to counter punch when he chooses and his counter left hook is a good weapon.  Most of Pascal's power comes from his overhand right and often times that is the only punch he focuses on landing which ends up getting him in trouble he otherwise might not be in.

You will find many more notable names on the resume of Pascal than you will on Kovalev's.  Pascal has fought Carl Froch, Hopkins twice, Chad Dawson, and Lucian Bute.  While Pascal did beat Dawson and Bute he lost to Froch and went 0-1-1 against Hopkins.  In his most recent fight Pascal took on the relatively unknown but talented Yunieski Gonzalez and although he came away with the unanimous decision win many fans feel that Gonzalez earned the victory that night.  For his career Pascal has gone 30-3-1 with 17 knockouts and he has only been stopped once which happened to come against Kovalev.

In their first fight Kovalev was able to drop Pascal in the third round and in the fourth looked to be on the verge of stopping him.  Pascal came back nicely though and made it an exciting fight until the eighth round when Kovalev hurt him in the corner before slipping to the canvas.  When Kovalev got up Pascal was clearly in trouble and a few heavy right hands that landed clean forced the referee to stop the fight.  In that fight Kovalev was able to do basically whatever he wanted offensively but Pascal did find success in the middle rounds with his overhand right.  This time around Pascal would be better served trying to box instead of bang and not solely rely on his one power punch, something his new trainer Freddie Roach has also made not of.

PREDICTION: The first time these two fought it looked like Sergey Kovalev would stop Jean Pascal early but Pascal was able to survive until the eighth round.  This time around Kovalev seems angered by some of Pascal's talking leading up to the fight and an angry Kovalev is a scary Kovalev.  This fight will play out much like the first except Pascal will box more which will save him from some punishment early but the outcome won't be much different as Kovalev will stop Pascal once again, this time in the ninth round.

Dmitry Mikhaylenko vs. Karim Mayfield

Sergey Kovalev won't be the only Russian pugilist in action on Saturday night.  His fellow Russian Dmitry Mikhaylenko will also be putting in some work.  Mikhaylenko was originally scheduled to fight Ray Robinson but Robinson was forced to pull out of the fight due to a back injury.  Now Mikhaylenko will take on late replacement Karim Mayfield in a 10-round bout in the always crowded welterweight division.

Mikhaylenko will look to remain perfect

Mikhaylenko is an orthodox fighter who lacks the power that Kovalev has but is still very good offensively.  What makes Mikhaylenko so successful is that he has a lot of weapons including a good jab, and quick left hook, and a solid right hand.  Also Mikhaylenko can fight well from the outside or in the pocket and he does a great job of attacking the body.  While the Russian isn't a power puncher he is a volume puncher and his still is a relentless one.  

The knock against Mikhaylenko is that he has never faced any top opponents.  While that is true he has beat some solid opponents after stepping up his level of competition in late 2014.  For his career Mikhaylenko has been a perfect 20-0 but he only has nine knockouts to his name.  When he does score a knockout is isn't usually from a single punch but from an accumulation of punches which is how he stopped Johan Perez in his last fight.

Mayfield will have the experience advantage

Mayfield is also an orthodox fighter and he goes by the nickname "Hard Hitta."  When it comes to boxing skills Mayfield isn't the most polished fighter but he does have some pop on his punches, especially his overhand right.  Mayfield doesn't have the best jab though so he is often left to rely on his left hook and right hand.  While that overhand right is certainly a dangerous weapon it will be tough to beat a fighter like Mikhaylenko with just one punch.

One of the advantages Mayfield has over Mikhaylenko, besides power, is experience as a professional.  As a pro Mayfield has fought quality opponents like Mauricio Herrera, Thomas Dulorme, and Emmanuel Taylor.  While none of those fighters are considered elite they are all better than anyone Mikhaylenko has faced.  While Mayfield lost to Dulorme and Taylor he did score a win over Herrera.  It definitely won't be easy but a win over Mikhaylenko as a let replacement could get Mayfield another big fight.

This fight could be an interesting one of Mayfield can find a home for his overhand right.  If Mayfield can't land his money punch he probably won't have many answers for Mikhaylenko.  However, if that overhand right can land often he could give Mikhaylenko a tough test.  The problem for Mayfield is that Mikhaylenko is the better boxer and can fight from the outside or in the pocket so Mayfield may have to rely on a homerun punch to win this one.

PREDICTION: Karim Mayfield will give Dmitry Mikhaylenko a better fight than Ray Robinson would have but that still won't be enough to hand Mikhaylenko his first career loss.  Mikhaylenko is the better boxer and that will be evident when he gets the wide unanimous decision victory.