Sergey Kovalev to face Bernard Hopkins if he beats Blake Caparello.
Blake Caparello is all that stands in the way
of Sergey Kovalev facing Bernard Hopkins next, as contracts for
Kovalev-Hopkins have already been signed.
If Sergey
Kovalev wins as expected tomorrow night against Blake Caparello, the WBO
light heavyweight titlist will unify with WBA and IBF titleholder
Bernard Hopkins, as ESPN reports that the fight has already been signed and is tentatively scheduled for November.
Kovalev (24-0-1, 22 KO) is a
9-to-1 favorite tomorrow against Caparello (17-0-1, 6 KO), with the two
meeting in Atlantic City. It's expected by most observers to be little
more than another stay-busy title defense for "Krusher" Kovalev, who has
been on a tear.
Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KO) beat
Tavoris Cloud for the IBF title in March 2013, defending it against Karo
Murat in October. He unified that belt with the WBA title held by
Beibut Shumenov in April of this year, and has said repeatedly that his
ultimate plan is to unify all four major titles. A potential win over
Kovalev would leave only WBC and Ring Magazine champion Adonis Stevenson
on that mission, which could easily be transferred to Kovalev, too.
The bout will take place on one
of the first three Saturdays in November (1, 8, or 15) at Boardwalk
Hall in Atlantic City, with HBO televising. Hopkins has been fighting on
Showtime, but will move back to HBO for the first time since his win
over Cloud.