Saturday night’s fight between Cedric Agnew and Sergey Kovalev was anything but a fight despite the fact the HBO commentators tried to make it appear that way.  Max Kellerman is one of the greatest sports commentators out there.  He’s always on point and is never afraid to say what he thinks.  But Agnew was nothing more than a frightened punching bag who occasionally through a “Hail Mary” with the hope it might land.  He didn’t throw many punches and fewer landed.  Clearly he just wanted to stave off the inevitable which he did for 6+ rounds.  In the end however, he proved to be an unworthy opponent.  Or perhaps, Kovalev is that good.  Either way, Kovalev is what boxing has needed and not a moment too soon.  He now owns 24 wins, all but 2 coming by way of KO.

While there have been many great fighters since the days when Mike Tyson was punching people out of their shoes, knocking them silly with reckless abandon, since then, no one has demanded the attention of Sergey Kovalev.  Who would you rather watch Mayweather or Kovalev?  He is by far the hardest hitting boxer in any division out there today.  When watching him, It reminds me of the line from Rocky V when Ivan Drago’s trainer says, “whatever he hits, he destroys.”  What’s so incredible about Kovalev is, like Tyson, no matter where he hits you, it hurts.  He will one day knock out an opponent by punching him in the arm.

What’s so impressive is that his power is natural.  No amount of weightlifting can create that.  You either have it or you don’t.  What’s also great about Kovalev is that he takes a great shot, or a head butt or low blow and simply gets back to business.  He’s unfazed in the ring by adversity.  If this continues he will knock out every worthy opponent and retire undefeated as one of boxing’s greats.  Even the best in the light heavyweight division are avoiding him, (Adonis Stevenson), not wanting to taste his power.    Too bad he’s not a heavyweight.  This is the one fighter who Bernard Hopkins would not be able to confuse and force to fight his fight.  Quite simply, Hopkins will never fight him, nor should he, because he could be seriously injured. The entire world will want to see this man fight as he is something special.  Move over Iron Mike, a new punching legend is born.