Krushed By Storm In Atlantic City
By William Trillo
Photos: “Sugar” Ray Bailey
Not since Hurricane Sandy hit the Jersey shores has such a devastating Storm hit the famed Atlantic City Boardwalk. With one Krushing right hand in round seven Eleider Alvarez took Kovalev out into the deep water and left him there to try to swim out of danger. With no life preserver in sight Kovalev struggled to stay afloat but he was no match for the weight of Alvarez’s barrage of punches. Less than a minute later Kovalev sank to the canvas as a jubilant Alvarez celebrated his championship winning performance.
Honestly I was surprised to find out that at the time of the stoppage Kovalev was comfortably ahead on all scorecards. In my mind the fight was close and after a slow start Kovalev may have started taking command.
But let’s go ahead and take the scores for what they were and give the Champ his just due, fair enough. I can do that. But if you didn’t see Alvarez snapping Kovalevs head back early in the fight with crisp jabs, and if you didn’t see a more than concerned look on Kovalev’s face right away then either you weren’t paying attention or your loyalties to Sergey have skewed your vision.
The ebb and flow of this battle made this a very intriguing fight to witness. In the third and fourth rounds Kovalev began to show the form that made him the dominant force at 175 pounds for so many years. He started laying the leather to Alvarez and was rocking the challenger with his own thunderous barrage. But Alvarez weathered that storm; he did not crumble as so many of Kovalev’s past foes had done. Outside of the fight ending right hand that may have been the biggest blow Kovalev suffered all night.
Whether he was gassed from the swarm of punches he threw in the previous rounds, or was unable to comprehend how Alvarez was still there in round seven, Kovalev seemed to have slowed down more than a bit.
Seizing the moment Alvarez unleashed a thunderous right hand that staggered Kovalev and then put him on the seat of his pants. That one punch was the fight ender. Kovalev rose to his feet but for all intents and purposes the title had already changed hands.
It’s probably not the result they were expecting but after a 4 year hiatus from boxing on The Boardwalk it turned out to be a pretty memorable night in Atlantic City. It’s likely we will be seeing a lot more fights coming back to The Boardwalk.
With a rematch clause in place it could be Alvarez and Kovalev would return to Atlantic City, but I wouldn’t be holding my breath. Sergey will be taking a mandatory 90 day vacation due to the KO loss and now that Alvarez threw a monkey wrench into a possible Bivol vs. Kovalev battle it’s anyone’s guess what is next.
But with a 175 pound division chock full of young stars it’s bound to be a wild ride at 175 pounds over the coming year or two.
Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news.
