On a special night, one of the sport’s top performers defends his unified light heavyweight titles when HBO World Championship Boxing Sergey Kovalev vs. Isaac Chilemba is presented Monday, July 11 at 10:15 p.m. from the DIVS Palace of Competitive Sports in Ekaterinburg, Russia, exclusively on HBO.
Fighting just his third professional fight in his native country, where he compiled an amateur record of 193-22, Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (29-0-1, 26 KOs), originally from Cheylabinsk, Russia, now living in Southern California, takes on Malawi native Isaac Chilemba (24-3-2, 10 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round title contest.
Boasting one of the highest knockout percentages in boxing, the undefeated Kovalev has been a dominant force in the 175-pound division and is making his ninth appearance on HBO. Named the 2014 Fighter of the Year by a host of boxing media outlets, he’s among the sport’s fiercest punchers and is considered by many a contender for the title of top pound-for-pound fighter.
Chilemba has shown he isn’t intimidated by competing overseas, having fought in the U.S., England and Canada, and now Kovalev’s homeland. He is coming off a majority decision loss that some saw as a closer fight than the scorecards indicated.
Immediately following the fight broadcast, HBO will present an encore play of the 30-minute special “Terence Crawford: My Fight.”
