Tomorrow night, Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs) will face his first IBF mandatory challenger, Nadjib “Iron Djib” Mohammedi (37-3-0, 23 KOs) at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada and live on HBO World Championship Boxing. Does the 30-year old from Gardanne, Bouches-du-Rhône, France have any hope of an upset? Below, find the final Kovalev vs. Mohammedi fight preview, along with more fight week updates, including Kovalev talking about Adonis Stevenson.
Kovalev Speaks on Stevenson
“I don’t want to speak about him [Stevenson] at all because he’s not a real champion. He got lucky once against Chad Dawson when Dawson dropped his title against Andre Ward.
“Andre Ward destroyed him and he didn’t recover for the fight against Stevenson. He got lucky and right now is still “champion”. It’s smart for the business but it’s not good for boxing.
“I’m ready for any fight but I keep in my mind to win the WBC title first of all but I’m open for any fight. I think I’m a regular world champion but I have three world titles, the WBO, WBA and IBF, but my dream is to get a fourth.
“We’ll see what happens in the future. I hope somebody beats Stevenson and gets the WBC title and then we can make the fight. Even if it is a harder or tougher boxer, it’s no problem. I just need an agreement for a fight for the WBC and a unification.”
Fight Week Video Interviews
Kovalev vs. Mohammedi Fight Analysis
Category | Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev | Nadjib “The IronDjib” Mohammedi |
| Age | 32 | 30 |
| Record | 27-0-1 (24 KOs) | 37-3-0 (23 KOs) |
| Strength | Kovalev has knockout power in both hands; he has the ability to end a fight with any punch he throws. He also showed the world that he has a good chin after taking some big shots in his successful title defense against Jean Pascal in March. | Nadjib is an aggressive fighter with good hand speed and great endurance; he is always in tremendous shape and treats every fight like there is a title on the line. He throws punches from all angles and can pose a threat to any top light heavyweight contender. |
| Weakness | Sergey has been knocked down before but not hurt, he tends to leave openings in his guard which could pose a problem in this bout as Nadjib has finished his last 11 of 13 opponents. | Mohammedi has a tendency to get sloppy at times, in previous fights he had a tendency to throw wide looping punches that could potentially get him into big trouble considering the power that Kovalev brings to the table. |
| Experience | Kovalev has fewer pro fights than Nadjib, but the past two years he’s faced and defeated three former titleholders in Bernard Hopkins, Jean Pascal and Nathan Cleverly. | Nadjib has more pro fights under his belt than Kovalev. He has fought for world titles before. |
| Power | Kovalev will have the clear advantage here as he is best known for his vicious knockout power in either hand. He throws nasty body shots. | Nadjib does not pack one-punch power in either hand. He is known more for the volume of punches he throws. |
| Speed | Kovalev has average speed that picks up once he sees he has his opponent on the ropes and he goes for the finish. | Mohammedi has quick hands and quick feet as well. He is a small light heavyweight; he moves around the ring well and is very agile. |
| Endurance | Sergey has shown the ability to maintain a steady pace that allows him to conserve energy while still looking sharp in the later rounds. However, he has only fought 12 rounds once in his career when he defeated the former titleholder Bernard Hopkins. | Mohammedi may have a slight edge here, as he has been 12 rounds on three separate occasions, and 10 rounds three times as well. |
| Accuracy | Kovalev shows great accuracy with his one-punch knockouts; he also throws very accurate and powerful shots to the body that have ended fights in the past. | Nadjib’s accuracy is evident when his opponents stand and trade shots with him; he has an accurate jab plus an overhand right that tends to follow. |
| Defense | Sergey’s best defense may just be his offense. His power has become a complete game-changer in the past, forcing opponents to rethink their game plan. | Mohammedi is light on his feet and moves around the ring well, making it difficult for anyone to hit him. However, he enjoys standing and trading with his opponents which could ultimately get him into trouble against The Krusher. |
| Chin | In his last fight Kovalev showed that his chin is more than durable, he took some big shots against a heavy hitter in Jean Pascal and managed to stay on his feet and earn the stoppage win. | Nadjib’s chin may be in question here; he has been stopped twice in his career and has never been in the ring with a puncher as devastating as Kovalev. |
| Style | Sergey is an offensive-minded fighter who likes to walk his opponents down then go for the finish. | Mohammedi is a boxer who shows signs of being a volume puncher while utilizing great counter-punching. |
| Crowd Support | Sergey’s popularity has greatly increased since major wins over Bernard Hopkins and Jean Pascal. He is now competing in the fight capital of the world, so Kovalev will likely have majority of the crowd support here. | Nadjib may be at a disadvantage here as he is not well known just yet. However, Nadjib is a gamer and treats every fight like it’s a title fight, which is a mentality and style that may win him some crowd support throughout this fight. |
| Intangibles | Kovalev’s previous two bouts were by far the toughest of his career. He defeated Bernard Hopkins in November of 2014, and just four months later he earned a stoppage win over former world champion Jean Pascal. Now, rather than take some extra time to recover and enjoy these wins, he returns to the ring after another quick four-month turnaround and takes on Mohammedi, who has not lost a fight in almost five years. | Nadjib has waited patiently for over a year to capitalize on his number one contender position. After earning his position in June of 2014, Nadjib decided to stay active and risk his number one ranking. He competed on Kovalev’s two previous undercards against durable opponents, against both of which he scored stoppage wins. Those risks have paid off and Nadjib will finally get his shot against the world’s best light heavyweight. |
| The Match-Up |
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