The odds are staked against contender, Isaac Chilemba, ahead of a rare Monday night world light heavyweight fight in Russia.
His Russian opponent, Sergey Kovalev (29- 0-1, 26 KO), has made his intentions clear after undermining the Malawian contender by arranging another title defence fight set for November.
It might be either an act of open defiance or simply exercising his confidence following his bold move to put three belts—World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organisation (WBO)—on the table.
Kovalev is making his eighth title defence at the same arena where his last fight ended in tragedy.
He knocked out Roman Simakov in the seventh round in December 2011.
Three days later, Simakov died due to injuries suffered during the bout, one Kovalev has been reticent to discuss
However, the South Africa-based Chilemba (24- 3-2, 10 KOs) plans to be more than just a speed bump for the Russian machine.
The 29-year told an online publication, bleacherreport. com, that “Kovalev is not invincible. He is not God. He is a man just like me. I will be the man to crush the ‘Krusher.’”
The WBA, IBF and WBO light heavyweight champion Kovalev has to overcome Chilemba before he takes on Andre Ward in an epic confrontation in November.
This has been one of the most talked about fights of the year.
Renowned international boxing analyst, Scott Christ, commented on another online publication, www. badlefthook.com, that Kovalev is one
of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
“I would argue that in a lot of ways, he is even slightly underrated, if anything. He is exciting, he is a puncher, he gets knock-outs, but beyond that, he is also a very skilled, very effective boxer,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Malawi Professional Boxing Control Board (MPBCB) President, Lonzoe Zimba, said Chilemba should not be underrated.
“Of course, Kovalev is the favourite if you look at his record. However, undermining Isaac at this stage is suicidal because anything can happen. It is good that Chilemba is going into the fight as an underdog,” he said.
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