Kovalev vs Alvarez

Who won Kovalev vs Alvarez?

Eleider Alvarez beat Sergey Kovalev by technical knockout in the 7th round on Saturday, August 4th, 2018, at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, New Jersey.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 175 pounds (12.5 stone or 79.4 kg).

This contest was for the WBO light heavyweight championship of the world.

The undercard featured the clash of Bivol vs Chilemba for the WBA World Light Heavyweight championship.

Kovalev vs Alvarez stats

Back in August 2018, Sergey Kovalev stepped into the ring with a record of 32 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw, 28 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Eleider Alvarez made his way to the ring with an unblemished record of 23 wins and 0 draws, with 11 of those by knockout.

The stats suggested Kovalev had a massive power advantage over Alvarez, boasting a 88% knockout percentage compared to Alvarez's 48%.

Sergey Kovalev was the older man by 1 year, at 35 years old.

Alvarez had a 4-inch reach advantage.

Both Sergey Kovalev and Eleider Alvarez fought out of an orthodox stance.

Kovalev was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 12 more fights, and made his debut in 2009, 1 month earlier than Alvarez, whose first professional fight was in 2009. He had fought 15 more professional rounds, totaling 204 compared to Alvarez's 189.

Eleider Alvarez was ranked number 8 by the WBO in the 175lb division.

Kovalev vs Alvarez form

Kovalev had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Igor Mikhalkin on March 3, 2018, by technical knockout in the 7th round in their WBO World Light heavyweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York, United States.

Prior to that, he had won against Vyacheslav Shabranskyy on November 25, 2017, by technical knockout in the 2nd round in their WBO World Light heavyweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Andre Ward on June 17, 2017, by technical knockout in the 8th round in their WBA Super World Light Heavyweight, IBF World Light Heavyweight, WBO World Light heavyweight and The Ring Light Heavyweight championship fight at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had lost to Andre Ward on November 19, 2016, by unanimous decision in their WBA Super World Light Heavyweight, IBF World Light Heavyweight and WBO World Light heavyweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

He had beaten Isaac Chilemba on July 11, 2016, by unanimous decision in their WBA Super World Light Heavyweight, IBF World Light Heavyweight and WBO World Light heavyweight championship fight at DIVS, Ekaterinburg, Russia.

Alvarez had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 1 of them, going the distance 4 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had defeated Jean Pascal on June 3, 2017, by majority decision in their 12 round contest at Bell Centre, Montreal, Canada.

Prior to that, he had defeated Lucian Bute on February 24, 2017, by technical knockout in the 5th round at Centre Videotron, Quebec City.

Going into that contest, he had won against Robert Berridge on July 29, 2016, by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Centre Videotron, Quebec City.

Before that, he had defeated Isaac Chilemba on November 28, 2015, by majority decision in their 12 round contest at Centre Videotron, Quebec City.

He had beaten Isidro Ranoni Prieto on August 15, 2015, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Bell Centre, Montreal.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Sergey Kovalev had been fighting more than Eleider Alvarez.

Going into this contest, Sergey Kovalev had last fought 5 months and 1 day ago, while Eleider Alvarez's last outing had been 1 year, 2 months and 1 day ago.

Kovalev's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years and 24 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 4 months and 30 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 41 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 8.2 rounds on average.

Alvarez's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 20 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 5 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 51 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 10.2 rounds on average.

What time did Kovalev vs Alvarez start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 11:00 PM EST / 8:00 PM PST at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, New Jersey, United States, which was around 4:00 AM BST in the UK.

Who broadcast Kovalev vs Alvarez?

Kovalev vs Alvarez was broadcast on HBO in the US.

What were the odds on Kovalev vs Alvarez?

Sergey Kovalev was a 9/50 (-560) favorite going into the contest, while Eleider Alvarez made his way into the ring at 21/5 (+420) with oddsmakers.