Kovalev vs Alvarez

Who won Kovalev vs Alvarez?

Eleider Alvarez beat Sergey Kovalev by technical knockout in the 7th round on Saturday 4th August 2018 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in 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 loses and 1 draw, 28 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

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

The stats suggested Kovalev had a massive power advantage over Alvarez, boosting at 88% knock out percentage over Alvarez's 48%.

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

Alvarez had 4-inch reach advantage.

Both Sergey Kovalev & 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 5 more professional rounds, 194 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 3rd March 2018 by technical knockout in the 7th round in their WBO World Light heavyweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Vyacheslav Shabranskyy on 25th November 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 17th June 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 19th November 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 beat Isaac Chilemba on 11th July 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 3rd June 2017 by majority decision in their 12 round contest at Bell Centre, Montreal, Canada.

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

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

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

He had beat Isidro Ranoni Prieto on 15th August 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 to 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, meaning he had been fighting on average 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) favourite going into the contest, while Eleider Alvarez made his way into the ring at 21/5 (+420) with oddsmakers.