Now, the “Krusher” will have his chance to avenge that loss and get his career back on track. On Friday, Top Rank announced that Kovalev and Alvarez will have a rematch early next year live on ESPN. An exact date for the bout hasn’t been confirmed just yet.
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“Bringing this marquee rematch to boxing fans on ESPN is a great way to start 2019,” said Top Rank President Todd duBoef in a press release statement. “The light heavyweight division is loaded, and both Kovalev and Alvarez have fan-friendly styles that will make for another gripping fight.”
Following two notable losses to Andre Ward, Kovalev (32-3-1, 28 KOs) looked like he was reasserting his light heavyweight dominance via back-to-back TKO wins over Vyacheslav Shabranskyy and Igor Mikhalkin. But even Kovalev couldn’t have seen an upset loss to Alvarez coming. This will mark a shot at redemption, with a win setting up bigger fights and paydays ahead.
For Alvarez (24-0, 12 KOs), this rematch will mark his chance to show the boxing world that his August victory over Kovalev wasn’t a flash in the pan by any means.
