Kovalev pops dirty for synthetic testosterone!
Well, it looks like former light heavyweight champion Sergey “The Krusher” Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KO’s) is in hot water once again! This time, Kovalev was flagged by VADA for having synthetic testosterone in his system. Naturally, this revelation will likely derail his upcoming January 30 prizefight with Bektemir “Bully” Melikuziev (6-0, 5 KO’s). Yet, while the situation does not look good, what will happen next is still up in the air.
The finding certainly came at an extremely inopportune time for the Krusher. His upcoming bout with Melikuziev was meant to be his first fight to get back on track. In his last showing, Kovalev was stopped by the current WBA super and WBC world super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KO’s). The sensational eleventh round knockout immediately went viral. Even in his previous fight, against Anthony Yarde (20-2, 19 KO’s), the Krusher narrowly escaped suffering an eighth round knockout. Luckily for him, Yarde gassed after his blitz and was later stopped himself in the eleventh.
DIRTY DEALINGS
When contacted by 3kingsboxing.com, his promotional company, Main Events, was quick to put out a statement on his behalf. The declaration was issued by way of vice president and matchmaker Jolene Mizzone:
“We are aware of the adverse finding from VADA. Sergey Kovalev has been proven to be a clean fighter throughout the many years that he has been tested by VADA. VADA was contracted for this fight at his insistence, as he has requested for almost all of his fights going back several years. He maintains that he did not purposefully ingest any banned substances. We have made arrangements to have his supplements tested for contamination and will request that VADA test his B sample.”
There is no denying that Kovalev has been declining in recent years. Yet as Mizzone stated, the Krusher has never been known to use PED’s in his past. However, this is not to say that the Russian does not have a rather checkered past!
A HISTORY OF MAYHEM
Outside the ring, Kovalev has made a habit of making the headlines for all the wrong reasons. In 2015, Kovalev made headlines for a racial inflammatory tweet that he posted about Adonis Stevenson. In the post, where the face of a monkey could be seen, the Krusher said that, “Adonis looks great!” During the aftermath of this incident, the Russian would cite cultural differences as the reason for his crass post. However, in 2017, he was back on the hot plate for another racially offensive social media post.
When the second incident took place, Kovalev was preparing for his rematch with two-divisional world champion Andre “SOG” Ward (32-0, 16 KO’s). The Krusher had lost their previous encounter, his first professional defeat, by way of unanimous decision. In this post, there was a mock text exchange between himself and Ward. Yet, all the would-be dialogue from Ward was heavily laced with profanity and racial slurs. Kovalev quickly deleted the post and once again insists there was not a racist bone in his body.
Then in 2018, the Krusher made headlines for another pair of shameful incidents. To begin, he was accused of first harassing, then sending a woman, Jamie Frontz, to the hospital with serious injuries. Ultimately, he was hit with, and pled guilty to, a charge of assault. As a result, he was sentenced to three years of probation. Sadly, before the incident with Frontz could be finalized, Kovalev was back in the news. This time, while on a plane, the Krusher kissed a woman he did not know and then rudely showered her in money. He was quickly removed after the distraught woman sought help from the plane attendants.
WHAT NOW?
It goes without saying that all of these acts were deplorable and indefensible. Even worse, barring the Stevenson incident, all his out of the ring transgressions took place as his professional dominance was unraveling. Now, a potential doping scandal can be tossed in with all the rest.
Presently, it is unknown what will happen with the Melikuziev fight or his career overall. At one point, Kovalev was one of the hardest hitting and most feared men in the sport. For years, he was regarded as the king of the light heavyweight division. In a milestone fight on November 8, 2014, the Krusher thoroughly out-boxed and severely beat down boxing legend Bernard Hopkins. Hopkins would step away from the sport for two solid years following the mauling.
Now, there is no telling what will come next for the once highly exalted boxer. Outside the ring, he has repeatedly shamed himself and inside he has lost by decision and knockout to the head and body. While still talented, his cloak of invincibility has long since been shattered. Now, he is a seasoned 37 years old. Having reached this advanced age, it is very unlikely that he will return to the form of his youth. So, it will be very interesting to see how this matter with the PEDs violation resolves itself. Yet, for what it is worth, Melikuziev remains gung-ho for the fight to take place.
By: Bakari Simpson
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