After Sergey Kovalev lost his light heavyweight world title by seventh-round knockout to Eleider "Storm" Alvarez last August, many thought it was the end of the "Krusher" as a top-flight fighter.
Then Kovalev exercised his right to an immediate rematch with Alvarez and changed trainers, linking up with Buddy McGirt. Skeptics remained until he easily defeated Alvarez and won a clear unanimous decision to regain his 175-pound belt on Feb. 2.
Kovalev once again looked to be in fine form. It was clear he wasn't done just yet and there would be at least one more big fight in his future, with potential unification fights against either Oleksandr Gvozdyk or Artur Beterbiev and middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez -- boxing's biggest star -- also showing interest in moving up two weight classes to challenge Kovalev.