Abror Tursunpulatov: Kovalev's defeat is my fault

Abror Tursunpulatov, coach of Russian boxer Sergei Kovalev, spoke about the reasons for the defeat from Colombian Elider Alvarez.

Literally thirty minutes passed after the battle, when the message “Call your brother if you have any questions” came to the phone. The author of the message was the coach of Sergei Kovalev.

There were enough questions after the defeat of the Russian, so a minute later the conversation began.

I am very upset, - says Tursunpulatov. “Well, you can't always win. We lost today. Nothing can already be changed.

Articles | Gloves on a nail? Alvarez defeated Kovalev

- In what condition is Sergey?
- He is also upset, but has already come to his senses. Says that maybe his time has already passed. In training, he, of course, worked responsibly. And I said that if Sergei does not get tired, he will win the fight. And he was defeating Alvarez.

He hit his opponent very tightly several times, but could not finish the fight ahead of schedule. Alvarez's head remained fresh.

- Why did you give Kovalev an installation to rest after a successful fourth round?
- I know Seryoga well. As I said, Alvarez's head remained "fresh" even after missed punches. He finished the round normally, and I know Sergei's condition. He could give too much strength. We had an “attack-attack” setup, and if the opponent was not broken, “stop”. It is necessary to "release" him, re-gather strength and start over.

Two weeks ago you said that Kovalev was almost in perfect physical shape. He has only five extra pounds, although earlier in this period he was eight. But you added that everything can be ruined in the last days ...
- Everything was good with us. When I worked with him on the "paws", I felt that the blows are fast and biting. He was in good condition. If he could say earlier that he was tired after the second round, now this was not the case.

The thing is that he missed a quick blow. You yourself understand what one hit is in this weight. If he had not missed this blow, or had missed, but then returned to the corner for a break, we would have taken this into account, and from the next round he would have come to his senses. And he continued to outplay his opponent.

When Kovalev was knocked down for the first time, his first thought was: "Knit, clinch, avoid a fight, play for time." And Sergei went ahead ...
- The problem is that after the first knockdown Serega did not come to his senses. He didn't know what he was doing. He did not go forward, he did something automatically. When he missed this blow, I immediately shouted to him: "Sit still." It would be better if he sat down to the count of "eight" and came to his senses. Instead, he stood up abruptly. This is very bad, but it is difficult to control yourself when you are knocked down. It's wrong to blame him. He lost control. I was hoping that the round would be over in time.

- What thoughts does he now have about continuing his career?
- I would like him to end his career. His health is no longer like that of a young athlete. He did his job. He had several belts. He wrote down his name in history. Such a fate. And the opponent also earned the right to become the world champion. Alvarez has worked for many years. If Sergei had not missed one hit, everything would have turned out differently, and victory would have been on our side.

They met as part of a boxing evening in the United States. Kovalev was considered the favorite of this fight, and he was close to winning - in the fourth round, the Russian made a series of powerful blows, after which Alvarez did not fall only by a miracle. In the next two three minutes, Kovalev's advantage was also obvious.

However, in the seventh round, the situation changed radically. Sergei missed several punches and was knocked down. He managed to get up, but only to be back on the canvas. And the second time the referee did not stop the fight, but after the third knockdown the fight ended - Kovalev lost. This defeat was his third in his career with 33 victories, of which he won 28 by knockout.

After the fight, Kovalev posted a video on his Instagram in which he thanked the fans for their support, apologized to them for this failure, and also said that everything was fine with him. He also hinted at an imminent retirement: "Apparently, it's time to hang up the gloves." However, Sergei also noted that he does not intend to make hasty conclusions from the defeat.

However, it is possible that soon Kovalev will indeed leave boxing. His coach Abror Tursunpulatov believes that Sergei should end his career. He also blames himself for his charge's failure.

“I would like him to end his career. He is no longer in health like a young athlete. He did his job. He had several belts. He wrote down his name in history. Such a fate. And the opponent also deserved the right to become a world champion. Alvarez worked for many years. If Sergei had not missed one blow, everything would have turned out differently, and the victory would have been on our side, - quotes Tursunpulatov's words "Soviet sport." - Sergei hit with good blows. Alvarez endured. Maybe we somewhere "sorted out. And my fault in this defeat too. I blame myself for this defeat. Probably, I prepared my boxer incorrectly. And for me this is a great experience, although we did not do any experiments. All the work was done according to plan. ".

On this evening of boxing, a fight took place with the participation of another Russian. Dmitry Bivol defeated Malawian Isaac Chilemba by unanimous decision - 120: 108, 120: 108, 116: 112 - and retained the WBA title. Bivol's manager Vadim Kornilov stressed that Dmitry is ready for unification battles and, most likely, will hold his next fight before the end of the year. It is possible that Alvarez will become his rival.

“Of course, Dmitry will hold the next fight before the end of the year, - TASS quotes Kornilov. - He is ready for unification battles, after the fight we will look at the opponent. rounds as planned. "

Elider Alvarez shocked Sergei Kovalev (and the whole world of boxing). Andre Berto def. Devon Alexander via split decision. And Dmitry Bivol did not look very convincing in a fight with a strong opponent.

But let's take a closer look at how those fights went so we don't miss out on some of the biggest boxing news over the past weekend.

What I liked. Well, we have a new potential light heavyweight superstar, and the name of this star is Elider Alvarez aka "Storm." He entered the battle not as a favorite (having put a hundred on him, you could win $ 400), but in the seventh round the Colombian dealt a powerful blow to Kovalev and then knocked him out. Alvarez spent several years waiting for the mandatory fight for the belt of Adonis Stevenson. After some time, he decided not to wait, but to focus on Kovalev's belt at light heavyweight. Despite the fact that there are few knockouts on account of Alvarez, he knows how to beat, and hits hard. Ask Kovalev.

What I didn't like. Since Kovalev is 35 years old, the question should be asked whether he can still perform in the light heavyweight elite, making a good impression. After two losses to Andre Ward (both were controversial in their own way), many questions arise for Kovalev as to whether he is still the best fighter in this division. Kovalev's last two fights, in which he scored impressive victories over inexpressive opponents, instilled in boxing fans a false sense of security. If at the moment Kovalev was fighting Dmitry Bivol or Alexander Gvozdik, he would look like a whipping boy.

Context

Kovalev-Ward match: it's not about corruption

Bernard Hopkins' future is in doubt

10 best punchers in the world of boxing

What does it mean. Before the fights, a lot of people talked that Kovalev and Bivol would win, and then come together in a duel for the title. Now this will not happen. But even if they started to fight, it would be worth a little. But Kovalev can take revenge by repeating the fight with Alvarez (the contract stipulates such a revenge). And since most of the fight he looked quite confident and comfortable, and was ahead of Alvarez on points until the fight was stopped, it is possible that Kovalev will try to use a second chance.

Other notable fights

For the second time in a row, fortune (in terms of points) was not on the side of Devon Alexander (27-5-1), as Andre Berto (32-5, 24 KOs) came out of the knockdown received at the beginning of the fight and did enough to the end to win by split decision. Two judges gave the victory to Berto (115-112), and one decided that Alexander should win (114-113). In the previous match, Alexander, who was on the title page in two weight categories, seemed to have won over Viktor Ortiz, but the judges decided that there should be a draw. "I didn't fight for a while, but I felt very good there," Berto said on the Boxing Scene website. Welterweight is a broad category, and even after Saturday's win, Berto is unlikely to be the favorite against any of the top ten fighters.

Dmitry Bivol (14-0, 11 KOs) confidently defeated Isaac Chilemba (25-6-2), and if not for the dubious count of one referee, Chilemba would not even have come close to him on points. But Bivol failed to win the fans' sympathy. He just did enough to defeat a solid fighter like Chilemba, but nothing more. But you remember that in 2016 Kovalev also looked rather ordinary against the background of Chilemba, and therefore it is quite possible that Bivol was simply trying to win, not thinking about the effect produced on the audience. This fight can hardly be called a demonstration of all Bivol's talents and his prospects in his category.

Although at the beginning of the fight the number of knockout victories for young featherweight Tevin Farmer (26-4-1, 5 KOs) was only 16.7%, he knocked down Billy Deeb (43-5), and eventually won a convincing victory, winning his first world title. One of Farmer's possible rivals could be Gervonta Davis, who is one of the best boxers in the second featherweight division.

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively of foreign mass media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial board.

Why Sergei Kovalev lost. The best boxer of Russia was knocked down three times

The fight between Sergei Kovalev and Elider Alvarez for the WBO title was stopped in the seventh round after Kovalev was knocked down for the third time.

Reason number 1. Alvarez knocked self-confidence out of Kovalev

Recently in the UFC, Gadzhimurad Antigulov fought with Ion Kutselaba. During the weigh-in, Kutselaba unexpectedly aggressively flopped his head on Antigulov, forced Dana White to do what they call "separating", and in addition screamed.

Before the battle, Kutselaba did not shake Antigulov's hand and was again aggressive. And the battle itself - suddenly won. My colleague then suggested that Kutselaba made Antigulov doubt himself. The reason - Gadzhimurad did not know how to behave. It's hard to believe, but it can be explained. The guys from Dagestan have the status of very tough guys, and usually no one wants to behave insolently before the start of the fight, because it is better to fight them in a cage with a judge and according to the rules than something else. And in itself, this tradition was entrenched so much that when Kutselaba broke it, everyone was in confusion. Such examples sometimes happen, there is a video of street fights where someone suddenly behaves insolently with a (seemingly) stronger opponent and he succeeds.

There is such a concept "dirty boxing" - blows below the belt, elbow strikes, knee jabs, punches in the groin and much more. This is all effective in itself, but Elider Alvarez seems to have achieved much more with this - it was necessary for Kovalev to stop understanding what to do with it at all. So that Kovalev himself should be worried, and not his rival.

In the first two rounds, Alvarez first hit the back of the head with his hand, and then bent Kovalev over the ropes in a clinch two seconds after the command “stop”. And Kovalev after the episode held his back with his hand, as he had to bend very strongly and could get injured.

Then they will collide with their heads, Alvarez will hit lower or at the level of the rubber band and try to break Kovalev's back on the ropes. This cannot win the battle, but it can pin down the opponent. Especially when both boxers know that a year ago a fight was stolen from Kovalev, counting a knockout after falling below the belt. It turned out that Kovalev inflicted damage with blows, but Alvarez, in addition to blows, inflicted damage with himself. This was layered on Kovalev's confidence that the referee in the ring will always be against him. And it became more difficult for him.

Reason number 2. Coach Kovalev could be wrong

Knockouts are like plane crashes. There is one reason, but for it to be a fall, many things must coincide.

Kovalev had a wonderful fourth round. Sergei stung with a jab, then struck several ligaments on the body and put a heavy right lateral in the head. Everything looked as usual and everything looks like in Kovalev's battles a few seconds before their completion. But Alvarez got to the gong, and Kovalev came to his corner, and here coach Tursunpulatov had a very difficult choice. It is known that Sergei does not always manage to distribute his forces, that he has problems with the second halves of the battles, and there were two options: to save for the future or to take risks and finish. The coach said, “He's going to fall. Now you have to let go, you rest this round, do not do much. Cross, leave, rest. " And Sergei listened (usually listening to the coach was not Kovalev's strong point, and this did not bother him in any way).

Kovalev calmed down in the fifth round and kept the same pace in the sixth. Alvarez came to his senses, pulled himself together and began to beat. Two hours later, Abror Tursunpulatov will tell TASS: “There will be no revenge, Serega must throw boxing. Health is not the same already. Even if he won the fight, I would suggest that he end his career. " These are valuable words for the media, but unexpected for the coach, who started working with the boxer less than a year ago and then said: “I told Sergei that now we are starting to prepare for Ward. I think there will be a third fight. Sergei himself really wants this, and we will prepare for it. "

Reason number 3. Alvarez boxed more varied

You can simply count everything that Eleider Alvarez threatened during this fight. We talked about dirty boxing, but this is not the main thing. The Colombian was, in principle, more inventive. In the first rounds, Kovalev's head fell back several times after the jab. He lay down accurately and, what is more important for this blow, very on time.

Then Alvarez began to hit the body more often. Yes, with hints of blows below the rubber band, but there were also good hits in the stomach and liver area. Elider had deuces, but the knockdown happened after the right hand through the arm, and here, most likely, we should already praise the other coach. Which was in the corner of Eleider. The fact is that in the second fight with Andre Ward, Kovalev's problems began after a very similar hit. Both then and now the Russian threw out his left hand, in each case holding it slightly lower than it was worth, and the opponent's right hand flew over it. Only then did Ward not manage to finish the fight without the help of the referee, and Alvarez did it.

In the corner, the Colombian spoke French, it was difficult to understand, but before the final round it sounded there: “The two blows that you delivered began to pass”. Perhaps it was not about the right through the hand, but it was him that Elider Alvarez would try once in the seventh round and hit the air, but less than a minute would pass, and he would throw him right on target.

Photo: Elsa / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

"SE" - about the fight in Las Vegas of the unbeaten WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight champion to this day and American Andre Ward... Three judges with a margin of one point awarded the victory the opponent of the Russian.

The fight began for Kovalev quite well. In the first two rounds, he had a chance to decide everything in his favor. And then Ward was able to turn the tide of the fight and impose his unpleasant manner. In this viscous duel, he turned out to be stronger. By the decision of the judges (score - 114: 113, 114: 113 and 114: 113).

Judge Notes:

08.38 All 12 rounds are over. The judges decide in favor of Ward. Kovalev lost

08.34 11th round. Ward was told in the corner not to worry or worry about anything.

08.33 The tenth round does not leave a very pleasant impression. A tough exchange of blows took place. And Kovalev can't get in the way he can. One blow would have been enough for Ward.

08.32 Round ten.

08.31 The battle is swinging a little - the denouement is close. This makes the hall more active. Finally!

08.28 Ninth round.

08.27 As it was sung in one famous song - "little fire". Ward imposes his style of fighting on Kovalev. And it makes the opponent nervous. In general, Ward does not allow himself to be beaten.

08.24 Eighth round.

08.23 Kovalev manages to throw Ward off balance. But the main thing is in no way possible - to inflict his trademark blow. If they do, they are exceptionally light.

08.20 Seventh round.

08.19 There are a lot of such viscous and unpleasant struggles in the ring. There is practically no boxing itself yet.

08.16 Sixth round.

08.15 Kovalev missed several extremely unpleasant blows in the fifth round. Perhaps, for the first time since the beginning of the battle, we can talk about a slight advantage of Ward.

08.12 Fifth round. And let's not forget that we are watching a fight between two undefeated boxers so far. Someone will suffer their first career defeat today.

08.11 In the fourth round, Ward rebuilt a little - now he tries to respond to every blow of Kovalev with his own. Several cross attacks happened.

08.08 Round number four!

08.07 The third round went off in a very calm manner.

08.04 From the first seconds of the third round, Kovalev continues what he started, and Ward goes to clinch and turns boxing into a fight.

08.03 In the second round, Kovalev pretty much battered his opponent. And it's worth noting that, to some extent, Ward is lucky that it's not over now.

08.02 There is Ward's first knockdown!

08.00 Have a little rest - and the second round!

07.59 The first round is over. Kovalev made a couple of tough attacks, but he hasn’t brought the matter to his famous crushing blows yet.

07.56 The battle has begun!

07.50 We recall the main victories at the moment.

07.40 Chelyabinsk nugget - the most titled Russian boxer - will face the most serious contender in his career, an American Andre Ward... Both did not know defeat, both claim to be the best boxer in the world, regardless of the weight category, and the defense of three titles is at stake - WBA, WBO, IBF. Kovalev had 31 fights without a single defeat. Ward's stats are also flawless - 30 wins, never lost. This is enough to understand that the felling will be serious.

07.30 Hello everyone! About 30 minutes later in Las Vegas undefeated WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight champion will face the most serious rival of his career - an American Andre Ward.