"There is no point": Russian ex-champion Kovalev categorically assessed the Usyk–Beterbiev fight

Former light heavyweight world champion Sergey Kovalev (35-5-1, 29 KOs) sees no point in holding a fight between Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs) and Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs). The Russian noted that in such a confrontation today, his compatriot looks like a clear outsider.

Kovalev said this in an interview with the Seconds Out YouTube channel. The 41-year-old native of Kopeysk, who has been living in the United States for a long time, noted that Usyk has improved his skills even more during his professional career, proving it in a super-heavyweight category that is not his native one.

"There is no point in holding this fight. Because in amateur boxing, Usyk was young and inexperienced. And now he's more confident, experienced enough to have other fights among professionals. But to be honest, I would watch this fight, it would be interesting," Kovalev said.

Previously, Beterbiev himself has repeatedly expressed a desire to fight Usyk, but the last time he called this probability almost impossible. The boxers met several times at the amateur level. In 2007, at a tournament in Kaliningrad, the Russian won 12:10, and the Ukrainian took revenge in the quarterfinals of the 2011 World Cup and the 2012 Olympics with the same score of 17:13.

Because of these defeats, Beterbiev harbored a grudge against Usyk and accused him of cowardice. And after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he called Oleksandr sick because of his stance against the aggressors. The Russian also complained that many fans and experts accused him of being jealous of the Ukrainian super champion.

It should be noted that Usyk himself did not express a desire to fight Beterbiev, but has already found out his next opponent after defeating Tyson Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) in a rematch.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, trainer Nuripasha Talibov, who works with Artur Beterbiev, set a condition for Oleksandr Usyk to hold a fight between the boxers.

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