Boxing: Isaac Chilemba Says He Has ‘Antidote’ to Sergey Kovalev

While the boxing world awaits a light heavyweight unification showdown between Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev and Adonis Stevenson, fans will have to settle for watching Kovalev defend his WBO, WBA and IBF 175-pound titles on July 11 against Isaac Chilemba.

While most who follow boxing think Chilemba will be yet another in a long line of victims for Kovalev (29-0-1, 26 KOs), the South African is confident that he will pull off what would amount to a monstrous upset in Kovalev’s homeland of Yekaterinburg, Russia.

“The pressure is on Kovalev,” Chilemba said Wednesday during a conference call. “He will be fighting in his hometown, where he hasn’t fought in a long time... He has never fought me or someone like me, though. This will be a very different fight for Kovalev.”

Chilemba (24-3-2, 10 KOs) will have the chance to take the Russian’s world titles, even though he is coming off a loss to Eleider Alvarez in November. It was a battle that was as close as they come, but Chilemba came out the loser via majority decision. Many observers felt that the South African should have had his hand raised.

“I have gained a lot experience from a lot of hard-fought fights in hometowns of my opponents,” Chilemba said. “I am working on Kovalev. I am going to give him hell and not leave it in the judges’ hands. Everyone expects it to be an easy fight for him. I have come short fighting for the WBC title (before) but maybe this is where I was meant to be. I will put it all out there to make sure I get the decision.”

Whether he gets a knockout or a decision, Isaac doesn’t care. He says he’s overflowing with confidence and relishes the fact that virtually nobody believes he can be triumphant against a man considered by many to be the world’s number-one fighter pound-for-pound.

“I believe I am the antidote to Kovalev,” he stated. “I am walking into this fight with only a few people believing in me. I am going to show the world. We are going to do what Kovalev, and no one else in the world, has ever seen. It isn’t anything hard on me. I love proving people wrong. That pushes me.”

Still, the question remains: what about Kovalev finally locking horns with Stevenson, the WBC’s light heavyweight champion? According to Kathy Duva, the CEO of Main Events, which is promoting the event, she tried everything to get Adonis into the ring. She was even open to pitting Kovalev against Alvarez, but nothing came to fruition.

“As I do every time, I talked to Adonis Stevenson’s people and after some debate they turned it down again,” Duva stated on the conference call. “Alvarez’s people approached me about doing the fight in Canada in June but, of course, in the end Alvarez’s people did not follow through so we decided to make the fight in Russia.”