Back in November 2015, Eleider Alvarez secured a win against Issac Chilemba, making him the mandatory challenger for the light heavyweight world champion, Adonis Stevenson. It took some time for Alvarez to get his shot at the title, with the fight in Montreal gathering significant attention from fans and fellow light heavyweights like Jean Pascal, Artur Beterbiev, and Lucian Bute.
Fast forward to the present, Alvarez finally had his chance for the world title, not against Stevenson as expected, but against Sergey Kovalev. This opportunity arose when Kovalev’s fight with Marcus Browne fell through due to Browne’s publicized domestic violence issue.
Rather than wait for Stevenson, Alvarez and his team made the decision to face Kovalev in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on August 4. Alvarez made the right call as he dominated the fight, knocking down Kovalev three times in the seventh round to claim victory. Kovalev exercised his rematch clause, setting the stage for their upcoming fight this Saturday night.
