Atlantic City, NJ: Saturday night the Russian wrecking ball Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (23-0-1, 21 KOs) will make his second defense of his WBO Light Heavyweight Title against undefeated Cedric “L.O.W.” Agnew (26-0-0, 13 KOs) from Chicago, IL at the Ballroom at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. Kovalev will be making his third appearance on HBO Boxing After Dark, but his first appearance in the hit series’ main event. Agnew will be making his HBO debut.
Krusher Kovalev
Photo Credits: Rich Graessle/Main Events
Kovalev, 30, has had a stellar career thus far knocking out 21 of his opponents for an astounding 91% knockout-to-win ratio. He knocked out Nathan Cleverly in the fourth round on August 17, 2013 in Cleverly’s backyard of Cardiff, Wales to win the WBO Light Heavyweight Title in his first HBO appearance. Then on November 30, 2013 he traveled to Quebec, Canada for his first title defense and his second HBO appearance where he knocked out Ismayl Sillakh in the second round. Kovalev has knocked out his last seven opponents (two in the second round, three in the third round, one in the fourth round and one in the seventh round). This will be his first title defense on US soil.
HBO Boxing Video News Update: Sergey Krusher Kovalev (HBO Boxing)
HBO Boxing Video News Update: Sergey Krusher Kovalev
(HBO Boxing)
Krusher is very excited to be back on HBO. He said, “I am very happy to fight again on HBO. This is a very big thing for me. It is a dream come true for me to be the main event on HBO. I promise my fans a great show.”
Agnew, 27, is also undefeated with a 50% knockout-to-win ratio. He knocked out Daniel Judah in the sixth round on November 3, 2011 in Dallas, TX to take the then vacant WBC US (USNBC) Light Heavyweight Title. Then Cedric successfully defended his title on May 3, 2012 when he defeated Otis Griffin via unanimous decision in twelve rounds in Dallas, TX. He picked up the USBA Light Heavyweight title on April 12, 2013 when he defeated Yusaf Mack in twelve rounds via unanimous decision in New Buffalo, MI.
Cedric Agnew
Photo Credits:
Rich Graessle/Main Events
Agnew said, “It feels good to make my HBO debut and I want to thank them for this opportunity to showcase my skills on the big stage. This is a very good opportunity for me. I am just going to go out and fight a smart fight. I am staying focused and staying humble. I am just looking to put on a great show come Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall.”
Malcolm Garrett, Cedric’s promoter said, “I know Cedric is ready for this fight. Most importantly, he knows he is ready for this fight. He wants this fight. There is no hesitation on his part. We are ecstatic to be fighting on HBO this is what we have been working towards for a long time. This is like a dream come true for him.”
HBO Boxing Video News Update: Cedric Agnew (HBO Boxing)
HBO Boxing Video News Update: Cedric Agnew (HBO Boxing)
This light heavyweight match-up is scheduled for twelve rounds but Kovalev has never been taken deeper than eight rounds in his professional career. The only time he went a full eight was in a split decision victory over Darnell Boone on October 9, 2010 in Atlanta, GA. Cedric has gone twelve rounds twice in his career (a unanimous decision win over Yusaf Mack on April 12, 2013 and a unanimous decision win over Otis Griffin on May 3, 2012 ) and ten rounds once (a unanimous decision victory over Rayco Saunders on May 1, 2008). In order to defeat the Krusher, Cedric’s best strategy is to try to outlast the Russian into the later rounds – that is, of course, assuming he can handle Kovalev’s intense power.
Kovalev & Agnew
Photo Credits: Rich Graessle/Main Events
Main Events CEO, Kathy Duva, said, “It will be interesting to see if Agnew can take Sergey into deep waters. Usually the champion has the advantage of late round experience, but we haven’t been able to find anyone that lasted past the fourth round with Kovalev!”
“Krusher Kovalev had a spectacular introduction to HBO subscribers in 2013,” said Peter Nelson, director of programming, HBO Sports. “Now he gets to headline his first telecast on the network in his 2014 debut. We look forward to an exciting night of action at Boardwalk Hall.”
About March 29:
March 29 features the WBO Light Heavyweight World Title showdown between Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (23-0-1, 21KOs) and Cedric Agnew (26-0-0, 13 KOs) from the Ballroom at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic, City, NJ. The telecast will begin live on HBO Boxing After Dark at 10:00 PM ET/PT with the Thomas Dulorme vs. Karim Mayfield co-feature. The event is presented by Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City. Tickets are on sale now through TicketMaster online at www.ticketmaster.com or via phone (800) 736-1420. Fans can also contact Main Events for tickets at (973) 200-7050. Ticket prices are $26, $51, $77 and $152. Doors will open at 6:30 PM ET. Undercard bouts will be announced shortly.
For fight updates go to www.mainevents.com, www.CaesarsAC.com, www.BoardwalkHall.com or www.hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MainEventsBoxing, www.facebook.com/CaesarsAtlanticCity, www.facebook.com/BoardwalkHall or www.facebook.com/HBOboxing and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Main_Events, https://twitter.com/CaesarsAC, https://twitter.com/BoardwalkHall and https://twitter.com/HBOboxing.
About Caesars Entertainment:
Caesars Entertainment Corporation is the world’s largest casino entertainment company. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, more than 70 years ago, Caesars has grown through development of new resorts, expansions and acquisitions, and now operates casinos on four continents. The company’s resorts operate primarily under the Harrah’s®, Caesars® and Horseshoe® brand names. Caesars also owns the World Series of Poker® and the London Clubs International family of casinos. Caesars Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its guests through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. Caesars is committed to environmental sustainability and energy conservation and recognizes the importance of being a responsible steward of the environment. For more information, please visit www.caesars.com.
