Kovalev to defend against Igor Mikhalkin on March 3

WBO Light Heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev will most likely defend his crown against Igor Mikhalkin on March 3 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden and be televised on HBO, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

Kovalev promoter Main Events and HBO had hoped to match Kovalev with top contender Sullivan Barrera (21-1, 14 KOs), who is also with Main Events, in the March 3 main event. On the Kovalev-Barrera undercard, Barrera rallied from a first-round knockdown to win a wide unanimous 10-round decision against Felix Valera, to set up the obvious fight.

However, Barrera, 35, a Cuban defector fighting out Miami, is also the mandatory challenger for the light heavyweight belt held by Dmitry Bivol (12-0, 10 KOs), 27, of Russia, and though he was offered the fight with Kovalev, Barrera instead elected to fight Bivol for less money on HBO in the Kovalev-Mikhalkin co-feature, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told ESPN.

“We are very interested in fighting the top fighters in the light heavyweight division. Barrera has been named the mandatory (challenger) for Bivol by the WBA and we would be glad to do that fight next,” Vadim Kornilov, Bivol’s manager, told ESPN recently.