Kovalev had too much strength and power for Pascal in Montreal on Saturday night and now face IBF mandatory challenger Nadjib Mohammedi in his next defense which should be confirmed by promoters Main Events this month.
The big-punching and undefeated Russian, speaking upon sealing his standout win over Pascal, made it plain whom his preferred opponent would be once his stipulated clash with Mohammedi is out of the way.
“I want to fight Adonis Stevenson,” Kovalev said. “Just advise me about the time, the when and the where!”
Stevenson, who faces tough ex-168lb king Sakio Bika next month, had time for a reply to nemesis Kovalev when speaking at a media gathering for the next defense of his green belt on Tuesday.
“My dream is to unify all the titles and become the first fighter from Quebec to do so,” Stevenson pointed out. “But I’m fully focused on Bika. I know he’s training hard to steal my belts.
“It (a fight with Kovalev) goes through my mind, but I have to beat Bika and he (Kovalev) has an IBF mandatory defense before it can happen. And to be honest, his performance versus Jean Pascal did not impress me at all.”
‘Krusher’ Kovalev, who fights on HBO, and Stevenson looked all set to meet in the summer of 2014 until ‘Superman’ made the switch to Showtime and delayed the contest, potentially now until at least the end of 2015.
