MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/. Russia’s former unified light heavyweight boxing champion Sergey Kovalev is set to square off with Cuba’s Sullivan Barrera late next month, a source in the Russian fighter’s team told TASS on Wednesday.
"We plan that Sergey [Kovalev] will meet for a bout with Barrera on April 25," the source stated. "The fight is more likely to be held in the catchweight division."
BoxingScene.com website reported earlier that the fight between the Russian and Cuban boxers was likely to be organized on April 25 in the US state of California.
"The fight will headline a Golden Boy Promotions fight card at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California and will be streamed live on DAZN," according to BoxingScene.com.
The source in Kovalev's team also revealed that the boxer had no intentions of switching to another weight category.
"His next two fights will be held in his current weight category. Sergey has no plans at the moment regarding the change of his weight category," the source commented.
According to earlier reports, Kovalev previously expressed intentions of moving to a higher weight division, switching from his current light heavyweight (under 79.38 kg) to cruiseweight division (under 90.72 kg).
Kovalev, nicknamed ‘Krusher,’ is 36 years old and has a record of 34 wins (29 KOs); 4 defeats (3 KOs) and 1 draw. In his most recent fight on November 2, 2019 in Las Vegas, Kovalev was knocked out in 11th round by Mexico’s Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (W53; 36KOs; L1; 2 Draws).
The 38-year-old Cuban opponent of the Russian boxer last fought on June 15, 2019 losing to Jesse Hart of the United States. Sullivan Barrera currently boasts a record of 22 wins (14 by KOs) and three defetas (one by KO).