Kovalev-Mikhalkin & Bivol-Barrera March 3 at MSG

Published by Shawn C.

*New York, NY: **Sergey Kovalev* continues his rise back to the top
of the light heavyweight division when he returns to the Mecca of
Boxing on Saturday,
March 3rd to defend the WBO Light Heavyweight World Title versus southpaw I*gor
Mikhalkin*, originally of Irkutsk, Russia, now fighting out of Hamburg,
Germany. A skilled boxer, Mikhalkin puts his ten-bout winning streak on
the line as he steps up to challenge one of the most fearsome punchers in
professional boxing at New York City’s Theater at Madison Square Garden.

In the co-main event, newly minted WBA World Light Heavyweight Champion
Dmitry Bivol of Russia makes his second defense of the title against Cuba’s
streaking Sullivan Barrera, the mandatory challenger. Viewed as a “toss-up”
bout by boxing insiders, Bivol-Barrera matches a young, explosive champion
against an experienced veteran hungry for his first world title fight.
Presented by Main Events, Krusher Promotions and World of Boxing in
association with EC Box Promotions, the doubleheader will be televised live
on HBO World Championship Boxing®. Ticket information will be announced
shortly.

Last month, the Big Apple welcomed Kovalev (31-2-1, 27 KOs), the two-time
light heavyweight world champion, with open arms as he made his New York
debut with a stoppage of Vyacheslav Shabranskyy in the second round to
reclaim his WBO Light Heavyweight World Title at the Theater at Madison
Square Garden. Eager to return to the ring and to his new home, “Krusher”
thrilled his large following of Russian fans last month and he expects an
even bigger contingent to greet him in March. As he sits comfortably atop
the light heavyweight rankings and in the top five pound-for-pound,
Sergey’s goal is to put on a great show for the fans in attendance and
watching on HBO.

Kovalev said, “I really enjoyed fighting at Madison Square Garden in
November. It feels like my home. I’m very excited to go back to MSG and to
fight on HBO. Everyone should to have a great time watching my fight!”

Kovalev’s manager, Egis Klimas, added, “It’s still very difficult to find
light heavyweights who want to fight Sergey. I’m surprised! Many thanks to
Igor Mikhalkin, who is confident enough to take on The Krusher and get a
big opportunity. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Shabranskyy is
Ukrainian and Igor is Russian. They’re tough! Not afraid!”

Mikhalkin (21-1, 9 KOs), 32, a southpaw originally from Irkutsk, Russia,
now resides in Hamburg, Germany. He made his professional debut in 2007
with a second-round stoppage against Stefan Stanko and went on to win his
first 11 bouts with seven of those wins coming by way of knockout. The lone
blemish on Mikhalin’s record is a unanimous decision loss to former WBO
Light Heavyweight Title contender Aleksy Kuziemski in 2010. In the eight
years since, Igor amassed several belts: the IBO Light Heavyweight World
Title, EBU Light Heavyweight Title and the WBO Intercontinental Light
Heavyweight Title. Mikhalkin will be making his US debut against Kovalev on
March 3.

When asked about his upcoming title shot against Kovalev, Mikhalkin
replied, “It is a great honor for me to fight in the United States. This
will undoubtedly be the biggest and hardest fight in my career. Kovalev is
for me the strongest man in this weight class. But I feel ready. The fight
against Kovalev comes at the perfect time. I feel stronger than ever and I
want to show the American boxing audience a great fight.”

Mikhalkin’s promoter, Erol Ceylan, of EC Box Promotions added, “We are
happy to organize this fight together with Main Events. Kovalev is a big
name in the light heavyweight division. Igor has absolutely earned this
fight and he has the class to defeat Kovalev. Igor has already won many
great foreign victories in his career and I’m sure that he will be
successful again.”

In the co-main event, the young champion, *Dmitry Bivol* (12-0, 10 KOs),
makes his New York debut and fights in the United States and on HBO for the
second time. *Sullivan Barrera* (21-1, 14 KOs), who has become a fixture on
HBO, returns to The Garden for his first world title fight. Both men were
very focused on making this fight and facing each other. Some boxing
commentators believe this matchup could be the fight of the night.

“This is not the first time that I am training for the most important fight
of my career, and this motivates me and makes me happy! Sullivan Barrera is
what we wanted and I am glad that we will meet in the ring soon,” explained
WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion, Dmitry Bivol.

Andrei Ryabinskiy, of World of Boxing, Bivol’s promoter, explained, “We
have planned a very active schedule for Dmitry Bivol and World of Boxing in
2018 and are happy to start the year with an event at Madison Square
Garden on March 3rd with Dmitry Bivol vs Sullivan Barrera. I would like to
thank Kathy Duva and HBO and hope that our partnership will prosper.”

Bivol’s manager, Vadim Kornilov added, “We are glad that our first
appearance in 2018 will be against one of the best in the division in the
legendary Madison Square Garden. Sullivan Barrera is a serious test for
Bivol and we have a lot of respect for him taking this fight. We want to
prove to the world that it was not by accident that this young kid became a
world champion in only his 12th ring appearance, he is already fighting on
HBO for his third time, and he is fighting one of the best fighters in the
division with only one career loss that came at the hands of Andre Ward.
Bivol has already been mentioned as a possible pound for pound prospect by
many and we will continue fighting the best out there to prove this!”

Barrera said, “I came from Cuba with one dream and that was to win a world
title. I know it won’t be easy and I know I chose the toughest road than
anyone to get here. But I know all of the tough opponents I have agreed to
fight and hard work will pay off. On March 3rd, I will become the most
deserving light heavyweight champion in boxing.”

Main Events CEO Kathy Duva remarked, “We’re ready to showcase the light
heavyweight division again at Madison Square Garden! We have Kovalev and
Barrera both returning to The Theater after big wins in November and we’re
adding another light heavyweight champion to the card! Dmitry is a young
champion with a bright future ahead of him if he can get past Sullivan,
which is no easy task. And Sergey is taking on Igor Mikhalkin, who is a
young, but experienced, southpaw and that’s given him some trouble in the
past. We’ll round out the show with another lineup of prospects and local
guys in great fights to make sure the fans see a really entertaining and
satisfying night of boxing.”

*About Kovalev-Mikhalkin: *The Saturday, March 3 main event between Sergey
“Krusher” Kovalev and Igor Mikhalkin is a 12-round match-up for the WBO
Light Heavyweight World Title at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in
New York City. The co-main event features WBA Light Heavyweight World
Champion Dmitry Bivol versus Sullivan Barrera in a 12-round title fight.
The event is promoted by Main Events, Krusher Promotions and World of
Boxing in association with EC Box Promotions and will be televised live on
HBO World Championship Boxing®. Ticket information will be available
shortly.