Sergey Kovalev is about to have a deal to face Meng Fanlong who weighs 185 pounds on March 12

By: Hans Themistode

At the age of 38, Sergey Kovalev will work to revive his career. As first reported by ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, the former unified light heavyweight belt holder is finishing his final match on March 12 against Meng Fanlong in the hot 185-pound weight division.

At one point, Kovalev was considered by many to be the number one 175-pound athlete in the world. Russians of Russian descent are also a consistent weak on almost every pound-for-pound list. At his most brutal, Kovalev was a violent and ruthless finisher, scoring knockout wins in 12 of his 13 games from 2011-2015.

However, Kovalev’s time at the top of the light-heavy mountain came to an end the following year. After successive defeats at the hands of Andre Ward, Kovalev struggled with stability. Though he will eventually regain the 175-pound WBO belt against Vyacheslav Shabranskyy in 2017, Kovalev has won the title once again, this time at the hands of Eleider Alvarez.

In the first quarter of 2019, Kovalev avenged a shock loss to Alvarez, winning in a broad decision. He then scored a stoppage-time winner against Anthony Yarde before losing by knockout to Canelo Alvarez.

Kovalev is now expected to gain weight and compete as a full-fledged heavy cruiser. In Fanlong, the undefeated lightweight contender secured what is arguably the most impressive win of his career, a unanimous decision in the 12th round against Adam Deines in 2019.

Before Fanlong puts on weight to take on the once prominent champion, the Chinese product will return to the ring on February 25, against an unspecified opponent. If Fanlong had taken care of the business, he would have moved on to the Kovalev game just a few weeks later.