Sergey Kovalev is one of the premier light heavyweights of the past decade. With the chapter closed on the 2010s, Kovalev has decided to write a new story heading into the 2020s, as he returns to the ring on Saturday, April 25 against former 175-pound title challenger Sullivan Barrera in a cruiserweight bout to be fought at 180 pounds.
The fight headlines an event that features four championship bouts and will take place at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif., live on DAZN.
Facing Barrera marks the first time Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KOs), a former three-time lightweight champion, competes since losing by 11th-round knockout to Canelo Alvarez in November. The fight was nip and tuck until Alvarez, who moved two weight classes, finished the Russian off.
"I am happy to get back in the ring and to be on my way back to world championship bouts," Kovalev said in a press release. "Barrera is a Cuban fighter and, even though I never faced any Cuban fighters as a professional, back in amateur days, it was always Russian boxers competing with Cuban boxers, so I'm looking forward to remembering my amateur boxing. I'm very glad to be back and to bring my boxing to my fans on April 25."
Barrera (22-3, 14 KOs) comes back to action looking to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Jesse Hart in June. The 38-year-old has wanted to get his hands on Kovalev for a long time. Now, Barrera has the opportunity that he's been looking for.
"This will be the most important fight of my career because I have always pursued a fight with Sergey Kovalev," Barrera said. "I know that he has to win this fight in order to continue with his career, but the case is the same with me. It is very important to win this fight, which for me would be like becoming a world champion. That's what it means for me to finally face Kovalev. I also want to thank Golden Boy for believing in me and my team, and for giving us the opportunity that we have always wanted, which is to fight Kovalev."
Heading into the fight, Kovalev is going through a series of legal issues. He was arrested in June 2018 for allegedly punching a woman, who suffered a broken nose, a concussion and a displaced disk in her neck, after she turned down Kovalev's advances at a party. He has pleaded not guilty to the ongoing case, and the trial starts later this year. If convicted to the felony assault charge, Kovalev faces up to four years in prison.
Kovalev is part of a card that features four championship bouts, including the co-main event of Patrick Teixeira defending the WBO junior middleweight for the first time against Brian Castaño, Rene Alvarado putting his WBA super featherweight title on the line against Roger Gutierrez, IBF light flyweight champion Felix Alvarado facing DeeJay Kriel (16-1-1, 8 KOs) and WBC strawweight champion Chayaphon Moonsri battling Marco J. Rementizo.