On the eve of Sergey Kovalev's routine defense of his WBA Light Heavyweight title against the unknown Cedric Agnew, WBC champion and consensus #1 Light Heavyweight Adonis "Superman" Stevenson has taken front and center with the revelation that he is taking his talents to Showtime. The move that essentially has killed one of the best potential fights in boxing has divided the boxing community with those who support Stevenson's decision and others who see it as cowardice.
Stevenson, 36, made the move to rival network Showtime after have three of his four fights being aired on HBO last year. After signing with power-broker Al Haymon earlier this year and now this development, it's almost certain that Stevenson is chasing a much more financially lucrative unification bout with aging IBF Light Heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins later this year.
As far as I'm concerned, Stevenson did no wrong in his actions though it may rub fans the wrong way. HBO had the opportunity to match what Showtime was offering, and that included the Kovalev fight, but refused to and willingly let him head to the rival network. Stevenson's move to Showtime was the best business decision yes, but when it comes to the fighters boxing is a business first, it's their job.
HBO had been building up Stevenson/Kovalev for the better part of last year, but when push came to shove, they were more than willing to let that fight slip through their fingers and will have to create a new boogeyman for Kovalev now. It's not hard now for the boxing press to quickly turn their negativity towards Super Middleweight champion Andre Ward and accuse him of cowardice; chances are that HBO might start doing that starting this weekend (or once Ward is free from his alleged contract dispute with Dan Goosen).
The loss of Stevenson/Kovalev and the lack of urgency to preserve that fight has pretty much summed up HBOs boxing schedule as of late: A whole lot of "meh."
With Gennady Golovkin mourning the loss of his father, his April mismatch against whatever handpicked opponent K2 can pay for was out the window. Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Mike Alvarado is intriguing, but is expected to be a one-way beating in favor of Marquez. June's schedule so far is WBO Junior Welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov defending against...well, nobody right now.
Stevenson's move to Showtime will more than likely result in a fight with Hopkins this Fall and maybe a bout against Carl Froch should he emerge victorious over George Groves in their rematch, or perhaps Haymon can force his hand and convince Jean Pascal to enter the ring. Either one of those fights are far more financially lucrative than even two fights with Kovalev, and the fact that they are more likely to happen on one network than the other, there was no better option for him to make.
HBO could have chosen Stevenson/Kovalev and had in the bank a big fight for a summer/fall schedule that could possibly be as anemic as what we are seeing now, but they are fine with just Kovalev for now and maybe we'll just have to be happy with that, too.
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