Sergey Kovalev vs Artur Mann Preview April 18th, 2025
Former Light Heavyweight Champion Sergey Kovalev of Russia is fighting for the final time this Friday, April 18th when he enters the ring in his homeland to take on Artur Mann of Kazakhstan in a 10-round cruiserweight tilt. Kovalev last fought in May when he dropped a 10-round unanimous decision to Robin Safar and was decked in the final round. It was Kovalev’s first fight in two years and just his second since November, 2019. Mann last saw action in November when he stopped Ion Mihai Desrobitu in the seventh round for the vacant WBF Cruiserweight Title. Friday’s fight can be seen live on the Boxing News You Tube and Facebook channels with the card starting about 12:30 om ET.
Kovalev vs Mann Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Artur Mann +130
- Sergey Kovalev -160
My Pick
Kovalev is now 42 years old and a former WBO, WBA, IBF, and IBA Light Heavyweight Champion who regained the vacant WBO title by stopping Vyacheslav Sharbranskyy in the second round in November, 2017. He then lost that belt and the IBA Title in 2018 when he was stopped in seven rounds by Eleider Alvarez while ahead on all three scorecards but beat Alvarez by unanimous decision in a rematch six months later. However, he’s now lost five of his last 10 bouts.
He lost his WBA/IBF/WBO Titles to Andre Ward by a highly-controversial unanimous decision by scores of 114-113 across the board in November, 2016. He then lost by premature stoppage in the eighth round of their rematch seven months later. His next defeat came at the hands of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in 2019 when he was stopped in the 11th round to lose his WBO Belt and of course he lost the last time out to Robin Safar.
Kovalev still owns a pretty good mark of 35-5-1 though along with 29 Ko’s to his name and has fought 204 rounds since turning pro in 2009 following a fine amateur career. His lone draw came against Grover Young via a technical two-round decision in 2011 when Young couldn’t continue after an accidental foul. There’s no doubt the Russian’s career is on the downswing though and he’s been stopped in three of his five defeats. Kovalev possesses a 72.5-inch reach and stands 6-feet tall. He’s basically regarded as a KO artist as 83 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage and has enough power in his fists to drop opponents with both body and head shots.
However,he hasn’t stopped anybody since halting Anthony Yarde almost six years ago. Kovalev is a pretty good boxer who used to have a good defence and solid chin. He likes to establish his snapping jab and usually punches in flurries rather than depending on one big shot. He’s s beaten the likes of Tervel Pulev, Yarde, Eleider Alvarez, Isaac Chilemba, Jean Pascal (twice), Bernard Hopkins, Blake Caparello, Gabriel Campillo, Darnell Boone and Nathan Cleverly. Kovalev’s a good boxer/puncher, but he can be frustrated by elite boxers, which is what happened to some extent when he faced Ward.
Mann is 34 years old and fights out of Germany. He makes the ring walk with a record of 22-4 with 13 Ko’s and has boxed 147 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015 after an amateur career which saw him compete in the World Series of Boxing. He measures 6-feet-1-inch tall with an unlisted reach so is an inch taller than Kovalev. As far as power is concerned, Mann is above average as 59.1 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including his last four. However his record is 7-4 in his last 11 fights.
Mann’s first defeat came at the hands of Kevin Lerena by fourth-round TKO in 2019 in a shot at the IBO Cruiserweight Crown. He had a shot at IBF Cruiserweight Champion Mairis Briedis in 2021 and was halted in the third round and lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Evgeny Tischchenko in 2022 after being dropped twice in the sixth round. His last defeat came to Muslim Gadzhimagomedov in 2023 when he was stopped after eight rounds.
The biggest wins in Mann’s career were a 10-round majority decision over Leon Harth for the vacant IBO International Cruiserweight Title in 2017 and a 12-round unanimous decision over Alexander Peil in 2018 in defence of the belt. He then added the vacant IBO Inter-Continental Title in 2022 via a 10-round unanimous nod over Nikodem Jezewski. Mann also has a win over Valery Brudov in 2016 by way of an eight-round unanimous decision.
Prediction…
Mann doesn’t match Kovalev when it comes to power and he doesn’t appear to have the greatest chin either. However Kovalev’s punch resistance isn’t what it used to be and neither is his power. Kovalev will be fighting as a cruiserweight for just the third time and this is just his third fight in close to six years. Kovalev has plenty of experience against elite boxers but he doesn’t have a lot left in the tank due to his age and inactivity. He needs to get off to a fast start, be aggressive and not hold back on his punches as he needs to make sure he lands something solid before Mann does. This could go either way but since it’s Kovalev’s farewell fight and it’s at home, he should be ready for the test and do just enough to pull it out.
This is Kovalev’s swansong at the age of 42.
Play: Kovalev -160 @ BetOnline.ag
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Artur Mann betting • Sergey Kovalev betting