On August 17, 2013, a 30-year-old Sergey Kovalev (21-0-1, 19 KOs) got a shot at the WBO light-heavyweight title held by 26-year-old Welsh boxer Nathan Cleverly (26-0, 12 KOs).
Kovalev came in to the fight on a 5-fight win streak with a 86% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 2 months and 3 days. Cleverly was on a 26-fight win streak with a 46% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 3 months and 28 days.
Sergey Kovalev stopped the champion via TKO in the 4th round of the 12-round world-title fight, winning the first world title of his career, and is crowned the new WBO light-heavyweight champion. Kovalev improves his record to 22-0-1 (20 KOs), while Cleverly adds a loss to his record at 26-1.
On February 2, 2019, Sergey Kovalev and Eleider Álvarez met again in an immediate rematch.
Kovalev came in to the fight on a 1-fight losing streak with a 77% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 5 months and 29 days. Álvarez was on a 24-fight win streak with a 50% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 5 months and 29 days.
Sergey Kovalev defeated Eleider Álvarez via unanimous decision in the rematch and wins the WBO title. Kovalev improves his record to 33-3-1, while Álvarez adds a loss to his record at 24-1.
On November 30, 2013, the 30-year-old WBO light-heavyweight world champion, Sergey Kovalev (22-0-1, 20 KOs), faced Ismail Sillakh, in a title defense fight.
Kovalev came in to the fight on a 6-fight win streak with a 87% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 3 months and 13 days.
Sergey Kovalev made very easy work of Ismail Sillakh, stopping the challenger via KO in the 2nd. Kovalev improves his record to 23-0-1 (21 KOs)
On August 2, 2014, the 31-year-old WBO light-heavyweight world champion, Sergey Kovalev (24-0-1, 22 KOs), faced Blake Caparello, in a title defense fight.
Kovalev came in to the fight on a 8-fight win streak with a 88% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 4 months and 4 days.
Sergey Kovalev made very easy work of Blake Caparello, stopping the challenger via TKO in the 2nd. Kovalev improves his record to 25-0-1 (23 KOs)
On July 25, 2015, the 32-year-old WBA (Super), IBF, and WBO light-heavyweight world champion, Sergey Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs), faced Nadjib Mohammedi, in a title defense fight.
Kovalev came in to the fight on a 11-fight win streak with a 85% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 4 months and 11 days.
Sergey Kovalev made easy work of Nadjib Mohammedi, stopping the challenger via KO in the 3rd. Kovalev improves his record to 28-0-1 (25 KOs)
On November 8, 2014, the 31-year-old WBO light-heavyweight champion, Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs), and the 49-year-old WBA (Super) and IBF light-heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) met in a title-unification fight.
Kovalev came in to the fight on a 9-fight win streak with a 88% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 3 months and 6 days. Hopkins was on a 3-fight win streak with a 50% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 6 months and 20 days.
Sergey Kovalev defeated Bernard Hopkins via unanimous decision and unifies the WBO, WBA (Super), and IBF light-heavyweight titles. Kovalev improves his record to 26-0-1, while Hopkins adds a loss to his record at 55-7-2.
On January 30, 2016, Sergey Kovalev and Jean Pascal met again in a rematch.
Kovalev came in to the fight on a 12-fight win streak with a 86% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 6 months and 5 days. Pascal was on a 1-fight win streak with a 50% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 6 months and 5 days.
In the rematch, the challenger refused to continue the fight in the 7th round, and Sergey Kovalev is crowned the new light-heavyweight world champion. Kovalev improves his record to 29-0-1 (26 KOs), while Pascal adds a loss to his record at 30-4-1.
On March 29, 2014, the 30-year-old WBO light-heavyweight world champion, Sergey Kovalev (23-0-1, 21 KOs), faced Cedric Agnew, in a title defense fight.
Kovalev came in to the fight on a 7-fight win streak with a 87% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 3 months and 29 days.
Sergey Kovalev stopped Cedric Agnew via KO in the 7th round of the 12-round world-title fight, and successfully defended his WBO light-heavyweight title. Kovalev improves his record to 24-0-1 (22 KOs)
On March 14, 2015, the 31-year-old WBA (Super), IBF, and WBO light-heavyweight world champion, Sergey Kovalev (26-0-1, 23 KOs), faced a 32-year-old Canadian boxer Jean Pascal (29-2-1, 17 KOs), in a title defense fight.
Kovalev came in to the fight on a 10-fight win streak with a 85% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 4 months and 6 days. Pascal was on a 3-fight win streak with a 53% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 3 months and 8 days.
Sergey Kovalev stopped Jean Pascal via TKO in the 8th round of the 12-round world-title fight, and successfully defended his WBA (Super), IBF, and WBO light-heavyweight titles. Kovalev improves his record to 27-0-1 (24 KOs), while Pascal adds a loss to his record at 29-3-1.
On May 14, 2022, a 39-year-old Sergey Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KOs) and a 39-year-old Bulgarian boxer Tervel Pulev (16-0, 13 KOs) met in the ring in a cruiserweight bout.
Kovalev came in to the fight on a 1-fight losing streak with a 74% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 2 years, 6 months, and 12 days. Pulev was on a 16-fight win streak with a 81% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 1 year, 3 months, and 15 days.
Sergey Kovalev defeated Tervel Pulev via unanimous decision in the 10-round cruiserweight fight. Kovalev improves his record to 35-4-1, while Pulev adds a loss to his record at 16-1.