Tonight with coverage starting at 10 pm ET on ESPN and continuing at Midnight ET on ESPN+, Eleider Alvarez and Sergey Kovalev headline a four-fight card from Texas, in a rematch for Alvarez’s WBO light heavyweight title. Alvarez (24-0, 12 KO) upset Kovalev (32-3-1, 28 KO) last August in Atlantic City, coming from behind to stop the Russian in the seventh round. Alvarez opened as the betting underdog for the rematch, too, but since then the odds have swung in his favor, and sports books have him as the favorite now. Lightweight prospect Teofimo Lopez (11-0, 9 KO) will look to continue his winning ways, as he faces veteran Diego Magdaleno (31-2, 13 KO) in a 10-round bout. Magdaleno, a former title challenger at both 130 and 135, is a step up for Lopez on paper. WBO featherweight titleholder Oscar Valdez (24-0, 19 KO) will also make his return to the ring, as he defends his belt against Italy’s Carmine Tommasone (19-0, 5 KO). Valdez has been out since last March, when he suffered a broken jaw in a win over Scott Quigg. The vacant IBF lightweight title is on the line, as well, as Ghana’s Richard Commey (27-2, 24 KO) takes on Russia’s Isa Chaniev (13-1, 6 KO). Commey’s only losses were both by split decision, to Robert Easter Jr and Denis Shafikov back in 2016. Chaniev has won three straight after a loss to Fedor Papazov in 2017. The Valdez-Tommasone and Commey-Chaniev bouts will air on ESPN starting at 10 pm ET, with Alvarez-Kovalev II and Lopez-Magdaleno following at Midnight ET on ESPN+. Wil Esco will be here for the round-by-round coverage. RESULTS SERGEY KOVALEV def. ELEIDER ALVAREZ by UD (116-112, 116-112, 120-108) TEOFIMO LOPEZ def. DIEGO MAGDALENO by KO (1:08 of Round 7) OSCAR VALDEZ def. CARMINE TOMMASONE by TKO (0:09 of Round 7) RICHARD COMMEY def. ISA CHANIEV by TKO (0:39 of Round 2) ROUND-BY-ROUND ELEIDER ALVAREZ vs SERGEY KOVALEV Round 1: Kovalev comes out on the attack quickly with a few strong jabs. Now Alvarez tries to lunge in with two punches that fall short. Jab to the body lands for Alvarez. Kovalev feints and then thrwos a jab to the head and body. Kovalev throws three punches that miss and then grabs Alvarez behind the head. Jab lands for Kovalev at center ring. Now Kovalev throws a stiff jab to the body. Both fighters trade punches with Alvarez getting in one downstairs. I think Kovalev edged the first round. Kovalev 10-9. Round 2: Kovalev throws a short flurry as Alvarez covers up on the ropes. Both fighters trade jabs now. Alvarez misses on a big right hook. Two jabs land for Kovalev, then a third. Alvarez catches a Kovalev right hand on his glove but then eats the next right hand. One-two lands for Kovalev. Jab to the body lands for Alvarez. Overhand right partially lands for Alvarez. Kovalev comes forward behind his jab to end the round. I think Kovalev takes this round too. Kovalev 10-9, 20-18. Round 3: Jab lands clean for Kovalev to start the round. Now both trade jabs but Kovalev comes with more follow up punches. Kovalev trying to dominate the fight at range and is doing a good job of it. Jab lands for Alvarez. Kovalev throws four punches against Alvarez’s guard. Alvarez tries a big right hook that glances off Kovalev’s shoulder. Low blow lands for Alvarez but the referee doesn’t see it. Kovalev leads with a left hook but Alvarez counters at the same time. Both fighters trade jabs again to end the round. I think it was a better round for Alvarez but Kovalev still takes it. Kovalev 10-9. Round 4: Both fighters throw and land jabs. Kovalev comes forward with four punches and Alvarez circles away. Kovalev leads again with three punches as Alvarez keeps his hands at home. Clean jab lands for Alvarez and knocks Kovalev back a little. Jab lands for Kovalev, who then tries to double a right hook that doesn’t land clean. Now Kovalev doubles the left hook but those only partially land as well. Alvarez is clearly trying to save his energy for the later going, but in the meanwhile Kovalev is winning the rounds. Kovalev 10-9, 40-36. Round 5: Both fighters wind up in a clinch right away. After the break Kovalev tries to time a counter right and now Alvarez is starting to come forward and throwing punches. Overhand right from Alvarez just partially lands. Kovalev throws a flurry of punches as Alvarez covers up. Kovalev gets warned for throwing a backhand punch. Three more punches come from Kovalev as Alvarez defends. Clean jab lands for Kovalev again at center ring. Hard right hand from Alvarez clips Kovalev. Kovalev throws a couple more jabs to end the round but can’t land clean. Alvarez is starting to come on but Kovalev still in control. Kovalev 10-9. Round 6: Kovalev stays at range and tries to pick Alvarez off as he comes in. Two hard shots lands for Alvarez now. Alvarez getting a little more aggressive and Alvarez lands a clean jab. Kovalev throws four punches and then two left hooks to the body. Kovalev throws a lot of punches that are landing on Alvarez’s arms and gloves. Alvarez tries to time a big overhand right that misses. Clean shots from Kovalev gets Alvarez’s attention. Kovalev 10-9, 60-54. Round 7: Alvarez starts with a string jab as Kovalev gets in a counter. Kovalev throws three quick punches that Alvarez blocks. Now Alvarez lands a few body shots in a row and Kovalev immediately ties up. Another left hook to the body lands for Alvarez. Alvarez stands his ground and is trying to press Kovalev a little more, who is touching Alvarez’s guard and stepping to the side. Left to the body lands well for Kovalev. Right hook lands upstairs for Alvarez but so far Kovalev is just outworking him. Kovalev 10-9. Round 8: Alvarez starts the round with a couple of body shots that partially land. Kovalev is looking like he’s not as strong as he was earlier as Alvarez tries to build up some forward momentum. Now Alvarez backs off and hasn’t thrown any punches for a near 20 second stretch. Alvarez is going to need a knockout to win this fight since he’s just not scoring enough. Kovalev jabs to the body. Right hook lands upstairs for Alvarez, his best punch of the round. Kovalev 10-9, 80-72. Round 9: Alvarez tries to jab but falls into a clinch. Kovalev measures with his straight punches and then backs up to maintain his preferred distance. Right hand followed by a left lands for Kovalev. Kovalev lands a jab to the body and head. Right hook to the body lands, then he lands a short right hook upstairs. Stiff jab lands for Alvarez this time. Right hand to the body lands for Alvarez now. Kovalev tries to find a home for his left hand again and then backs Alvarez to the ropes. More punches from Kovalev keep Alvarez on defense. Kovalev 10-9. Round 10: Kovalev starts the round with a right hook that Alvarez catches on his guard. Alvarez partially lands a chopping right hook. Alvarez just puts his ear muffs back on and lets Kovalev take the play away from him. Counter right hand from Kovalev lands upstairs. Now Kovalev throws a combination that pierces Alvarez’s guard. Alvarez simply isn’t working enough, he hasn’t gotten busy in any of these rounds. Clean left hand from Kovalev snaps Alvarez’s head back and causes a roar from the crowd. Kovalev 10-9, 100-90. Round 11: Kovalev throws two jabs that don’t land. Now Kovalev lands one but Alvarez counters with two punches. Alvarez tries the same right hook but Kovalev is looking for it. Now Alvarez lands that right hook but Kovalev takes the punches and fires back a short combination. Alvarez lands a shot but Kovalev fires back a straight punch of his own. Kovalev throws five touching punches and then a right hand that makes Alvarez fall into him. Kovalev 10-9.<doc-sep>Heading into the rematch with Eleider Alvarez, Sergey Kovalev said he overtrained back when he lost by seventh-round TKO last August. He promised things would be different. Boxing fans had heard Kovalev say that before in both of his losses to Andre Ward and didn't believe him. The 35-year-old quieted the critics and dominated from start-to-finish to defeat Alvarez by unanimous decision (120-108, 116-112, 116-112) to win back the WBO light heavyweight title for the third time in the ESPN+ main event at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas. Sporting News had the fight scored 119-109 for Kovalev. Join DAZN and watch more than 100 fight nights a year Kovalev (33-3-1, 28 KOs) was a completely different fighter under new trainer Buddy McGirt. He stayed composed and boxed extraordinarily well. He came out popping the jab right away and throwing combinations. The game plan by Alvarez was puzzling. The Colombian fighting out of Montreal thought he could do what he did in the first fight and what had been the playbook on Kovalev - let him throw at will and he would tire himself out and in the middle rounds. In doing so, Alvarez could tee off and finish Kovalev off once again. However, the Russian had different things in mind and that was because of McGirt. He stayed cool, calm and collected. He didn't overthrow and stayed composed throughout the 12 round affair. The "Krusher" allowed the jab to set up his combinations and there was nothing Alvarez could do about it. According to Compubox stats, Kovalev connected on 213 of 816 punches (26%), while Alvarez connected on only 111 of 369 (30%). Was this the Kovalev people are used to seeing? No, but this Kovalev showed the world he can overcome adversity after what happened six months ago and if he needs to box to win fights then he can do that as well. Some intriguing title unification fights are ahead for Kovalev with either WBA titleholder Dmitry Bivol, IBF titlist Artur Beterbiev or WBC champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk. Kovalev said line them up. He wants them all. "Who's ready for a unification fight?," Kovalev said in his post-fight interview. "I want to fight any champion (at 175 pounds) in a unification fight," Here's what happened at Alvarez vs. Kovalev 2. Alvarez vs. Kovalev 2 results Sergey Kovalev dominates in routing Eleider Alvarez to regain WBO title 1:52 a.m.: Kovalev def. Alvarez by unanimous decision (120-108, 116-112, 116-112) to win the WBO light heavyweight title. What a performance by Kovalev. He controlled the bout from A to Z and never let Alvarez get going. 1:47 a.m.: Round 12 to Kovalev (10-9, 119-109 Kovalev). Kovalev could have ridden the proverbial bicycle for the last three minutes. Instead, Kovalev showed he bad he wanted to regain the title and fought the entire 180 seconds. 1:43 a.m.: Round 11 to Kovalev (10-9, 109-100 Kovalev). Alvarez not letting it go even though his title is in serious jeopardy. You think Alvarez would let it all out here. Nothing to lose at this point. 1:39 a.m.: Round 10 to Kovalev (10-9, 99-91 Kovalev). Time for Alvarez to let it go. He has nothing to lose. Kovalev is outclassing him on every level. He stunned Alvarez with a combination at the end of the round. Making it look easy. 1:35 a.m.: Round 9 to Kovalev (10-9, 89-82 Kovalev). Kovalev putting on a boxing clinic. The jab is setting everything up and right now, there's nothing Alvarez can do about it until he decides to go for it because the title is slipping away. 1:31 a.m.: Round 8 to Kovalev (10-9, 79-73 Kovalev). The narrative playing out is Alvarez looking for Kovalev to tire so he could knock him out isn't working. Kovalev is boxing very well. He's popping the jab and putting combinations together very well. Alvarez is in trouble here. 1:27 a.m.: Round 7 to Kovalev (10-9, 69-64 Kovalev). Once again, Alvarez started out strong, but let Kovalev back into the round by not continuing to throw. Can see Kovalev getting tired. He's boxing well but can see he's conserving energy, so he has enough to get to the finish line. 1:23 a.m.: Round 6 to Alvarez (10-9, 59-55 Kovalev). Alvarez came right out and landed the overhand right that sent Kovalev crumbling in the first fight. He started to become more active. That's what he needs to continue to do if he's going to win. 1:19 a.m.: Round 5 to Kovalev (10-9, 50-45 Kovalev). Alvarez started off the round on a good note by going to the body. For some reason, he stopped and Kovalev started to make Alvarez's head target practice with laser straight right hands. Would be nice to see Kovalev go to the body to set up the right hand over the top. 1:15 a.m.: Round 4 to Kovalev (10-9, 40-36 Kovalev). Great round for Kovalev that was highlighted by a beautiful four-punch combination ending with a hard right hand to the body. He's starting to crack through Alvarez's guard. Kovalev started to have more sizzle on his punches as the round went on. 1:11 a.m.: Round 3 to Kovalev (10-9, 30-27 Kovalev). Kovalev is being more active and just racking up points. According to Compubox, Kovalev's thrown 181 punches to Alvarez's 74. Not going to win fights by not throwing. 1:07 a.m.: Round 2 to Kovalev (10-9, 20-18 Kovalev). Pretty good round for Kovalev. The jab is setting up the straight right hand. Alvarez needs to start being the aggressor and let some shots off to let Kovalev know he's there. 1:03 a.m.: Round 1 to Kovalev (10-9). Kovalev came out pumping the jab and stayed at it. Alvarez came back at the end of the round with a couple hard lefts and rights to the body. 12:55 a.m.: It is now time for the main event, as Eleider Alvarez defends the WBO light heavyweight championship against former two-time titleholder Sergey Kovalev. Alvarez (24-0, 12 KOs), a native of Colombia fighting out of Montreal, was behind on all three scorecards heading into the seventh round of their initial August 2018 fight, when he knocked Kovalev down three times in the stanza to pull off the shocker and capture his first major world title. It didn't take long for Kovalev (32-3-1, 28 KOs) to exercise a contract clause for an immediate rematch. Before suffering the first two losses of his career — to Andre Ward in back-to-back fights — Kovalev had bounced back with two stoppage victories, regaining the WBO belt, before losing it to Alvarez. Will Alvarez be able to do it one more time or can Kovalev show the world what happened six months ago was a fluke? Teofimo Lopez shines with a vicious knockout of Diego Magdaleno 12:35 a.m.: Lopez def. Magdaleno by knockout at 1:08 of the seventh round. Lopez winded back with a brutal left hook and somehow Magdaleno stood there. Seeing Magdaleno standing there ripe for the picking, Lopez put everything he had into his last shot and threw a scintillating left hook with evil intentions to violently send Magdaleno's head bouncing off the mat. Lopez walked over and did a mock sweep up and did a beautiful backflip to finish the night off. And a bad job by the corner of Magdaleno. No reason his corner should have let him come out for the seventh round after the knockdown in the sixth. He had lost every round up to that point. You should always look out for the fighters safety and his team failed him. A great performance by Lopez. He needed the rounds and went seven for the first time in his short career. Nothing wrong with showboating, but when you stand by your knocked out opponent and do the sweep up, it was uncalled for. Be professional and act like you have been there before. 12:29 a.m.: A brutal knockdown at the end of the sixth round when Lopez dropped Magdaleno nearly head first with a right hand to the body followed by a short left hook. The end for Magdaleno is near. 12:24 a.m.: All Lopez after five rounds.<doc-sep>By Matthew Aguilar Special to the Times Confidence. It can be as important as a jab, a right hand or a left to the liver. And when it’s gone, sometimes it’s gone for good. Two years ago, Sergey Kovalev was undefeated and arguably the hardest puncher in boxing. Then he was beaten twice by Andre Ward, and his cloak of invincibility was stripped. He’s lost three of his last five since then, two by knockout, and “The Krusher” hasn’t been the same fighter. His confidence appears wrecked. Kovalev will get one more chance to regain his former prowess when he goes for redemption — and his old WBO light heavyweight title — against former conqueror Eleider Alvarez at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas (10 p.m. Saturday, ESPN Plus). Waning confidence Kovalev, 32-3-1 (28 knockouts), Fort Lauderdale, Floriday, by-way-of-Russia, goes into the Alvarez rematch with much on his mind. He was arrested last summer for felony assault, and faces up to four years in prison for allegedly attacking a woman and her dog in Big Bear, California. He is also being sued for $8 million. The 35-year-old fighter has pleaded not guilty. In the ring, things haven’t been much better. Six months ago in the first fight against Alvarez, Kovalev was leading on all three official scorecards when he was suddenly hammered with a right hand in the 7th round. He got up, but Alvarez knocked him down two more times, forcing the stoppage. The devastating defeat completed Kovalev’s swift demise. The fall began in November 2016, when he was matched with super middleweight champ Andre Ward in one of the best fights of the year. After being dropped by a whistling right hand from Kovalev in round 2, Ward climbed his way back into the fight, ultimately earning a controversial decision. Kovalev seethed, and seemed emboldened that most observers thought he won. He insulted Ward at every turn and promised he’d knock him out in the rematch. Instead, he was knocked out himself, the victim of a furious Ward body attack (some say low-blow assault) that forced a 7th-round TKO defeat. It was as shocking as it was unlikely, that a naturally smaller man would crumple Kovalev as he did — leaving him dangling on the ropes, with a helpless, shell-shocked expression. Psychologically, Kovalev has never recovered. But there were also warning signs that Kovalev was not on the right track. He feuded and eventually parted ways with fighter-turned-trainer John David Jackson, who said Kovalev lacked discipline, work ethic and didn’t like to be told what to do. Jackson seemed to have a point, as Kovalev’s lack of conditioning was apparent in both the Ward rematch, and the first Alvarez fight. Now, his prime victories over Nathan Cleverly (TKO 4), Bernard Hopkins (W 12) and Jean Pascal (TKO 9 and TKO 7) seem like distant memories. He still has power and can still box — and he’s got a new trainer in incoming Hall-of-Famer Buddy McGirt — but his confidence, his conditioning and his desire to excel seem to have been severely compromised over the last few years. 'The Storm' Alvarez on the rise Meanwhile, Alvarez, 24-0 (12 KO’s), Canada-by-way-of-Colombia, has taken Kovalev’s place as one of boxing’s must-see performers. “The Storm” was sensational against Kovalev in August, boxing patiently and using a piston-like jab to set his man up. He also showed a rock-solid chin, soaking up Kovalev’s bombs to the head and body without apparent problems. A smashing right hand followed by a pawing jab put Kovalev on the deck the first time, and the Russian never recovered. Before that, Alvarez scored a stoppage of former super middleweight champ Lucien Bute (KO 5) in February 2017, and a majority decision over former light heavyweight titlist Jean Pascal four months later. Besides being a bigger puncher than his record might indicate, Alvarez is a solid boxer with a deep amateur background. Despite being two inches shorter than Kovalev at 6-foot, Alvarez has a three-inch reach advantage. That jab made a difference in the first fight, and it’ll make a difference in the rematch. Look for the 34-year-old Alvarez to capitalize on Kovalev’s ever-waning confidence, and start faster this time. The axiom is, if a fighter knocks another fighter out, he does so quicker the next time. Alvarez knows this, and he’ll try and take advantage of Kovalev’s uncertainty. Boxing tentatively and unsure, Kovalev will be blinded by the jab and run into Alvarez’s right hand again. He’ll get up again, but Alvarez will finish him off. And that’ll be that. A former streaking star will officially fizzle out, left to face an uncertain future in and out of the ring. Alvarez by 5th-round TKO. On the undercard Oscar Valdez, 24-0 (19 KO’s), Mexico, returns to the ring for the first time since his thrilling victory over Scott Quigg last March 10 (in which he suffered a broken jaw), defending his WBO featherweight title against Carmine Tommasone, 19-0 (5 KO’s). Richard Commey, 27-2 (24 KO’s), Ghana, takes on Isa Chaniev, 13-1 (6 KO’s), Russia, for the vacant IBF lightweight title. And sensational lightweight Teofimo Lopez, 11-0 (9 KO’s), Brooklyn, who last fought on Dec. 8, taking out Mason Menard in one, takes the next step in his promising career, against veteran Diego Magdaleno, 31-2 (13 KO’s), Las Vegas. Matthew Aguilar may be reached at maguilarnew@yahoo.com; @MatthewAguilar5 on Twitter<doc-sep>
Top Rank Boxing features a tripleheader of title fights and four fights overall tonight (Saturday, February 2nd) from The Star in Frisco, Texas. In the main event, WBO light heavyweight champion Eleider Alvarez (24-0, 12 KOs) rematches Sergey Kovalev (32-3-1, 28 KOs), six months removed from his stunning KO of Kovalev to win the title from the Russian. This is Alvarez’s first defense of his title, and he’ll look to make it 2-for-2 against “Krusher.” The other title fights see Oscar Valdez (24-0, 19 KOs) defend his WBO featherweight belt against Carmine Tommasone (19-0, 5 KOs), while Richard Commey (27-2, 24 KOs) and Isa Chaniev (13-1, 6 KOs) vie for the vacant IBF lightweight belt, with the winner guaranteed a unification bout against Vasyl Lomachenko. For the one non-title fight featured, the co-main event for Alvarez vs. Kovalev 2 sees lightweight prospect Teofimo Lopez (11-0, 9 KOs) take on former title challenger Diego Magdaleno (31-2, 13 KOs), who is Lopez’s most accomplished opponent to date. Bloody Elbow is here to provide you with detailed, round-by-round coverage and running commentary of tonight’s main event. We’ll also have live results updates for the other three bouts. The ESPN broadcast starts at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT, before flipping over to ESPN+ for Lopez-Magdaleno and Alvarez-Kovalev II at 12 AM ET. If you care about the ESPN+ undercard, that starts at 7 PM ET. ESPN+ card (12 AM ET) Eleider Alvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev - WBO light heavyweight title Round 1 - Kovalev pressuring in the early stages. He sticks out his jab. Alvarez jabs to the body. Two clinches occur as Kovalev stalks and throws punches that miss. Kovalev with the body jab. Alvarez short on a right hand. Good body shot by Alvarez. Left hook by Kovalev and a body shot by Alvarez again. 10-9 Kovalev. Round 2 - Kovalev with a combination that’s mostly blocked. Stiff jab by Alvarez. Body shot by Eleider and he misses over the top with a right hand. Kovalev with a right that’s blocked upstairs. Alvarez connects on a jab. Good body shot by Kovalev. They hold and are separated. Kovalev scores with a left. Stiff jab by Kovalev and another one. Alvarez with a looping right hand that’s off the mark. 20-18 Kovalev. Round 3 - Left hook by Alvarez as they trade some shots at mid-range. Right hand by Alvarez but he is countered with a hard jab. He jabs Kovalev back. They both trade jabs. Kovalev left hook is blocked. Right hand by Alvarez comes up short. Eleider grabs a hold of Kovalev’s neck and is admonished for it. Good left by Alvarez. He does some dirty boxing in the clinch. Kovalev touching Alvarez upstairs with his jab. Both men land good shots as the round ends. 29-28 Kovalev. Round 4 - Sneaky left hook scores for Alvarez. Kovalev pushes Alvarez’s head down and is warned. Right hand by Kovalev is blocked. He lands a body shot. Body blows by Alvarez but he gets clipped upstairs. Uppercut by Kovalev connects. Left hook by Kovalev. Jab to the body by Alvarez. Double left hook by Kovalev. Good body shot by Kovalev and another one! He’s letting his hands go and landing some strong shots on Alvarez. 39-37 Kovalev. Round 5 - Alvarez digging Kovalev’s body considerably to start this round. Excellent counterpunching by Kovalev. He gets in a combination downstairs. Left hook by Alvarez and Pabon warns Kovalev for a backhand. Kovalev with a left hook upstairs. He gets a sharp left through Alvarez’s guard. A right hand around the guard. Sweeping right by Alvarez just misses. The jab does not miss for Eleider. Double left hook by Kovalev is blocked. Good action here in round five. 49-46 Kovalev. Round 6 - Right hand by Alvarez lands ! A big one catches Kovalev! They trade power shots before Alvarez gets in a solid jab. Kovalev with a good jab. Double body shot by Kovalev. Alvarez answers with one body shot. Body shot and a head shot by Kovalev in quick succession. Right hand by Kovalev and an uppercut! Alvarez was stunned. 59-55 Kovalev. Round 7 - Body shot by Alvarez strays low. He goes a little higher and those are legal and flush punches. Kovalev with a combination. Body shots by Alvarez and Kovalev felt that. Kovalev takes a punch to the liver. Left hook by Kovalev is blocked. Alvarez turning up the tempo. Kovalev jabbing upstairs.