sad story, dont have a 100 percent recollection of the fight but i think it should have been stopped earlier. Wasnt like most of the stoppages you see, as the fight wore on his opponent seemed to be able to fight on but his co-ordination and balance kept getting worse and worse
The fight should have been stopped earlier. But its really no wonder the guy wasn't prepared. He had next to no experience against even journeyman fighter let alone a strong up and comer. In his fight before Kov he fought a guy with only two fight.
Simakov seems to have been a fairly decent amateur and he shared the ring with exceptional talents like Egor Mekhontsev and Matvey Korobov in the unpaid ranks, although he did lose to both, the later of which in the quarter finals of the Russian Junior National championships in 2001, which incidentally Kovalev also fought in.
I didn't look into his amateur background, but looking into it a bit further it seems they were seen as evenly matched. My mistake.
I remember reading the pbp for that fight at the time Kovalev was seen as a crude puncher who was entertaining but didnt have a bright future funny how things change so quickly
