Seems like a major step up. Kovalevs chin may not be the same but his boxing skill hasn’t eroded completely. Kovalev looked alright against Canelo till the KO. Could Kovalev have too much for an inexperienced Melikuziev?
Definitely, Melukuziev is a southpaw, and he has a really bad tendency to lunge in to land his left hook, with his chin unprotected. Kovalev still has an incredible straight right, The Bully might just end up do Sergey's job for him here. Kovalev took countless looping hooks from Canelo, I'm sure he can take a few from Bektemir, but how many flush full force rights can Bektemir take? Especially against a much larger fighter in a division with much harder hitters.
Genuinely think this is 2-3 fights too early and think he teaches the younger guy a lesson like he did Yarde
Yes,,,on paper I think it's too early, but if Kovalev is as shot as I think he is he might get knocked out in a fashion that ends his career.
