Hopkins-Kovalev Delivered in the Ratings

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    tlapxv1ks5oxn4iychriBernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev was the most significant fight on paper left on the schedule and even with the late start time, it delivered in the ratings. According to Nielsen ratings, Hopkins-Kovalev averaged 1.328 and peaked at 1.397 million viewers making it the second most watched fight of the year behind Chavez-Vera 2. The opening bought between Saadam Ali and Carlos Abregu averaged 882k viewers meaning there was a 50% spike from co-feature to main event.

    Kovalev shutout Hopkins and scored a knockdown in the first round to add the WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight titles to his WBO title from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall. Hopkins at age 49 was trying to become the undisputed champion of the division by first defeating Kovalev and then possibly going to challenge Adonis Stevenson for his WBC title. Kovalev, now the holder of 3 belts is in the driver’s seat but its unknown if he will wait for Adonis Stevenson again or if the fight is possible because of boxing politics and because the fighters fight on different networks.

    HBO has another star in Kovalev on their hands. With the top 3 fight ratings in 2014, HBO continues its dominance over the boxing television ratings over its main competitor Showtime.