John David Jackson Says Bernard Hopkins Doesn’t Really Want to Fight Sergey Kovalev

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John_David_Jackson_Sergey_KovalevThe man who some say is the most feared fighter in the light heavyweight division, Sergey Kovalev, will step back in the ring this Saturday to defend his WBO Light Heavyweight Title against Cedric Agnew.

Although Agnew has an undefeated record he is not exactly considered among the who’s who in the light heavyweight division. “We haven’t really seen much of Agnew and we really haven’t looked at much tape of him. Sergey is just going to go in there and fight his fight and he should be able to handle his business,” said Kovalev’s trainer John David Jackson.

HBO seems to be investing heavily in Kovalev in the hopes that they can make him a fan favorite among the American viewing public. He will be making his second appearance in a row on the network’s Boxing After Dark series. “All he has to do is keep winning the way he has been winning and he can become very popular in the United States. He has an exciting style that people like to watch,” Jackson explained.

That formula hasn’t always worked in the past for a lot fighters and to become a star every boxer needs that career defining fight. One name that seems to be on top of everyone’s list in the light heavyweight division as that big money career defining fight is IBF Light Heavyweight Champion Bernard Hopkins. Hopkins has been taking shots at Kovalev in the press and isn’t really impressed overall with his boxing ability. “Bernard can say what he wants. He knows he can’t beat Sergey. I respect Bernard and what he has done and what he’s doing, but he doesn’t really want the fight. Even with the cold war that’s going on right now, if he (Hopkins) wants the fight it can still happen down the road,” Jackson claimed.

Even though Jackson has been keeping busy with Kovalev these days, the memory of the tragedy that happened last November in which another one of his fighters Magomed Abdusalamov suffered a blood clot on his brain due to the beating that he suffered at the hands of Mike Perez. “The worst part of the whole situation was that he wasn’t taken to the hospital right away after the fight. He was complaining about how his head was hurting. I still can’t believe we had to take a cab to the hospital.”

Not long after this Saturday’s fight Jackson will go right back into camp with another Russian fighter, the highly touted junior welterweight prospect, Khabib Allakhverdiev. Allakhverdiev will take on the undefeated Jessie Vargas on the Manny Pacquiao-Tim Bradley undercard.