Scouting Report for Kovalev-Agnew 3/29 at Boardwalk Hall

Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev Photo Credits: Rich Graessle/Main Events

Atlantic City, NJ:  Undefeated light heavyweight Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (23-0-1, 21 KOs) has yet to go beyond eight rounds in any professional bout in his career, because 91% of the time he knocks out his opponent before the fight gets too far, but if Cedric “L.O.W.” Agnew (26-0-0, 13 KOs) hopes to defeat Krusher taking him into the later rounds may be his best shot for success on March 29 at Boardwalk Hall.  Below is the scouting report for the March 29 fight for the WBO Light Heavyweight Championship at Boardwalk Hall on HBO Boxing After Dark:

Category	Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev	Cedric “L.O.W.” Agnew
Age	30	27
Record	23-0-1, 21 KOs	26-0-0, 13 KOs
Weight	174	174
Strength	Kovalev has ring intelligence, footwork, punching power and laser focus.  He is incredibly agile and flexible. He moves very well on his feet and is never out of position.	Agnew is a pure boxer with a strong US amateur background.  He is undefeated. His focus will be 100% on this-the biggest fight of his life.
Weakness	Sergey has never been extended to the later rounds so there is no way to know what will happen if Cedric takes him deep.  There has been a lot of speculation about the possibility of future unification bouts, this could tempt him to lose focus and look past Agnew.	Cedric has never fought a fighter of Sergey’s caliber. He has never been on the big stage and fought under the bright lights so there is no way to know how he will respond to the pressure.
Experience	Kovalev is the more experienced fighter. He has fought better competition and has beaten his recent opposition (Cleverly and Sillakh) to the punch.	Although Agnew has not fought the same level of opponents as Kovalev he has defeated everyone who was put in front of him
Power	They don’t call him “Krusher” for nothing!	Cedric will have to rely on his boxing skills, as Kovalev is the more powerful boxer.
Endurance	Sergey’s endurance is still untested as he has never had to go beyond 8 rounds.	Agnew has gone 12 rounds twice and been extended to 10 rounds once, so he gets the edge here with his experience.
Accuracy	Kovalev is extremely accurate.  Against Sillakh he connected for 36.9% of his overall punches and 43.4% of his power punches.	Agnew is more of a boxer so if Sergey allows him to, he will connect with the jab.
Defense	Kovalev has not had to use a lot of his defense lately, so it is still a question mark.	For any opponent stepping into the ring against Sergey their main concern is going to be their defense because he has incredible punching power.  For Cedric, questions remain about whether or not he was able to improve his defense during training camp.
Style	Kovalev’s style is to seek and destroy.	Cedric is a more classic boxer.
Intangibles	Kovalev has the confidence of a champion; he is remarkably focused and intense.	Agnew was the only Light Heavyweight to ask for this fight and accept the terms.
Crowd Support	Kovalev is fast becoming a big star so he will likely have most of the crowd with him.	As the American in this fight some of the fans will be with Agnew on 3/29.

The Match-Up

Kovalev is favored, but Agnew is a pure boxer who has a chance to extend Kovalev into the later rounds.  If so, he will take Kovalev to a place where he has never been at a time when his focus may be elsewhere.   Questions: 1.   Will Sergey be able to handle a pure boxer inside the ring? 2.   Will Agnew fold under the lights? 3.   Will Sergey be looking past this fight onto bigger fights? 4.   Will Agnew be able to take Sergey’s punch if it connects?