By Bill Kozloff

WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23KOs) is less than two weeks away from the biggest fight of his career, a unification with WBA/IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32KOs). They will battle on November 8th at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

Kovalev will not show any respect, or mercy, to the near 50-year-old legend. The boxer known as the "Krusher" has promised to punish Hopkins in the contest. Hopkins has never been stopped and feels his experience will be too much for the up and coming Kovalev.

"It gives me a boost in motivation to win this fight, to beat this legend. To become a legend, we have to beat a legend. I have such a goal - to beat this legend. I want to go down in history not only as a professional boxer, but as a boxer who became a legend by beating a legendary boxer," Kovalev said.

"I want to make my son, my family and friends proud. For young boxers to look at me as an example, that for some children this was the [motivation] to start of classes in boxing. It motivates me and gives me strength to go to the gym and train. I understand that everything has its time and, God willing, my time has come."

Bill Kozloff covers boxing for Allboxing.ru