By Jake Donovan

Sergey Kovalev continues to struggle as a box office draw, but remains one of the most watched fighters on cable television. Proof on the latter is found in the unified light heavyweight titlist’s recent 3rd round knockout win over mandatory challenger Nadjib Mohammedi.

The July 25 HBO-televised headliner played in front of a sparse crowd at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, but to a healthy viewing audience. Kovalev's one-sided knockout win averaged just north of 1 million viewers (1.014 million) over the course of less than nine minutes of ring action. 

Even in peaking at 1.082 million viewers, the totals are down from his past two bouts, which is to be expected. However, it fared better than a similarly (mis)matched bout around this time last year, when his 2nd round knockout of Blake Caparello played to less than 1 million homes, which further speaks to Kovalev's drawing power as a TV headliner. 

Kovalev (28-0-1, 25KOs) made his sixth successful defense of at least one alphabet belt, and his second consecutive defense as a unified titlist. The bout came on the heels of his 8th round knockout win over Jean Pascal in March.

Pascal appeared on the undercard of the July 25 telecast, struggling to a debatable 10-round win over previously unbeaten Yunieski Gonzalez. The supporting bout turned out to be an unexpected thriller, with Gonzalez—undefeated but largely untested going in—jumping out to an early lead and pushing Pascal to the brink in a fight many believed should have landed in favor of the Miami-based Cuban.

The co-feature bout pulled in a healthy 883,000 viewers. 

At its peak, the broadcast served as the most viewed cable sports event on the night in the coveted 18-49 viewing market. 

Kovalev has now fought on HBO in each of his past seven bouts, beginning with his first light heavyweight title win, knocking out Nathan Cleverly in four rounds in their Aug. ’13 clash on the road in Wales. 

The title win was Kovalev’s lowest-rated bout on HBO, but since developing as one of the network’s biggest and most consistent draws. Less-than-desirable bouts with Mohammedi, Caparello and Cedric Agnew all performed well in the ratings given that Kovalev was the lone notable draw in each of the matchups. His highest-drawing bout to date also came in the signature win of his career, pitching a 12-round shutout over legendary Bernard Hopkins last November, a bout that played to more than 1.3 million homes. 

Kovalev has been forced to become a draw on his own after once enjoying the benefit of being groomed for a coveted showdown with World lineal light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson. The two were paired on a Nov. ’13 show, one that proved to be a huge success at the box office and in the ratings, including Kovalev’s 2nd round knockout of Ismayl Sillah, which drew 1.25 million viewers. Stevenson scored a 6th round stoppage of Tony Bellew in the headlining bout of the same telecast, one that was designed to lead to what HBO intended as its showcase bout of 2014.

The two have since gone back and forth in finding different reasons to not make the fight happen. Stevenson jumped ship early last year, signing with adviser Al Haymon and fighting on Showtime and now an integral part of the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) movement. His competition since leaving HBO, however, has left a lot to be desired, including his upcoming September 11 showdown with Tommy Karpency. 

The fight was once again on the table earlier this year, only for Kovalev’s handlers—led by New Jersey based promotional outfit Main Events—to withdraw from an ordered purse bid, for fear of the session being won by any given promoter in the PBC rotation. Such a venture likely would have meant Kovalev fighting off of HBO, with Main Events opting to instead maintain that relationship, a move that included Kovalev renewing his deal with the cable giant. 

As for future plans for the Russian knockout artist, a return to the mother land appears to be next on tap. Kovalev is due to head home to Russia for a November 28 showcase against an opponent to be determined. Main Events is currently attempting to secure the services of unbeaten Artur Beterbiev, despite his sharing the same adviser (Haymon) and promoter (Yvon Michel) as Stevenson. 

However, Beterbiev’s side is reportedly receptive at least to the idea of such a fight, as their own plans called for an elimination bout that would have eventually led to a title challenge versus Kovalev. 

For the moment, HBO has yet to confirm if a camera crew will be dispatched to Russia for Kovalev’s next fight. 

All aforementioned ratings data provided by

Nielsen Media Research

.

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox