By Francisco Salazar

In the build up to Saturday's bout at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev., the resignation amongst media and boxing fans is Sergey Kovalev will stop Nadjib Mohammedi and retain his multiple world title belts.

That could be the case as Kovalev has mostly dominated or destroyed his opposition as a pro. Mohammedi has been looked at as an afterthought in this fight, while there has been talk of Kovalev possibly facing Andre Ward or Jean Pascal in a rematch of their March 14 bout.

It may be easy to write Mohammedi (37-3, 23 KOs) off, considering few people have heard of him outside of his home country of France. And to play Devil's advocate, Mohammedi lost by decision against Nathan Cleverly in 2010, when Kovalev overwhelmed and stopped Cleverly in less than four rounds three years later.

But what if there is more to Mohammedi? Would people give him more of a realistic opportunity to win the fight or to remain on his feet at the end of the fight?

Maybe so, said co-manager Vince Caruso, who believes Mohammedi has the ability to win and not just perform well enough to remain standing after 12 rounds.

"Everyone (including trainer Abel Sanchez) has stressed to him that this is a big fight," Caruso told BoxingScene.com in a recent interview. "He has to remember what got him here. He should love it and have fun."

There could be as much debate whether Mohammedi has earned the opportunity to fight Kovalev, let along win on Saturday. While he has won his last 13 bouts in a row, Caruso could not have planned a better path for Mohammedi to receive this title shot. 

 

"He has wanted this fight. We've been planning this fight for a year. Because when he beat (Anatoily) Dudchenko, he became the mandatory (IBF) challenger. I told him, 'Let's wait. Let this guy (Kovalev) become a star.' Because this man is going to bring more wins than that old man (Bernard Hopkins). I don't want to fight on Showtime for what, $140,000? Let's milk the IBF as long as we can."

"He (Mohammedi) wanted this fight. This is a big fight. Trust me, this is another day in the office. He's putting strong emphasis on what he has to do to win this fight. But as far as nerves go, this is nothing different from any other fight."

Kovalev's reported purse for Saturday is $750,000, while Mohammedi is pocketing $270,000.

That is a pretty decent payday for Mohammedi, considering the upbringing he had while growing up poor near the French city of Marseilles. The 30 year old of Algerian descent found salvation in the sport when organized crime did appeal to him.

It is a classic tale of what might have been, but Caruso does remind Mohammedi every so often of what is at stake now, in and out of the ring.

"(When) I email him, I tell him, 'You want to go back to that? Is that what you want? Do you want to be broke?' What makes an elite athlete is, 80 percent my be skill, but one component they must have is character. That is what Mohammedi has. That guy was broke and starving. His father walked out on him when he was three-four years old. He was raised by a single Algerian mother. Nadjib was the oldest child and he had to learn a trade."

"He used to sell garments on the street as a kid and he learned how to cook. But the whole time, he had organized crime (around him). He was asked to a be a numbers' runner or commit petty thefts for them. He said no when about 95 percent of the kids he grew up with said yes. That right there tells me a lot about his character."

Nothing in his life has ever come easy since the minute he has come into this world. Why should winning a world title be any harder? He doesn't have an easy opponent. He's got the best. This guy (Kovalev) has no flaws. He doesn't make mistakes. He is who he is because he had to work hard. I tell him (Mohammedi), 'You think he had it any easier? He came over from Russia. He didn't have it any easy. (Manager) Egis (Klimas) didn't have it any easy. They had to work the same way you did. Look where he is. You're going to tell me you can't do what he did? You're strong. You have the agility. You have the intangibles to box. Look at your victories. You lost and you hate losing. What did you do? Why can't you win a world title. He's a man just like you.'

The odds are stacked heavily against Mohammedi. And maybe for good reason. It has gotten to the point where some writers are focusing more on who Kovalev could face next later this fall/ winter.

Caruso parallels that with a fight almost 20 years, an upset where the favorite was stopped.

"Mohammedi is a live dog. I hate to see people think this is an easy fight (for Kovalev). People are already talking about Andre Ward and Adonis Stevenson. This reminds me when Kostya Tszyu fought Vince Phillips. People kept talking about Tszyu fighting (Oscar) De La Hoya and (Ike) Quartey. No one said anything about Vince Phillips. The man sat around. No one wanted to interview him. What happened? Vince went in there and knocked him out. Those kinds of things happen in boxing. There are a lot of upsets in boxing that you don't hear about."

"We have the intangibles. We have the drive. We have the vision. We have everything we need to win this fight. That doesn't mean that we're going to win. If he listens to Abel and doesn't make any mistakes, he's got a great shot to win. Jean Pascal made a mistake and Kovalev capitalized. He (Mohammedi) can't make mistakes against him."

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing