Adonis Stevenson says he'll fight Sergey Kovalev in 2014

Though he still has his mind on Bernard Hopkins (who is unlikely) and Carl Froch (who has flat-out said he's not interested in the fight or in going up to 175), Adonis Stevenson tells BoxingScene.com that he's definitely planning to fight Sergey Kovalev this year, and given the options otherwise, it may be a more forced issue than he's expecting.

"I would like to fight Bernard Hopkins because he is a big name in the sport. I would like to fight Carl Froch because he is from England and he is big over there. It is interesting because when I was at 168 I was the number one contender but the fight never happened. Now I am the champ at 175 and I would like to fight Carl Froch and Bernard Hopkins. Kovalev has won a couple fights and now he's a champion. In the three fights (I have) this year I am going to fight Kovalev. I want to let the fans know that the fight will happen. My promoter is working on that with Main Events."

Stevenson (23-1, 20 KO) has seemed reluctant before to talk about the fight with Kovalev (23-0-1, 21 KO), but it doesn't seem like he's "afraid" of that fight so much as he wants to make sure he's making the most money he can. If Hopkins can't be made and Froch remains uninterested, Kovalev is probably his biggest money fight, and that could make it the fight to be made sooner than later.

Are you confident we'll see this fight in 2014?