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Kovalev vs Pascal fight being discussed for 2015

Sergey Kovalev and Jean Pascal have their people talking about a potential fight for next year, which could once again leave Adonis Stevenson out in the cold.

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Scott Christ is the managing editor of Bad Left Hook and has been covering boxing for SB Nation since 2006.

Sergey Kovalev, who holds the WBA, IBF, and WBO light heavyweight titles, is looking for his next opponent, and while he has an IBF mandatory challenger due, his promoter Kathy Duva of Main Events is speaking with Interbox's Jean Bedard about a possible big money fight with Jean Pascal next year.

Kovalev (26-0-1, 23 KO) is coming off of a November 8 domination of Bernard Hopkins in Atlantic City, while Pascal (29-2-1, 17 KO) last fought in January, beating Lucian Bute, and has Roberto Bolonti up next in a December 6 tune-up bout.

Pascal had been thought to be a likely spring 2015 opponent for WBC titleholder Adonis Stevenson, but it appears there's at least a chance that Stevenson could lose a second big fight to Kovalev, a surprising turn of events given the thoughts when Stevenson signed with Al Haymon, went to Showtime, and dropped his negotiations with Kovalev in early 2014.

Nadjib Mohammedi (36-3, 22 KO) is the IBF mandatory challenger after beating Anatoliy Dudchenko in June, and the good news there is that Mohammedi, like Kovalev, is promoted by Main Events. That could make it easier to work out a deal where the IBF allows Kovalev a chance to fight Pascal instead, given that the winner then immediately faces Mohammedi. Duva says that Mohammedi is working with a new trainer (Abel Sanchez), and that he wouldn't mind having more time to get into a groove with that before facing Kovalev.

Pascal, 32, is a former WBC titleholder who was also the lineal champion of the division, which has since gone to Hopkins, Chad Dawson, and then Stevenson, and his experience and athleticism keep him in the mix at light heavyweight, even though he has just one notable win in the last three years. The 31-year-old Kovalev is arguably the true top dog at 175 pounds now, even with Stevenson's claim as the lineal champion.

If Kovalev-Pascal happens, do you see Pascal having a good shot against the "Krusher," or would Kovalev be too much for him?

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