Sergey Kovalev won't fight in November, gets January HBO date

Three-body light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev was looking at a November 28 return in Russia, but that idea has been scrapped, and the "Krusher" will instead return in January on HBO, according to Dan Rafael.

Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KO) went 2-0 this year with HBO wins over Jean Pascal in March and Nadjib Mohammedi in July, and there was talk of a potential fight with Artur Beterbiev to close the year. Those plans didn't get very far, and instead of some kind of stay-busy bout to close the year, Kovalev will just push back until 2016. HBO continues to build toward a fight with top super middleweight Andre Ward, who may return to the ring on November 21 as part of the Cotto-Canelo card.

As for a potential January opponent for Kovalev, 32, that would be up in the air for now. Many of the division's top names, including Adonis Stevenson, Andrzej Fonfara, Eleider Alvarez, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, and Beterbiev, fight under the Al Haymon and Premier Boxing Champions banner. Isaac Chilemba will face Alvarez in a WBC eliminator on November 28 for the right to face Stevenson in the future. There has been talk of a possible rematch between Kovalev and Pascal, who won in the July HBO co-feature under Kovalev's main event, and on paper, that seems easily the biggest available fight for Kovalev at this time.