Sergey Kovalev planning move to cruiserweight

36 years old and reeling from a destructive loss to Canelo Alvarez. Sergey Kovalev has his sights on some new turf. Trainer Buddy McGirt tells USA Today that “The Krusher,” who’ll resume training “in about a month,” will be moving up to cruiserweight for his next efforts.

Interestingly, McGirt says that Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KO) will aim to step onto the scales well below the 200-pound limit.

“As long as we go to 185 [pounds], we’re good. No more than 185,” McGirt said. “He can come in at 180 and beat those guys. He’ll be light, and that’s OK.”

There are more than a few red flags to sift through, not least of them the idea of pitting the Russian’s deteriorating durability against some of the brick-fisted monsters atop the cruiserweight peak. I’d peg him as the underdog against Yuniel Dorticos, Mairis Briedis, or Ilunga Makabu. Plus, he wasn’t doing all that badly against Canelo before getting goomed.

It’s not like his current course of action has been working for him lately, though; besides his knockout losses to Canelo and Eleider Alvarez, Kovalev had an inordinately difficult time with Anthony Yarde in August. Maybe a fresh start will do him some good.

While he formulates a plan for his ring return, Kovalev still faces assault charges from an incident wherein he allegedly punched a woman in the face, causing spinal damage.