Home News Sergey Kovalev vs. Blake Caparello fight analysis: Does Il Capo have a...

Sergey Kovalev vs. Blake Caparello fight analysis: Does Il Capo have a chance?

Credit: Rich Graessle/Main Events

Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (24-0-1, 22 KOs) has a reputation as a knockout artist but his challenger for the WBO Light Heavyweight World Title Blake “Il Capo” Caparello (19-0-1, 6 KOs) has a reputation for lasting deep into the later rounds of a fight where Krusher has never been before. On August 2nd everyone is dying to see whether Caparello can handle Sergey’s power long enough to see whether or not Sergey has the endurance to go the distance.  Below is the scouting report for the match-up:

Category

Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev

Blake “Il Capo” Caparello

Age

31

27

Record

24-0-1, 22 KOs

19-0-1 (6 KOs)

StrengthSergey’s biggest strength is his power. He has both one-punch power and he can mix it up. He has the ability to break opponents down with his power.Caparello has incredible technical skills, easily out-pointing most of his opposition thus far. He is also very well conditioned and stays active, with this is his ninth bout in the past two years.
WeaknessKovalev has been hit before, though not hurt, so his defense is questionable. He has not gone past eight rounds so endurance is an unknown.Caparello lacks real punching power. He has only earned a knockout in six of his 20 professional fights.
ExperienceSergey has fought everybody that has been put in front of him. He has gone into other people’s hometowns and came through victorious.Blake’s experience is gradually improving with each fight, he recently outpointed former ranked light heavyweight contender Elvir Muriqi
PowerKrusher has an abundance of power. It is his biggest advantage. He also puts punches together well.Kovalev will have a big advantage in power as Caparello utilizes his technical skillset more than anything.
SpeedKovalev has average speed.Caparello has average speed.
EnduranceSergey’s endurance has never been tested because he knocks out the majority of his opponents. He has never been past the eighth round.Blake has great endurance, he successfully went 10-rounds in his most recent bout, and had three consecutive 12-round decision wins before that.
AccuracyKovalev puts bunches of punches together. He is very accurate with the one punch knockout.Blake is a pretty accurate puncher. He puts together good counter-shots and has a very effective jab as well.
DefenseSergey focuses on his offense more than his defense.Blake is very defensive-minded, moves around the ring well and has not really gotten himself into danger thus far.
ChinKrusher has never been down in a fight.Blake’s chin is questionable because nobody has really gotten to it yet.
StyleSergey is an offensive fighter who comes straight at his opponents.Blake is a defensive-minded fighter with great technical skills offensively.
IntangiblesThis is Sergey’s second straight fight where there has been the possibility of an even bigger fight on the horizon but he has managed to stay focused on the opponent in front of himCaparello could have continued to quietly climb the rankings, but instead has decided to seize the moment and take a fight that most other fighters would rather avoid.
Crowd SupportSergey is fighting in Atlantic City for the second time. He is trying to make it his home. It is close to Brooklyn where he has a big contingent of Eastern European fans who will make the trip to Revel.Caparello has only fought in the US once before, and his name is not too well-known so he will most likely be in hostile territory.
The Match-Up
  1. Will Caparello be able to take Sergey’s power?
  2. If Caparello is able to take Sergey’s power, will Sergey have a Plan B or C?
  3. Is Sergey looking past Caparello to the bigger fights?
  4. Is Caparello in over his head and will he fold under the big lights?

If this fight goes past eight rounds everyone is anxious to see whether or not Caparello can seize the opportunity and out-box Sergey or if Sergey’s beast mode will take over in later rounds to finish off Caparello.

Main Events’ CEO Kathy Duva, said, “In the Provodnikov-Algieri fight in June, we saw a previously untested underdog box his way to a world title against a widely-feared puncher.  That was a big upset!  I think Sergey Kovalev is better than Ruslan Provodnikov, but maybe Caparello is better than Algieri?  We just don’t know and that’s why we fight the fights.  And the great thing about Kovalev is that he makes every fight exciting!”