Light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev flexes after weighing in Friday at 174.2 pounds. Challenger Jean Pascal weighed the 175-pound maximum for light heavyweights/Photo courtesy of David Spagnolo, Main Events Inc.

Sergey Kovalev of Russia on Saturday night will defend his three light heavyweight world titles against former champion Jean Pascal at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (on HBO); Pascal is from Laval, Quebec.

Kovalev is the champion, yet he’s going into the backyard of Pascal, who is no joke. A lot of champions won’t do that, but Kovalev likes to keep up the intrigue in his fights.

“We are Russian, we are ready for anything,” said Kovalev, 31. “We are ready to make good fights. It is interesting fight. If I look for easy opponents, it will not be interesting for anyone.”
You have to love that way of thinking.

Kovalev, nicknamed “Krusher,” is 26-0-1 with 23 knockouts. Pascal, 32, is 29-2-1 with 17 knockouts.