36-year-old boxing legend Sergey Kovalev just answered a question the whole pugilistic world has been asking for a while ... spilling the beans on when EXACTLY he's hanging up the gloves.
Kovalev has a huge fight against Canelo Alvarez on Nov. 2 -- a fight he says holds a special place in the pantheon of his career.
"Now, I can say this is the biggest fight. I'm already 36 years old. I understand that this is like a fight for legacy."
It's a tall task, he's facing a fighter seven years younger, who hasn't lost since 2013 .