“I’m not sure why [Sergey Kovalev] has picked me,” Artur Mann ponders, with a smirk on his face. The German cruiserweight sits in a lonely hotel room in Chelyabinsk, Russia, contemplating what the next few days will have in store for him.
On Friday night, the 34-year-old has been chosen for a very special assignment — to be Sergey Kovalev’s (35-5-1, 29 KOs) final opponent as a professional boxer, in the home town of the former unified light-heavyweight world champion. It will bring a close to the Russian’s Hall of Fame worthy 16-year career, which at its peak saw Kovalev threaten the top of the sport’s pound-for-pound rankings.