By Alexey Sukachev

In a shocker, former multi-belt light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (30-2-1, 26 KOs) revealed to the R-Sport media agency that retirement could be next for one of the Russia’s best prizefighters ever.

TBRB #2 rated light heavyweight Kovalev is coming off back-to-back losses to the last American fighter to win an Olympic gold medal. Kovalev was narrowly beaten by Andre Ward on a razor-thin unanimous in their first fight last November, the result having produced huge controversy within world boxing community.

There was a rematch clause that Kovalev exercised. The second time around – which took place this past June – Ward stopped Kovalev in eight with yet another highly controversial ending, although this time the American was also viewed by the majority of experts to be a better man in the ring.

There has been talk of Kovalev returning in the fall, possibly against Sullivan Barrera, but nothing has been finalized at the moment.

“I’m doing some exercises now, continuing certain preparations. I’ll be back to the States in early September for further, full-scaled training but I haven’t thought about future bouts at all. No dates are set. Maybe I’ll hang them [gloves] up because my mind doesn’t belong to boxing at the moment. I consider retirement as a possibility”, said Kovalev via phone.

“It’s probably the time to stop fighting and to call it a day. However, I haven’t yet decided what I would do in the nearest future. For now, I’m focused on myself, on my family. I have come to Mount Athos [a sacred place for the Eastern Orthodox Church] for a spiritual connection with the God. I’m not thinking about boxing."