Friday 30 September 2016 12:35, UK
Sergey Kovalev has sent a message of support to Nathan Cleverly and is backing his former opponent to rip away Juergen Braehmer's world title.
The Welshman will challenge Braehmer for the WBA light-heavyweight belt on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports, in Neubrandenburg, Germany
Cleverly's reign as the WBO champion came to a dramatic end when he was stopped by Kovalev in 2013, but the Russian believes the Cefn Forest man can regain one of the division's titles with an upset win this weekend.
"I think that Cleverly has a very good chance to get victory over Juergen Braehmer, but Braehmer is a tough fighter," Kovalev exclusively told Sky Sports.
"He can take hard punches and stay on his legs. This will be an interesting fight, but I think Cleverly will win on points.
"I wish him the best of luck and victory for him over Braehmer."
Kovalev is preparing to face Andre Ward in Las Vegas on November 19, live on Sky Sports, in a battle of two of the sport's pound-for-pound best boxers.
'Krusher' admits he is facing a "huge test" against a fellow unbeaten fighter but is paying little attention to any talk about the significance of a victory over Ward.
"Let me get the win and then I can say yes or no, but right now, I cannot say what it's going to be like," said Kovalev, who holds the WBA 'Super', IBF and WBO belts. "I just have my goal to get victory over Andre Ward.
"This is a huge test for me in my boxing career and I must be ready."
