Wednesday 15 November 2017 12:26, UK
Sergey Kovalev can ease the pain of his defeats to Andre Ward when he returns in a WBO light-heavyweight title fight against Vyacheslav Shabranskyy, live on Sky Sports.
The Russian complained angrily that low blows had caused his second loss to Andre Ward, a dramatic eighth-round stoppage in June, but can regain the vacant WBO belt when he faces Shabranskyy at Madison Square Garden in New York on November 25.
Ward's shock retirement denied Kovalev the opportunity of forcing a third fight after dropping a points loss in their opening encounter in 2016, although 'Krusher' needs to rediscover his normal aggression for his title fight against the dangerous Ukrainian.
Shabranskyy holds 19 victories, 16 coming by stoppage, and his sole defeat came against Sullivan Barrera, who features on the exciting undercard.
Jason Sosa also battles Yuriorkis Gamboa as the former world champions attempt to keep alive their hopes of regaining one of the top titles.
Head of Sky Sports Boxing, Adam Smith, said: "We're delighted to have the exciting power-puncher 'Krusher' back on Sky Sports as he tries to win a world title all over again.
"Standing in his way is Vyacheslav Shabranskyy, who has won 19 out 20 and knocked 16 of them out, so this should be fun.
"This will be another fantastic night in New York, with the stacked card featuring another light-heavyweight star in Sullivan Barrera and another one of Cuba's finest, Yuriorkis Gamboa, as well."
Watch Sergey Kovalev vs Vyacheslav Shabranskyy, from Madison Square Garden, New York, in the early hours of Sunday, November 26, live on Sky Sports.