Sergey Kovalev Stops Artur Mann in Round Seven
Sergey Kovalev closed his professional boxing career with a seventh-round technical knockout of Artur Mann in Chelyabinsk, Russia. The April 19, 2025 bout was billed as Kovalev’s farewell fight and delivered a win in front of his home crowd.
Kovalev rallies to a late stoppage
The former light-heavyweight world champion dropped Mann with a left uppercut late in the second round, but Mann beat the count and continued. Mann had competitive stretches through the middle rounds. Kovalev found another opening in the seventh, landing an uppercut and a right-left combination that sent Mann down. Mann’s corner stopped the contest, giving Kovalev the TKO victory.
The win also earned Kovalev the IBA Pro Intercontinental cruiserweight title. He finished with a stoppage in the city where his professional career began and where he had built a large local following. Kovalev had held major world titles at light heavyweight, including the WBO, IBF and WBA belts.
A farewell, as announced at the time
The event was promoted as Kovalev’s final professional fight. That describes the plan announced for the April 2025 event; the result itself was a seventh-round stoppage, not a close decision or a prolonged farewell. The International Boxing Association’s event report described the knockdown and corner stoppage.
Source: International Boxing Association report on Kovalev’s farewell victory.
Sources
Tags: Boxing, Combat Sports
