Sergey Kovalev will make his return to the ring after an odd purse bid saw him pullout of a fight with lineal light heavyweight champion, Adonis Stevenson, as it appeared Stevenson would win the purse bid and the fight would not happen on HBO, meaning that Kovalev’s promoter, Main Events, would be sued by the network.

Kovalev will now defend his IBF light heavyweight title against IBF mandatory challenger Nadjib Mohammedi as part of a HBO card from Las Vegas, NV on July 18th.  Kovalev last fought Jean Pascal earlier this year as well as defeated Bernard Hopkins late last year as this fight appears to be more to satisfy the sanctioning body to keep the belt.

Mohammedi is a French fighter who is largely unknown state side who has a record that is hard to assess. The most telling thing about Mohammedi is when he has fought guys close to the top of the division he has struggled meaning this fight might be a major step up.