Kovalev, Vargas Put World Title Belts At Risk Tonight

August kicks off with two world title fights on tap for tonight as WBO light heavy champion Sergey Kovalev and WBA light welter titlist Jesse Vargas put their respective belts on the line.

Russian juggernaut Kovalev, 22-0 (22), looks to retain his crown for the third time since wresting it from the hands of Nathan Cleverly a year ago as the 31 year old Ft. Lauderdale resident meets Australia’s Blake Caparello, 19-0-1 (6), at Revel Resort in Atlantic City

Caparello is coming off his first bout in America, a points verdict over veteran Elvir Muriqi, in January, after fighting strictly in his homeland.

The rangy 27 year old southpaw has a lot of energy and a high activity rate but his leaky defense and habit of throwing wild left hands should prove to be professionally fatal against the lethal precision of Kovalev.

Vargas, 24-0 (9), seeks to make his first defense after capturing the WBA trophy with a hard fought UD over Khabib Allakhverdiev in Aril as the 25 year old squares off against lefty challenger Anton Novikov, 29-0 (10), at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

How the obscure Novikov got a world title opportunity is somewhat of a mystery as the 26 year old from Russia has faced no one of note.

That doesn’t rule out that the challenger has a chance to unseat Vargas, but it does appear to be a bit of safe matchmaking by the backers of the champion.

The undercard in Las Vegas sees the return of all-action welterweight Brandon Rios, 31-2-1 (23), who makes his comeback from two consecutive losses by facing Diego Gabriel Chaves, 23-1 (19).