Sergey Kovalev ready to shatter rival fighters’ dreams in 2016

Sergey Kovalev is a joyful hit man.

The Russian light-heavyweight boxing champion, who with his promoter is plotting a breakout 2016, held a high-spirited session with reporters during the weekend.

At the meeting it was announced that Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 knockouts) had signed what could equate to a lifetime contract with his promoter, Kathy Duva’s Main Events, and that he’ll defend his three belts (WBO, WBA, IBF) on Jan. 30 in a rematch in Montreal versus Jean Pascal.

Kovalev aspires to then unify the division with a still-being-negotiated June bout against WBC champion Adonis Stevenson.

And he’s signed to fight unbeaten former super-middleweight champion Andre Ward late in 2016 in what could be the year’s most important bout.

Told that Ward, the most recent U.S. Olympic boxing gold medalist, hasn’t lost since age 12, Kovalev replied, “It’s additional motivation. I like disappointing somebody.”

Kovalev recalled how, as an amateur, he would routinely find himself in a championship final fighting a local favorite.

“I’d beat him and he was sad,” Kovalev said, grinning.

In 2013, he went to Wales to fight Nathan Cleverly for the WBA light-heavyweight belt.

“Everybody was supporting my opponent,” said Kovalev, who proceeded to knock down Cleverly twice in the third round and beat him by technical knockout in the fourth. “I enjoyed disappointing his fans.”

That same savageness led him to pummel veteran Bernard Hopkins in the 12th round of their title fight last year after Hopkins stuck his tongue out at Kovalev.

Now, starting with the Pascal bout at Bell Centre, Kovalev plans to launch a long-awaited, year-long assault of his toughest adversaries.

Someone asked him if Pascal was a worthy foe after Kovalev clearly dominated him en route to an eighth-round TKO in March. Pascal hired Freddie Roach as his trainer last week.

“They think the referee stopped the fight too soon. I want to put a big [space] between me and him,” said Kovalev, who will train in Big Bear for the fight. “And if he’s going to pay that money for the fight, why not?”

As for Stevenson, a match has to be approved by Stevenson’s manager, Al Haymon, the powerful head of Premier Boxing Champions, who has shown a strong tendency to keep his fights in-house rather than jointly promoted.

“It’s been disappointing [following a prior Stevenson retreat]. My goal is to have all of the four belts,” Kovalev said. “Everybody asks me to get the fourth belt. We’re doing everything for this .… Nobody wants to lose a fight, but we are offering a lot of money.

“I’ve been ready a long time ago. But he’s not. We’ve made an offer. Let’s do the fight on HBO and split the purse 50/50. That’s more than fair. I have three titles, he has one. It should be 75/25, but we’ll say 50/50.”

Kovalev drew laughs by saying that if Stevenson finds a way out again, “I hope somebody kicks his [rear],” and then he’ll seek a fight with that guy. “But I would like to do it myself.”

Kovalev expressed confidence that Ward would keep his date after suffering a knee injury and withdrawing from a scheduled Saturday bout on the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-Miguel Cotto undercard.

Ward said he’d like to fight again in February. He has signed commitments to Main Events and HBO, officials for those companies said.

“He’ll fight. It’s already signed for next fall,” Kovalev said. “He’s an Olympic champion, the last American champion, a really smart, technical fighter. It won’t be an easy fight.

“But I’ve waited for it. I thought I’d be fighting fighters at this level by now. It’s taken me … five years-plus, I’ve waited to be at this level.”