Robin Safar promises a surprise for Sergey Kovalev on the Fury-Usyk undercard

Robin Safar likes where he is. The undefeated Swedish cruiserweight knows no one thinks he will win this Saturday, when he takes on former WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight titlist Sergey Kovalev in a 10-round cruiserweight fight on the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk undercard from the Kingdom Arena, in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia.

The DAZN Pay-Per-View (12 p.m. ET/ 9 a.m. PT) broadcast, which will also be featured on PPV.com, ESPN+, and TNT Sports and Sky Sports in the U.K. at 4 p.m., will mark the first time the 41-year-old Kovalev (35-4-1, 29 knockouts) will be in the ring in just over two years, and second overall appearance in five years. In Safar (16-0-0, 12 KOs), “The Krusher” will be facing a live underdog who could very well upset the Russian’s return.

Safar, 31, has lived in Las Vegas for the last six years, though is originally from Stockholm, Sweden. He turned to boxing when he was 19 to escape a turbulent youth. He does not really like talking about his past. A relative steered him to boxing. It was a great outlet to use his excessive energy.

And even though he is undefeated, is probably as rough as Kovalev, not many feel Safar can win. But he knows he will win.

“I know what the score is, I am ‘a nobody,’ and I will be ‘a somebody’ when I beat Kovalev,” said Safar, who has stopped nine of his last 10 opponents. “I’m stronger than Kovalev. I know no one gives me any credit. But I will stop Kovalev in the sixth or seventh round. I know I am the B side. Kovalev is fighting for his boxing life, but I am fighting for more of my boxing life than he is. He has already been there. He has already won world championships. He has had that taste at the top. I have had nothing.

“My motivation is my family. I left Sweden six years ago, and I have never been back. I have a little boy and a little daughter. I fight for them. I have taken my daughter to the gym many, many times. It is what drives me. I will stop Kovalev inside of six or seven rounds. I have nothing to lose. I do not care what anyone thinks about me. I care about my kids, and I care about boxing. I do not have to sell myself. I do not need to sell my brand, or a clothing line, or my social media. I care about my circle.”

There are a couple of things Safar has over Kovalev. For one, he is 6-foot-3, and will looking down at the 6-foot Kovalev. Secondly, Safar has been more active. He has fought once over the last three years. Kovalev’s last bout was May 14, 2022, when he made his cruiserweight debut with a unanimous decision over Bulgarian Tervel Pulev. That was the first time The Krusher fought since his brutal 11th-round knockout loss to Canelo Alvarez for the WBO light heavy title in November 2019.

One thing Kovalev did show against Pulev was stamina and sharp boxing ability. It seems like he has not carried his power to the 200-pound cruiserweight division.

But he still poses a serious threat.

“Kovalev will have problems not matter if I was 6-3 or 5-11,” Safar said, laughing. “I have had good sparring. I have a good trainer, Ibn Cason, the brother of Hasim Rahman, working my corner and a very good team around me. Everyone will se something unique when I fight Kovalev. I might be unexperienced on paper, but people will see that I made for this. The only big difference for me is fighting on a big stage like this. I know it will turn into a fight once that first punch is thrown.

“I feel good about my boxing I.Q. I feel I have an understanding of the sport. I understand why everyone thinks I will lose. It is what people think. I cannot change that. I do not care about that. The only one I will care about is beating the guy on the opposite side of the ring. My motivation, which no one would understand, comes from deep inside. My kids are part of that. But that drive inside comes from that kid that went through whatever he went through. No one can beat that kid.”

Joseph Santoliquito is a Hall of Fame, award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JSantoliquito

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