Sergey Kovalev is preparing to sign off as a professional fighter with a victory when he meets Artur Mann next week.

They will fight in Chelyabinsk, Russia, over 10 rounds on April 19, with Kovalev citing inactivity as his reason for hanging up the gloves at the age of 42. 

Kovalev has boxed just twice in six years, defeating Tervel Pulev in 2022 and losing to Robin Sirwan Safar last May. 

Speaking to BoxingScene, Kovalev said only having two fights since his 2019 loss to Canelo Alvarez was behind his decision.

“Because of very big pauses between the fights, if I was fighting every five or six months, I’d want to continue, but now I fight every two years and it’s no good with very big pauses,” Kovalev said.

Kovalev is 35-5-1 (29 KOs) and he meets the 22-4 (13 KOs) Mann over 10 rounds.

“I know nothing about him, but U was given the choice of five or six opponents and I chose him,” admitted the former light heavyweight king, who estimates he will weigh around 185lbs for his final bout. “He has the most technique [of  the opponents he could have selected]; he’s the most dangerous and the best boxer. Other guys were very amateur-like.”

And then Kovalev will walk away from the sport and spend time with his children, having been afforded the opportunity to bid farewell to his own fans.

“This final fight will be like a holiday for boxing fans in my hometown,” he said. “And I’m going to get the victory and it will be like a holiday for me too, if I win.”