Two esteemed members of the WBA family, Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev and Russell Mora, have birthdays today. We want to wish both gentleman continued health and success in the year ahead.

WBA Super World light heavyweight champion Kovalev, who was born in Kopeysk, Russia, on April 2, 1983, is the preeminent knockout artist of his era. He won the 175-pound WBA title by defeating the legendary Bernard Hopkins via unanimous decision in November 2014 and has successfully defended his crown three times. In his last fight, “Krusher” crushed former WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal in seven rounds.

The other birthday celebrant is Russell Mora, the respected referee and boxing judge who has dedicated his life to our sport and has been the third man in the ring in 426 fights. A model road warrior, on September 27, 2015, he was the ref for the WBA World flyweight championship between Kazuto Ioka and Robert Domingo Sosa in Osaka, Japan. Two days later he was in Las Vegas for the WBA World super featherweight title fight between Javier Fortuna and Carlos Ivan Velasquez. A regular attendee at the WBA conventions, Mora, like Kovalev, is an important figure within the WBA family.

Happy Birthday!

This article was penned by the author who is not related to the WBA and the statements, expressions or opinions referenced herein are that of the author alone and not the WBA.