First, Sergey Kovalev lost his three light heavyweight title belts to Andre Ward by highly controversial decision in November 2016, and then lost to Ward again in the immediate rematch, this time by eighth-round knockout last June.
Many wondered if Kovalev, the fearsome "Krusher," would ever be the same. He took some time off, got his head together, and parted ways with longtime trainer John David Jackson to work with Abror Tursunpulatov.
So when Kovalev returned in November looking to put the defeats to Ward behind him in his first fight with his new trainer, few gave him or promoter Main Events much grief when he was matched with heavy underdog Vyacheslav Shabranskyy for a light heavyweight world title that had become vacant when Ward surprisingly announced his retirement.
It came as little surprise when Kovalev destroyed Shabranskyy with ease in the second round to reclaim one of his old belts.
"I can say I'm back from my two losses," Kovalev said. "I'm much stronger mentally as a result of this. Life teaches me in these situations."
Now Kovalev is set to make his first defense on Saturday (HBO, 10:05 p.m. ET/PT) at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. However, for the second fight in a row he is taking on a little known opponent in German-based Russian Igor Mikhalkin in another bout for which Kovalev is an overwhelming favorite.
"I am hearing how everyone is saying how Mikhalkin is going to be easy, but we'll see. I know just one thing -- he's very motivated right now. He never fought for a real world title and right now he is very motivated... He comes here, and he is very dangerous because it is a great opportunity for his future boxing career and I should be ready for everything he can bring against me." Sergey Kovalev
Kovalev (31-2-1, 27 KOs), 34, a Russia native fighting out of Los Angeles, has heard the criticism of another expected soft-touch fight but he's still the one who has to get into the right and fight the man.
"I am hearing how everyone is saying how Mikhalkin is going to be easy, but we'll see," Kovalev said. "I know just one thing -- he's very motivated right now. He never fought for a real world title and right now he is very motivated. Maybe, his whole life, he has been waiting for this moment. He comes here, and he is very dangerous because it is a great opportunity for his future boxing career and I should be ready for everything he can bring against me.
"I don't like to make any predictions. Only one thing I can say is this fight will be an interesting fight because it's two Russians, and two motivated fighters."
Kovalev, who calls Mikhalkin "a nice guy," said he does not have serious concerns about Mikhalkin (21-1, 9 KOs), 32, but did note that he is left-handed and Kovalev hasn't faced a southpaw since back-to-back fights against Cedric Agnew and Blake Caparello in 2014, both of which resulted in one-sided knockout wins.
"(Mikhalkin) will never step back; he comes to attack and fight again," said Kovalev, who knows Mikhalkin from their days as teenage amateur teammates in Russia. "I saw his fights a lot of times as an amateur and a few fights as a professional. He is a southpaw. I haven't fought a southpaw in a long time. Maybe it will be uncomfortable a little bit, but my goal is to make it an interesting fight.
"I'm ready because I have sparred already like three weeks with a southpaw. And day by day, spar by spar, I feel much better and more comfortable against southpaws."
For Mikhalkin the fight is the opportunity of a lifetime. A professional since 2007, he will be facing his first name opponent and eyeing his 11th win in a row since a decision loss to Aleksy Kuziemski in 2010.
"Obviously, it's a dream of every boxer to fight in the main event, Madison Square Garden. It's obviously a dream fight for me," Mikhalkin said. "It's very important for me. I'm very excited about it. And I'm not only fighting the main fight on the main card, I'm also fighting the main fighter in the light heavyweight division, so I'm going to write the perfect script on (Saturday) and, hopefully, I'm victorious.
"I'm going for points. I'm going for doing a good job boxing. I never was a puncher, so I never necessarily aim for a knockout. I conditioned to fight all 12 rounds, and I enjoy fighting all 12 rounds, so I'm going to go and fight technically and see how it goes."
Mikhalkin said he remembers Kovalev from when they were amateur fighters.
"For me, this is a once in a lifetime thing. Even though I am not well known, I don't think Sergey will take this as an easy fight." Igor Mikhalkin
"What I remember of Sergey from those days, he was always working and training really hard, and doing his job as a boxer," he said. "Since then, I've seen every one of his fights and I respect him for what he has done. For me, this is a once in a lifetime thing. Even though I am not well known, I don't think Sergey will take this as an easy fight. He's not underestimating who Igor is as a not-so-well-known name."
The co-feature is expected to be far more competitive than the main event as light heavyweight world titlist Dmitry Bivol (12-0, 10 KOs), 27, of Russia, will defend his belt for the second time when he takes on mandatory challenger Sullivan Barrera (21-1, 14 KOs), 35, a Cuban defector based in Miami, Florida.
Barrera was offered the fight with Kovalev in the main event but he was Bivol's mandatory challenger and opted to take that fight despite it being for less money. The winner could face Kovalev in a unification bout later in the year if Kovalev wins Saturday.