István Kovács
Encyclopedia
István Kovács nicknamed Ko-Ko or sometimes The Cobra is a retired Hungarian boxer
. As an amateur he won the bantamweight gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics
, and was a world champion at the 1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships
in flyweight and at the 1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships
in featherweight. As a professional he held the WBO featherweight belt in 2001.
player, training among others in the youth team of MTK Budapest. He started boxing relatively late at the age of 15 in EVIG SE. He moved to Vasas SC
in 1988 where he was trained by Gyula Bódis. His first international success also came in 1988 when he won the junior-flyweight gold medal at the Junior European Championship in Gdańsk
. He soon started to dominate the lower weightclasses on the Hungarian scene among such rivals like Olympic bronze medallists János Váradi
and Róbert Isaszegi
, and in 1990 he was already a member of the Hungarian team at the World Cup in Dublin where he won a silver medal.
In 1991, already as a flyweight, he won the gold medal at the European Championships
in Gothenburg
and later that year he also won the World Championship in Sydney
. Due to his outstanding achievements he was elected as Hungarian Sportsman of The Year the end of the year, ahead of competitors like legendary medley swimmer Tamás Darnyi
who was elected as that year's World Swimmer of the Year
and wrestling world champion Péter Farkas
.
Kovács's spectacular boxing style and nice personality soon made him a crowd and media favourite, and he was widely considered as one of Hungary's top gold medal chances at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona
. He easily outpointed his first three opponents, but in the semi-finals he was surprisingly upset by Choi Chol-Su
from North Korea
. Choi, who defeated other future professional world champions Paul Ingle
and Robbie Peden
in his two previous bouts, went on to win the gold medal and Kovács had to settle for the bronze which was considered by many as a disappointment at that time.
After the Olympics Kovács's career seemed to decline. He broke up with his long-time trainer and continued with Imre Szántó and moved up to bantamweight, but his results did not achieve the same level as before, his best result being a bronze medal at the 1993 European Championships
in Bursa and at the 1995 World Cup in Bangkok
. The media also reported about party nights and personal problems, and many thought that he will never find his former self.
But in 1996 Kovács came roaring back, once again winning the European Championships
in Vejle
, and then in the summer he finally gained the long-awaited Olympic gold medal in Atlanta outpointing Arnaldo Mesa
from Cuba
in the final. At the end of the year he was elected as Sportsman of The Year in Hungary for the second time.
After the Olympics he was signed by the Hamburg
-based professional stable Universum Box-Promotion together with the now-famous Klitschko brothers Vitali
and Wladimir
, to join world champions Dariusz Michalczewski
, Artur Grigorian
and Regina Halmich
, but he opted to stay among the amateurs for one more year because Budapest was to host the 1997 World Championships, where in front of several thousand home supporters, he managed to conclude his amateur career by winning his second gold medal, this time in featherweight.
He finished his amateur career with an outstanding record of 282 wins, 14 losses and one draw.
in late 1997, amidst great media hype in Hungary, with one of the newly founded nationwide TV channels buying the exclusive rights to broadcast his bouts. In his first fight he knocked out Frenchman Ahmed Lain in the first round and racked up a 10-0 record within little more than one year. In his ninth bout he defeated former EBU
champion Vincenzo Belcastro and in 1999 he gained the WBC
featherweight intercontinental belt by defeating Nabaloum Dramane in Budapest. Due to his technical skills, fast foot- and handspeed and spectacular fighting style he was often compared to fellow 1996 Olympian Floyd Mayweather Jr. who started his long-lasting reign in the super-featherweight division at that time, and he was considered as the future challenger of the unbeaten WBO
featherweight champion Naseem Hamed
.
Kovács was to make his debut in the United States in late 1999 in Las Vegas
, but in the last days before the bout his nose was broken while sparring with Bones Adams who grabbed the WBA
super-bantamweight title a few months later. Many consider this as a crucial point in Kovács's professional career as he ultimately never fought in the United States. Instead his management started to organize another event in Budapest against former WBO featherweight champion and reigning EBU champion Steve Robinson. In June 2000 Kovács vanquished a shutout victory against Robinson, grabbed the EBU belt and became the mandatory WBO challenger for Hamed.
Hamed however had other plans and he chose to relinquish the WBO belt and fight Mexican superstar Marco Antonio Barrera
instead (Barrera won the fight on points and literally ended Hamed's career who fought only once ever since and is unlikely to return). The WBO ordered Kovács and Antonio "Chelo" Diaz
from the Dominican Republic
to fight Hamed's vacated belt. In January 2001 in Munich
, on his twentieth professional fight Kovács TKOd Diaz in the 12th round, and became the first Hungarian professional boxing world champion.
Kovács's first title defense match came in June 2001, against unheralded Argentinian Julio Pablo Chacón. Chacón also participated on the 1996 Olympics, and won a bronze medal in the featherweight division, coincidentally defeating another member of the Hungarian team János Nagy
in the quarter-finals before losing to the eventual gold medalist Somluck Kamsing
in the semis. He had a solid professional record but rarely fight outside Argentina, and one year before his fight against Kovács he suffered a lopsided defeat against WBA champion Fred Norwood in Mendoza
. With thousands of home supporters behind him Kovács seemed to be the overwhelming favourite of the bout.
However, on 16 June 2001 Chacón shocked the Hungarian crowd by knocking out Kovács in the sixth round. In the first four rounds Kovács built up a comfortable lead on all scorecards, but in the fifth Chacón rocked him with a monstre right hook. Kovács's knees buckled, and though he did not went down and spread his arms to show that he is OK, he was rightfully counted on by the referee. Still shaken by punch (which was the first knockdown since his amateur career) and urged by the fans, instead of trying to survive the round he went after his opponent and only seconds before the bell he was caught again, this time by a huge left hook and was floored. He stood up visibly in trouble, only to be saved by the end of the round. His former coach Imre Szántó, acting as a TV commentator kept telling in the break that he should not continue the fight, yet Kovács came out for the sixth round, only to be knocked down by Chacón again in a few seconds, and the referee calling the bout to a halt immediately.
This was one of the major boxing upsets in 2001, though it was overshadowed by the likes of Lennox Lewis
losing to Hasim Rahman
and Félix Trinidad
losing to Bernard Hopkins
. In Hungary Kovács was considered as a national hero
, and his loss was considered by many as a national tragedy. Rematch clause was not included in the fight contract, and Chacón went on to defend his title two times to other opponents before losing it to Scott Harrison in 2002. Later in 2003 Félix Rácz, a Hungarian boxing manager came up with the idea of bringing Chacón to Hungary again to fight against his former Olympian opponent János Nagy, who since then also turned professional, had an unbeaten record and held the WBO super-featherweight intercontinental title. The bout was entitled "The Revenge" in reference to the Chacón-Kovács fight, and ended in the 10th round in a controversional fashion after Nagy hit his opponent below the belt, and was not disqualified while Chacon was unwilling to continue after the allowed regaining time (a year later the two met again in Hungary in a non-title bout, this time Nagy narrowly outpointing Chacón).
As for Kovács, he never seemed to be the same in the ring as before. He fought twice more against limited opposition with his former confidence visibly shaken, and after unsuccessful managerial attempts to set up another title fight for him, he retired for good in 2002. His professional record concluded 22-1-0.
, former WBO super middleweight champion Károly Balzsay
, super-bantamweight challenger Zsolt Bedák
, and his flyweight brother Pál Bedák
.
He is also operating a successful restaurant in Budapest, called Boxutca. The name is a play on words: "boxutca" as such means pit stop
in Hungarian and it also includes "boxing". The restaurant is also a museum of various memories from Kovacs' boxing career and other sports including a real McLaren Formula-1 car to demonstrate its name.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
. As an amateur he won the bantamweight gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Boxing at the 1996 Summer Olympics
-Qualification:The following tournaments were used as qualification tournaments for boxing at the 1996 Summer Olympics.Africa* All-Africa Games in Harare, Zimbabwe from September 13 to September 23, 1995* Qualification Tournament in April/May? 1996...
, and was a world champion at the 1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships
1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships
The Men's 1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Sydney, Australia from November 15 to 23. The sixth edition of this competition, held nearly a year before the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, was organised by the world's governing body for amateur boxing AIBA.- Medal winners...
in flyweight and at the 1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships
1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships
The Men's 1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Budapest, Hungary from October 18 to October 26. The ninth edition of this competition, a year after the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, was organised by the world governing body for amateur boxing AIBA...
in featherweight. As a professional he held the WBO featherweight belt in 2001.
Amateur career
Kovács began his sports career as a footballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player, training among others in the youth team of MTK Budapest. He started boxing relatively late at the age of 15 in EVIG SE. He moved to Vasas SC
Vasas SC
Vasas SC is one of Hungary's major sports clubs. Most of its facilities are situated in Budapest's 13th district in the north of the town. Members of the Hungarian Union of Iron Workers founded the club as Vas-és Fémmunkások Sport Clubja, the "Sport Club of Iron and Steel Workers", on 16 March 1911...
in 1988 where he was trained by Gyula Bódis. His first international success also came in 1988 when he won the junior-flyweight gold medal at the Junior European Championship in Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
. He soon started to dominate the lower weightclasses on the Hungarian scene among such rivals like Olympic bronze medallists János Váradi
János Váradi
János Váradi was a Hungarian boxer, who won the bronze medal in the flyweight division at the 1980 Summer Olympics. He also captured the silver medals at the 1987 and 1989 European Amateur Boxing Championships.-Professional career:Váradi turned pro in 1990 and retired shortly thereafter, in 1991...
and Róbert Isaszegi
Róbert Isaszegi
Róbert Isaszegi is a Hungarian boxer, who won the bronze medal in the light flyweight division at the 1988 Summer Olympics.-Amateur career:...
, and in 1990 he was already a member of the Hungarian team at the World Cup in Dublin where he won a silver medal.
In 1991, already as a flyweight, he won the gold medal at the European Championships
1991 European Amateur Boxing Championships
The Men's 1991 European Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden from May 7 to 12. The 29th edition of the bi-annual competition, in which 191 fighters from 26 countries participated this time, was organised by the European governing body for amateur boxing, EABA.- Medal winners...
in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
and later that year he also won the World Championship in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. Due to his outstanding achievements he was elected as Hungarian Sportsman of The Year the end of the year, ahead of competitors like legendary medley swimmer Tamás Darnyi
Tamás Darnyi
Tamás Darnyi is a Hungarian retired male swimmer. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest medley swimmers in history. He won four gold medals at two Olympic Games and was unbeaten in the individual medley events from 1985 until his retirement in 1993...
who was elected as that year's World Swimmer of the Year
Swimming World Swimmers of the Year
The Swimming World Magazine Swimmers of the Year, awarded by the American-based Swimming World Magazine, are a set of awards which are often regarded as being the most prestigious in the sport of swimming...
and wrestling world champion Péter Farkas
Péter Farkas
Péter Farkas is a Hungarian wrestler and Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Olympics:Farkas competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona where he received a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling, the middleweight class.-Criminal conviction:On December 10, 2009 he was convicted in...
.
Kovács's spectacular boxing style and nice personality soon made him a crowd and media favourite, and he was widely considered as one of Hungary's top gold medal chances at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. He easily outpointed his first three opponents, but in the semi-finals he was surprisingly upset by Choi Chol-Su
Choi Chol-Su
Choi Chol-Su is a North Korean boxer, who won the gold medal in the men's Flyweight category at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.-Olympic results:*Defeated Moustafa Esmail 7-4...
from North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
. Choi, who defeated other future professional world champions Paul Ingle
Paul Ingle
Paul Andrew Ingle is a retired featherweight boxer. As an amateur he competed for Great Britain at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. As a professional he won the IBF, European, British, & Commonwealth featherweight titles.-Amateur career:As an amateur, Ingle was a member of the 1992...
and Robbie Peden
Robbie Peden
Robert Lloyd Peden is a professional boxer from Australia.-Amateur career:Member of the 1992 Australian Olympic team as a Flyweight...
in his two previous bouts, went on to win the gold medal and Kovács had to settle for the bronze which was considered by many as a disappointment at that time.
After the Olympics Kovács's career seemed to decline. He broke up with his long-time trainer and continued with Imre Szántó and moved up to bantamweight, but his results did not achieve the same level as before, his best result being a bronze medal at the 1993 European Championships
1993 European Amateur Boxing Championships
The Men's 1993 European Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Bursa, Turkey from September 6 to September 12. The 30th edition of the normally bi-annual competition, in which 197 fighters from 32 countries participated this time, was organised by the European governing body for amateur boxing,...
in Bursa and at the 1995 World Cup in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
. The media also reported about party nights and personal problems, and many thought that he will never find his former self.
But in 1996 Kovács came roaring back, once again winning the European Championships
1996 European Amateur Boxing Championships
The Men's 1996 European Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Vejle, Denmark from March 30 to April 7. The 31st edition of the bi-annual competition, in which 304 fighters from 35 countries participated this time, was organised by the European governing body for amateur boxing, EABA.- Medal...
in Vejle
Vejle
Vejle is a town in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle and Grejs Rivers and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality and the Region of Southern Denmark...
, and then in the summer he finally gained the long-awaited Olympic gold medal in Atlanta outpointing Arnaldo Mesa
Arnaldo Mesa
Arnaldo Mesa Bonell is a retired boxer from Cuba, who won the silver medal for his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In the final of the Bantamweight division he was defeated by Hungary's István Kovács...
from Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
in the final. At the end of the year he was elected as Sportsman of The Year in Hungary for the second time.
After the Olympics he was signed by the Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
-based professional stable Universum Box-Promotion together with the now-famous Klitschko brothers Vitali
Vitali Klitschko
Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Klychko is a Ukrainian professional heavyweight boxer and the current WBC heavyweight champion. He is a leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Congress of the Council of Europe. He previously...
and Wladimir
Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. Klitschko is the WBA , IBF, WBO Super, IBO & Ring Magazine Champion. His older brother Vitali Klitschko is the current WBC champion...
, to join world champions Dariusz Michalczewski
Dariusz Michalczewski
Dariusz Michalczewski is a retired Polish- German boxer and former Lineal, WBO, WBA, & IBF light heavyweight champion and WBO cruiserweight champion.-Early career:...
, Artur Grigorian
Artur Grigorian
Artur Grigorian is an Uzbek boxer of Armenian descent.- Amateur highlights :*1991 2nd place as a Lightweight at the World Championships in Sydney, Australia...
and Regina Halmich
Regina Halmich
Regina Halmich is a popular female boxer from Germany. Halmich is among the most successful female boxers of all time, and helped popularize female boxing in Europe.-Amateur career:...
, but he opted to stay among the amateurs for one more year because Budapest was to host the 1997 World Championships, where in front of several thousand home supporters, he managed to conclude his amateur career by winning his second gold medal, this time in featherweight.
He finished his amateur career with an outstanding record of 282 wins, 14 losses and one draw.
Professional career
Kovács began his professional career coached by former top class amateur East German trainer Fritz SdunekFritz Sdunek
Fritz Sdunek is a German professional boxing trainer and previously an amateur boxer. Sdunek is one of the most successful and famous boxing trainers. He trained, among others, such world champions as Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko and Dariusz Michalczewski....
in late 1997, amidst great media hype in Hungary, with one of the newly founded nationwide TV channels buying the exclusive rights to broadcast his bouts. In his first fight he knocked out Frenchman Ahmed Lain in the first round and racked up a 10-0 record within little more than one year. In his ninth bout he defeated former EBU
European Boxing Union
The European Boxing Union is an organization that oversees competition in that sport over the continent of Europe.-History:The EBU started life as the International Boxing Union in Paris in 1910...
champion Vincenzo Belcastro and in 1999 he gained the WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
featherweight intercontinental belt by defeating Nabaloum Dramane in Budapest. Due to his technical skills, fast foot- and handspeed and spectacular fighting style he was often compared to fellow 1996 Olympian Floyd Mayweather Jr. who started his long-lasting reign in the super-featherweight division at that time, and he was considered as the future challenger of the unbeaten WBO
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
featherweight champion Naseem Hamed
Naseem Hamed
Naseem Hamed is an English former professional boxer.He is the former WBO, WBC, IBF, & Lineal featherweight champion, and European bantamweight champion....
.
Kovács was to make his debut in the United States in late 1999 in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, but in the last days before the bout his nose was broken while sparring with Bones Adams who grabbed the WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
super-bantamweight title a few months later. Many consider this as a crucial point in Kovács's professional career as he ultimately never fought in the United States. Instead his management started to organize another event in Budapest against former WBO featherweight champion and reigning EBU champion Steve Robinson. In June 2000 Kovács vanquished a shutout victory against Robinson, grabbed the EBU belt and became the mandatory WBO challenger for Hamed.
Hamed however had other plans and he chose to relinquish the WBO belt and fight Mexican superstar Marco Antonio Barrera
Marco Antonio Barrera
Marco Antonio Barrera Tapia is a Mexicanprofessional boxer. He has won numerous world titles in three different weight classes; he is a former two-time WBO super bantamweight , WBC, Lineal, & The Ring featherweight , and WBC & IBF super featherweight champion...
instead (Barrera won the fight on points and literally ended Hamed's career who fought only once ever since and is unlikely to return). The WBO ordered Kovács and Antonio "Chelo" Diaz
Antonio Diaz
Antonio Magsaysay-Diaz was a Congressman of Zambales, the Philippines. He was a nephew of former President Ramon Magsaysay.-Early life:Diaz, a member of the Magsaysay political clan of Zambales, served the province variously as vice governor and representative since the 1960s.A lawyer, he was one...
from the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
to fight Hamed's vacated belt. In January 2001 in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, on his twentieth professional fight Kovács TKOd Diaz in the 12th round, and became the first Hungarian professional boxing world champion.
Kovács's first title defense match came in June 2001, against unheralded Argentinian Julio Pablo Chacón. Chacón also participated on the 1996 Olympics, and won a bronze medal in the featherweight division, coincidentally defeating another member of the Hungarian team János Nagy
János Nagy
János Nagy was a Hungarian diplomat, who served as Hungarian Ambassador to the United States between 1968 and 1971.-References:*...
in the quarter-finals before losing to the eventual gold medalist Somluck Kamsing
Somluck Kamsing
Somluck Kamsing is a Thai boxer. His name is sometimes spelled as Somrak Khamsing.During the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand, Kamsing lit the torch during the Games' opening ceremony. Kamsing was born in Khon Kaen...
in the semis. He had a solid professional record but rarely fight outside Argentina, and one year before his fight against Kovács he suffered a lopsided defeat against WBA champion Fred Norwood in Mendoza
Mendoza, Argentina
Mendoza is the capital city of Mendoza Province, in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern side of the Andes. As of the , Mendoza's population was 110,993...
. With thousands of home supporters behind him Kovács seemed to be the overwhelming favourite of the bout.
However, on 16 June 2001 Chacón shocked the Hungarian crowd by knocking out Kovács in the sixth round. In the first four rounds Kovács built up a comfortable lead on all scorecards, but in the fifth Chacón rocked him with a monstre right hook. Kovács's knees buckled, and though he did not went down and spread his arms to show that he is OK, he was rightfully counted on by the referee. Still shaken by punch (which was the first knockdown since his amateur career) and urged by the fans, instead of trying to survive the round he went after his opponent and only seconds before the bell he was caught again, this time by a huge left hook and was floored. He stood up visibly in trouble, only to be saved by the end of the round. His former coach Imre Szántó, acting as a TV commentator kept telling in the break that he should not continue the fight, yet Kovács came out for the sixth round, only to be knocked down by Chacón again in a few seconds, and the referee calling the bout to a halt immediately.
This was one of the major boxing upsets in 2001, though it was overshadowed by the likes of Lennox Lewis
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE is a retired boxer and the most recent British undisputed world heavyweight champion. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship...
losing to Hasim Rahman
Hasim Rahman
Hasim Sharif Rahman is an American professional boxer. Rahman is the former Lineal, WBC, IBO, & IBF heavyweight champion...
and Félix Trinidad
Félix Trinidad
Félix 'Tito' Trinidad, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional boxer, considered one of the best in Puerto Rico's history. After winning five National Amateur Championships in Puerto Rico, he debuted as a professional when he was 17. He won his first world championship when he defeated Maurice Blocker...
losing to Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins Jr, known as The Executioner is an American boxer and the current Ring Magazine and WBC light heavyweight champion...
. In Hungary Kovács was considered as a national hero
Folk hero
A folk hero is a type of hero, real, fictional, or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by...
, and his loss was considered by many as a national tragedy. Rematch clause was not included in the fight contract, and Chacón went on to defend his title two times to other opponents before losing it to Scott Harrison in 2002. Later in 2003 Félix Rácz, a Hungarian boxing manager came up with the idea of bringing Chacón to Hungary again to fight against his former Olympian opponent János Nagy, who since then also turned professional, had an unbeaten record and held the WBO super-featherweight intercontinental title. The bout was entitled "The Revenge" in reference to the Chacón-Kovács fight, and ended in the 10th round in a controversional fashion after Nagy hit his opponent below the belt, and was not disqualified while Chacon was unwilling to continue after the allowed regaining time (a year later the two met again in Hungary in a non-title bout, this time Nagy narrowly outpointing Chacón).
As for Kovács, he never seemed to be the same in the ring as before. He fought twice more against limited opposition with his former confidence visibly shaken, and after unsuccessful managerial attempts to set up another title fight for him, he retired for good in 2002. His professional record concluded 22-1-0.
Retirement
After retiring, Kovács took up several media roles, hosted various TV shows, before settling for sports programmes. He also became a supervisor for WBO, and proteged several fellow Hungarian boxers to his former professional club Universum, including current WBC cruiserweight champion Zsolt ErdeiZsolt Erdei
Zsolt Erdei is a Hungarian boxer in the light heavyweight division. He is the former undefeated Lineal & WBO light heavyweight champion, and WBC cruiserweight champion. Erdei is also the first Hungarian to win a world title in two weight divisions.Erdei boxed at the 2000 Summer Olympics...
, former WBO super middleweight champion Károly Balzsay
Károly Balzsay
Károly Balzsay is a Hungarian boxer and the current WBA super middleweight champion. He is also a former WBO super middleweight champion...
, super-bantamweight challenger Zsolt Bedák
Zsolt Bedák
Zsolt Bedák is a Hungarian boxer. His younger brother Pál Bedák is a flyweight boxer.-Amateur career:*2001 Bedák won bronze at the European Junior Championships....
, and his flyweight brother Pál Bedák
Pál Bedák
Pál Bedák is a boxer from Hungary best known to win the silver medal at the 2005 World Championships. His older brother Zsolt Bedák is a bantamweight boxer....
.
He is also operating a successful restaurant in Budapest, called Boxutca. The name is a play on words: "boxutca" as such means pit stop
Pit stop
In motorsports, a pit stop is where a racing vehicle stops in the pits during a race for refuelling, new tires, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, or any combination of the above...
in Hungarian and it also includes "boxing". The restaurant is also a museum of various memories from Kovacs' boxing career and other sports including a real McLaren Formula-1 car to demonstrate its name.