Hurricanes' Andrei Svechnikov calls Alex Ovechkin best pound-for-pound boxer in the world

Stan Temming
After being knocked out in a fight with the 'Great 8' in the opening round of NHL playoffs last spring, Andrei Svechnikov continues to show his respect to Alex Ovechkin. (Photo by Greg Thompson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
After his bout with the 'Great 8' in the opening round of NHL playoffs last spring, Andrei Svechnikov continues to show his respect to Alex Ovechkin. (Photo by Greg Thompson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Whenever a discussion about the current world’s top boxer comes up, names such as Vasyl Lomachenko, Terence Crawford and Canelo Álvarez are usually mentioned.

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Andrei Svechnikov has never tossed hands with any of those men, though. Therefore, when asked who the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world is, the 19-year-old forward for the Carolina Hurricanes could only answer based off his personal life experience (as limited as that may be).

Before dropping the mitts with the 33-year-old Russian during Game 3 of the first round playoff series between the Hurricanes and Washington Capitals last spring, Svechnikov had been in precisely one fight, according to hockeyfights.com. That lone tilt during a preseason game while a member of the OHL’s Barrie Colts back in 2017 couldn’t have prepared the youngster for what was to come.

The second overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft ended up missing six postseason games as a result of Ovechkin’s devastating right hand.

All of these months later, it appears Svechnikov has learned a thing or two from taking on someone with plenty of NHL experience and about 40 pounds on him.

As a result, we expect Svech to stick to scoring goals and showing off his playmaking ability this season. This knuckle chucking thing just may not be for him.

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