Prediction,

This should be an interesting fight.

Kovalev is a very, very dangerous fighter, we all know that, time isn't on his side, he came to pieces when he lost to Andre Ward, I personally, am not reading a great deal into his explosive, early demolition of Vyacheslav Shabranskyy, but he is one hell of a fighter.
I don't know much about Igor Mikhalkin, I've never seen him fight, he seems like a decent fighter, only once defeated, he has no great wins, no really, really good wins at this level, but he has beaten Dohdou Ngumbu (nephew of a ring girl who represented the 'Rumble in the Jungle' back in 1974) three times.

I don't get the impression Mikhalkin is a puncher, he doesn't have 10 stoppages, so Kovalev is certainly the heavier handed in this fight, he has far more experience at a high level, I do not think Mikhalkin has the power, experience, the overall ability to drag Kovalev into a fight he doesn't want to be in, and if he fights Kovalev at his own game, he's going to have to be on a survival mission, or else I think he'll do well to go 3 rounds.

I question how well Kovalev will train for this fight, he had to really make a statement against Shabranskyy, but now that he has that momentum back, he might not be quite as motivated, I don't see him feeling the need to respect Mikhalkin as a threat, train particularly hard for this fight. If Kovalev catches Mikhalkin early, he could get him out of there early, if Mikhalkin does not move well, use his feet, head movement, and Kovalev rocks him, I don't see how he won't get stopped quickly. I think Kovalev will be frustrated by Mikhalkin in the early rounds, I think Mikhalkin will try to stay out of harms way, but in doing so, will be bullied out of his own ability to have success, and Kovalev, patiently, will break Mikhalkin round by round. I think Kovalev stops him in 4.

I think Kovalev is very beatable for a great fighter, or even a really good fighter, he doesn't take punches well, he is only dangerous, awkward for 18 minutes or so, he can't fight on the inside, he is particularly weak to the body. If a fighter can,

- take Kovalev into the round 7
- raise the pace early and sustain it
- land some solid body shots early
- find a way to close the gap for a substantial part of the early rounds
- make it an inside fight and throw a high volume of hard shots when Kovalev is tired

then Kovalev isn't even that tough an opponent anymore, especially not considering his age, but to successfully apply these tactics, well, so far, it's taken Andre Ward, everybody else has failed, and to do anything but survive against heavy handed, skilled, strong fighter like Kovalev, with a commanding jab, and great ability to claim the centre of the ring, is extremely difficult. Kovalev is not quick, but he's a counter puncher, he hits so hard, and his jab is fantastic, it sets up his right hand very well, it was the basic 1,2 which got him the knockdown against Ward in their first fight.

Tale of the tape

Kovalev
Height: 183
Weighed in at: 174.6
Age: 34
Fights: 34
Wins: 31
KO percentage: 79
Year of debut: 2009
Title contests: 14
World title contests: 12
Current activity rate (2016-present): 5 fights
Previous bouts at 175: 18
Career heaviest weight: 183
Career lightest weight: 173
Unbeaten opponents: 3
Opponents with losing records: 5
Experiences of completing 12 rounds: 3
Experiences of completing 10 rounds: 3

Mikhalkin
Height: 185
Weighed in at: 172.6
Age: 32
Fights: 22
Wins: 21
KO percentage: 41
Year of debut: 2007
Title contests: 8
World title contests: 0
Current activity rate (2016-present): 4 fights
Previous bouts at 175: 16
Career heaviest weight: 179
Career lightest weight: 174
Unbeaten opponents: 1
Opponents with losing records: 4
Experiences of completing 12 rounds: 5
Experiences of completing 10 rounds: 6