The heavyweight belt given to Russian boxer Sergei "Krusher" Kovalev after his defeat of former champion Jean Pascal earlier this month is worth a cool $45,000, his manager said Tuesday.
Kovalev uploaded a picture of the diamond-studded belt to his Instagram account earlier this week with a caption reading: "My New [World Boxing Council] belt."
The boxer's manager Egis Klimas told the TASS news agency that the WBC Diamond Belt was worth tens of thousands of dollars.
"This is not a cheap belt, it is worth $45,000 and contains real diamonds," Klimas said in the report.
By winning the March 15 match against the Haitian-born Canadian Pascal, Kovalev retained his triple light heavyweight boxing titles as World Boxing Association, World Boxing Organization and International Boxing Federation champion.
Wrestlers, boxers and those competing in other combat sports are usually awarded championship belts as a reward for their achievements, rather than cups or trophies. The belts often feature specific designs for each tournament.
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