Sergey Kovalev knocked out an overmatched Nadjib Mohammedi at 2:38 of the third round to retain his IBF, WBA and WBO light heavyweight titles on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 knockouts) put Mohammedi (37-4, 23 KOs) down in the second round with two hard right hands. The Russian did the same in the third, this time using a right-left combination to hurt his French opponent.

Referee Kenny Bayless ended matters there, saving Mohammedi from further and inevitable punishment.

Mohammedi was the IBF mandatory challenger.

On the undercard, Jean Pascal beat Yunieski Gonzalez by an unpopular unanimous decision.

A full report will follow.