Big Fight Review: Andre Ward Vs Sergey Kovalev 2: Controversy As Ward Beats Kovalev In Battle of the Belt

Photo: CDN News

By Peter Silkov

Andre Ward (32-0, 16koes) and Sergey Kovalev (30-2, 25koes) battled last night, June 17,  for Ward's WBA, WBO, and IBF World light-heavyweight belts, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.   Yet, it was Kovalev’s own belt-line, which was to become the focus of attention by the end of the contest. What had been brewing up nicely into a intriguing and competitive fight, fought at a good pace, ended suddenly, in a welter of controversy, leaving both fans and each fighter deprived of a conclusive and satisfying conclusion to this bitter 175 pound feud.

While it lasted, Ward vs Kovalev 2 was a better fight than their first encounter last November, with both men throwing more punches, and the action being far more energetic than the tense chess match we saw the first time round.

Kovalev, taking the role of challenger this time, started fast, and got his jab going early to good effect. Ward for his part also started much better than he did in the first fight, and seemed more inclined to fire punches, than he did in their first encounter.  There was less holding, and generally the fight was much better on the eye from the start.

As in their first match, Kovalev took the role of the aggressor, while Ward looked to employ his slippery boxing skills to dodge his opponent's attacks, and come back with his own counters.

Photo: Fight Hype

Again, as in their November clash, the action was close and at times, scoring could be decided by whose work you appreciated the best. Kovalev looked to have won the first 3 rounds pretty clearly with his high work rate and some good accuracy from his jab. Ward again came into the fight the longer it went on.  By the 4th round, he was landing some good counters, yet Kovalev still held the edge with work rate. 

By the 7th round the match was fascinatingly poised, with neither fighter having achieved a clear advantage. The action was physical, with both men taking turns to go to the body, and Ward showing the better defensive skills, while Kovalev was the more active offensively. 

However, the fight took a dramatic, and controversial turn in the 8th round. Early in the 8th round, a borderline blow to Kovalev’s beltline, had the challenger wincing, and claiming a low blow.  Referee Tony Weeks ignored Kovalev’s claim, as he had some previous claims of low blows earlier in the fight. After the action was waved on, Ward landed a hard right to the chin of the still unhappy Kovalev, visibly shaking him.  As he looked to recover his composure, Kovalev was bundled by Ward onto the ropes, where Ward proceeded to land three successive heavy blows that seemed to be quite a way below Kovalev’s beltline.  As Kovalev doubled over in obvious pain, referee Tony Weeks hastily got between the two boxers and called a halt to the fight.

The resulting controversy was immediate. Video of the finish shows that Ward's last blow was indisputably low, and that the previous two punches were highly dubious.  With this in mind, referee Weeks should have stopped the actions and administered a warning to Ward for the low blow or blows. Yet, even discounting the area where the blows might have landed upon Kovalev, the finish seemed highly premature.  Kovalev had not been down and was not taking the kind of punishment that would seem to be a threat to his health (unless you take into consideration the possible damage caused by punches in the balls.)

Photo: Washington Post

Amid much after fight controversy, the overall effect of the premature stoppage is that both fighters have been deprived of a satisfactory ending.While he was awarded the victory, Ward's triumph is once more shrouded in controversy, as was his poin'ts win over Kovalev last November. As for Kovalev, the stoppage deprived him of a victory that might have been his, had he been given his rightful chance to ride out the 8th round. Low blows should not win a fight, and on this occasion, that is what they have done. Ward may well have boxed his way to victory in the end had the fight been allowed to run its natural course. Unfortunately, no one will ever know this for sure, and so once more, these two men have fought to an unsatisfactory conclusion.

At the time of the ‘stoppage’ the three judges all had the fight close, with two scoring it 67 to 66 in favour of Ward, and the other judge having it 68-65 in favour of Kovalev. Once again boxing shot itself in the foot, with a match that started out as a great example of a genuine world title fight, between two world outstanding class boxers, descending into a myriad of controversy and suspicion. Once more the failure of the Nevada commission to supply either neutral judges, or a neutral referee for such an important and divisive contest, has to be called into question. Especially when the controversy always seems to adversely effect the ‘away’ fighter.

Photo: Metro News

In the fights aftermath, a stunned and devastated Kovalev said that he wants an instant rematch with Ward. The chances of this however seem exceedingly slim. It is unlikely that Ward will ever allow himself to be lured again into the same ring as Sergey Kovalev, and ‘The Krusher’ may find his future career path severely hampered from here.  

The truth is that Kovalev needs to take a hard look at the people surrounding him, and working for him in the run up to his fights with Ward, and decide if he needs to make some hard decisions in order to get his career back on track. If rumours concerning his purses are to be believed, Kovalev has been left with the short straw in both of his big matches with Ward, and has gone from being an exciting multi-belted world champion, to a ex-champion and deposed challenger, at a cut price rate.

Kovalev deserved better.

Kovalev’s camp is due to file a protest concerning the fights conclusion on Monday, but their chances of a positive outcome to this protest are probably about the same as Sergey’s chances of getting another match with Ward. 
 
In what was a night of controversy and chaos, the main supporting fight to Ward vs Kovalev ended in farce is when Guillermo Rigondeaux (18-0, 12koes) retained his WBA world super-bantamweight title, by knocking out his challenger after the bell to end the 1st round.  Rigondeaux had compete control of the short fight right from the start, as he showed some brilliant defensive skills to avoid the lanky Moises Flores (25-1, 17koes)  eager attacks, making his challenger look clumsy and awkward.  As the round approached its end, Guillermo started to throw punches of his own, with a dynamic accuracy. A brief exchange of punches between the two men ended with Rigondeaux landing a left-hook clearly after the bell, and Flores going down flat upon his back. After much deliberation by a dazzling array of officials and the referee, it was finally decided that the final punch was not intentional, and so ‘The Jackal’ was awarded the victory. It was another bittersweet outing for Rigondeaux. 

Photo: Bad Left Hook

As for Flores, his chance at the big time was over almost before it began, and he is probably still trying to figure out what actually happened to him.

Afterwards there was talk of Rigondeaux having showdowns with the likes of Vasyl Lomachenko and Roman Gonzalez.  While the Lomachenko match would be highly interesting, it is hard to see why the much smaller ‘Chocolatito’ should move up another two divisions to face Rigondeaux, especially when he has more than enough worthy opponents to face at his current weight of super-flyweight.

If anything those with ‘Chocolatito’s’ interests at heart might do well to persuade him to move back down to the flyweight division, where he seemed more comfortable and effective than where he is now.

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The Boxing Glove Big Fight Preview: Ward vs Kovalev II: Repeat Or Revenge

By Peter Silkov

In what is undoubtedly one of this years most eagerly anticipated fights, and one of boxing's most intriguing rematches for some time, Andre Ward (31-0, 15koes) meets Segey Kovalev (30-1-1, 26koes) on June 17^th, in an effort to prove who is the premier boxer at 175 pounds. This is Ward's first defence of the WBA, IBF, and WBO world light-heavyweight titles that he took from Kovalev last November, after being given a decision, that many think he didn’t deserve. In their first fight, ‘the Krusher’ looked to have won the first 6 rounds pretty clearly (including scoring a 2^nd round knockdown) with Ward coming more into the fight in the last half of the contest, but not doing enough to win a decision, especially with Kovalev having strong 10^th and 12^th rounds.

Photo: HBO

 After the fight, a poll of the media found that out of 63 sources, 46 scored the fight for Kovalev, 16 for Ward, and 1 scored it a draw. It was a match that saw Kovalev score the better more solid punches, while Ward looked to stall and frustrate ‘The Krusher.’ Much of Ward's work was centred around not letting Kovalev work and then countering with some light punches of his own. While it is true that Ward did show some good boxing skills at times, he never seemed to dominate at any part of the contest. In addition to this, Ward's excessive holding, which started after he was floored in the second, marred what was otherwise a good fight, and went a long way to breaking up Kovalev's rhythm as the fight went on. In the end it can be said that, if Ward indeed deserved to win the fight (which this writer doesn’t feel he did), it was more due to what he didn’t allow Kovalev to do, rather than what he actually did himself.

Kovalev has said himself that he was over trained for the first fight, and was fighting on an empty tank after the 5^th round. This might well be one of the reasons why he seemed unable to stop Wards spoiling tactics as the fight went past the halfway mark.

 The rematch in seven days time promises to be a fascinating fight. With both men saying that they will do a better job this time, it could well be one of those rematches, which surpass the original. Certainly ‘The Krusher’ will be looking to exert far more pressure upon Ward in this fight than in their first contest. Despite his noted power, Kovalev is more a boxer than an out and out slugger, but in his first encounter with Ward he may well have made the mistake of being too patient, and boxing too much, when more high intensity pressure was what was really

needed. After he knocked Ward down in the 2^nd round, Kovalev thought that he had plenty of time to catch Ward again, but ofcourse this didn’t happen. Perhaps partly due to the stamina problems which he has alluded too since. This time Kovalev will be looking to capitalise very quickly if he has Ward hurt at any time. If it is true that Kovalev was overtrained in the first fight, then this could be very bad news for Ward, who had his hands full with ‘the Krusher’ in November. If Kovalev is stronger and fitter this time round then Ward himself will have to up his game quite considerably if he is to retain his title.

For the defending champion, this fight offers a chance to put the record straight and silence the doubters. There are still many who feel that Ward is not a genuine champion as he gained the championship through a dubious decision. For a man who is hailed by some as the best boxer in the world ‘pound for pound’ the controversy surrounding November's match is an embarrassment and annoyance.

Photo: The Independent

The run up to this rematch has seen an increase in the bad blood between Ward and Kovalev, and has included the exchange of various insults and innuendoes on both sides. This is a fight that both men are determined not to lose, perhaps even more so than in their first meeting.

One worry for Kovalev might be that like the first fight in November, the judges, and referee are all from America. With the fight once more hosted in Las Vegas (only this time at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, rather than the T-Mobile Arena) so once more, Ward will have a distinct home advantage. While one would not like to question the integrity of the officials concerned in this rematch, it is curious that such a big world title fight, between two fighters of such opposite nations, is not balanced by neutral judges. Certainly it is hoped that referee, Tony Weeks, manages Ward's penchant for holding far better than referee, Robert Byrd, did in November.

There are strong indications that this rematch could surpass the first fight for excitement and spectacle. If Kovalev is much improved and fitter than last November he will force Ward to fight harder than he did in the first fight. A more active Kovalev will be much harder to contain than in the first fight, and Ward will be forced to be more active himsel,f and rely less upon his spoiling tactics. The big question for Ward is... can he fight better than he did in November? Ward himself will try to make the fight a carbon copy of their first encounter. Like it or not, if the fight goes the distance, and is close and competitive, then Ward will be a heavy favourite to get the nod of the judges once more. Another close and controversial decision is very possible. ‘The Krusher’ has to try and take things into his own hands and make himself a clear winner. He certainly seems to have the power to hurt Ward, but does he have the power to stop or knockout Ward.

Much depends upon who can improve most from the first fight.

I think this is a fight, which Kovalev needs to win by stoppage, as I just don’t see him gaining a decision over Ward in Las Vegas. Hopefully however, my cynicism is wrong, and if the fight goes the full 12 rounds, then we will see a fair point's verdict, given to whomever it is that deserves it. 

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Big Fight Report: Ward Vs. Brand: Ward Wins But Fails To Shine

 

AP Photo-Eric Risberg

By Peter Silkov

Andre Ward (30-0, 15koes) last night, August 6th, ticked off what should be his final ‘warm up’ match, in his build up to an eagerly awaited showdown with Sergey Kovalev on November 19, for Kovalev’s World light heavyweight titles. As warm ups go, Ward’s have been lengthy and ultimately uninspiring. Indeed, it could be said that Ward’s whole career, since his brilliant performances in the “Super 6” Tournament, now 5 years passed, has been in essence, a warm up for his promised November encounter with Kovalev.  Harsh perhaps, but Ward’s 5 opponents since he beat Carl Froch in the Super 6 final in December 2011, have all failed to raise the temperature against the ’SOG.’

Last night was no different. In front of his home town fans at the Oracle Arena, in Oakland, California, Ward jousted with Alexander Brand (25-2, 19koes) for 12 rounds, and posted a shut out, winning every round, but as in his recent fights, his dominance wasn’t coloured by brilliance. The fight was dull and Ward failed to shine. Ward’s technical gifts are beyond dispute, but when a fighter is considered one of the top p4p boxers on the planet, something extra is expected of him against fighters of Brand’s calibre. It is not so much Ward’s failure to stop Brand that is troubling, rather his failure to show much, beyond the ordinary, for most of the fight. We only saw flashes of the kind of ability that Ward showed over 5 years ago now in the Super 6 Tournament.

AP Photo-Eric Risberg

Brand himself was game and came to fight, in what was his chance of a lifetime shot against Ward.  Yet the 39-year-old, who has spent his career fighting at super-middleweight against opponents several levels below that of the ‘SOG,’ was out-matched in every department. In many ways, the match looked like a fight between a full light heavyweight and a super-middleweight, with the difference in size and strength, compounding Ward’s advantages in speed, and skill.  Yet despite being out-classed, Brand never seemed in danger of being stopped, and with his gutsy efforts, he at times threatened to drag Ward into the kind of physical fight that would have suited him. It does beg the question as to how the fight might have been different had Brand been a full- fledged light heavyweight, rather than a pumped up super-middleweight.
After 12 rounds of uneventful boxing, where each round tended to gel into each other, Ward won an unanimous point’s decision via three scores of 120-108.

Photo: realcombatmedia.com

In his post interview, Ward was joined in the ring by Sergey Kovalev to confirm and talk up their November 19 showdown. Refreshingly, both fighters are respectful of each other, giving a nice throwback feel to their the November 19 match.  This is a genuine match between two very talented fighters for a genuine world championship, with not a catch weight clause in sight. While Ward will deserve credit for taking on Kovalev, whether he wins or loses, one must question the opposition that he has chosen for his warm up fights. There is a nagging feeling having watched Ward’s most recent fight that he would have benefited from being matched against a genuine world class light heavyweight contender, rather than the inexperienced, and overmatched opponents of his last 3 fights. Also, are 5 competitive fights in five years enough preparation before taking on someone like Sergey Kovalev.

It is true that ‘The Krusher’ himself was not overly impressive in his recent title defence against the slippery and defence-minded Issac Chilemba. The difference between Chilemba and Brand is that Chilemba is a full-fledged world class lightheavyweight, who is capable of making the very best fighters look ordinary, while Brand is simply a gutsy, but limited fringe contender, who usually operates at super middleweight.

Ward stated recently that he didn’t even watch Kovalev’s recent title defence against Issac Chilemba. If that is to be believed, then one must wonder whether Ward is taking ‘The Krusher’ too lightly. The truth, however, is that Ward has probably been poring over every minute, every round of Kovalev’s most recent performance.

It is hard to see how Ward’s most recent opposition will prepare him for what he will face against Sergey Kovalev. It will take brilliance from Ward for him to beat ‘The Krusher’ on November 19 later this year. It is a brilliance that Ward has not had to show for almost 5 years. One thing that is for certain is that against Kovalev, Ward will face his first real live challenge since he met Car Froch , an the ‘SOG’ still shine?

The highlight of the Ward vs. Brand undercard was lanky light welterweight, Maurice ‘Mighty Mo’ Hooker’s (21-0-2, 16koes) 1st round demolition of Ty Barnett (23-6-1, 15koes.)  After dropping Barnett with a vicious left-hook, bombarded Barnett with bombs when he beat the count, until the referee had finally seen enough after 2:17 of the round. With this win, Hooker retained his NABO Light welterweight title and showed that he is one to watch.

Also on the undercard:

Light heavyweight Junior ‘The Young God’ Younan (10-0, 8koes) koed Jinner Guerrero (8-7, 6koes) in the 1st round.  A spectacular left hand flattened Guerrero.

At Heavyweight, Darmani ‘Rock Solid’ Rock (4-0, 3koes) was taken the distance for the first time over 4 rounds, by Mike Kyle (1-3-1, 1ko.) Rock had Kyle down in the 4th round but couldn’t keep him there. Scores for Rock were 40-35, 39-36, and 39-36.

Junior lightweight Daniel ‘Twitch’ Franco (14-0-3, 9koes) koed Marcelo Gallardo (7-4-2, 3koes) in the 5th round, after having him down in the 1st.

Ward Vs. Brand:

Copyright © 2016 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved.

Big Fight Preview: Ward Vs. Brand: The Last Warm Up For 'The Son Of God'

By Peter Silkov

This Saturday, August 6, Andre Ward (29-0, 15koes) has his final ‘warm up’ fight before taking on World light heavyweight champion, Sergey Kovalev, in November.  Ward will be fighting fringe contender, Alexander Brand (25-1, 19koes), at the Oracle Arena, in Oakland, California.  The 39-year-old Brand is a strong and willing fighter, with an awkward and unpredictable style. Although he has just one defeat on his record, he has not mixed in with the kind of opposition that Ward has faced during his career.

Indeed it is hard to see how Brand will get Ward ready for Kovalev, beyond taking him a few rounds.  At the same time, Brand is the kind of physical and unpredictable fighter who could cut Ward if they happen to clash awkwardly. This is the kind of fight that Ward will want to end sooner, rather than later. Look for a Ward win within the first 5 rounds. The ‘Son of God’will want to be impressive in what will be his last fight before his big showdown with Sergey Kovalev. Anything less will be an early victory for the World light-heavyweight champion.

An interesting fight on the undercard of Ward vs. Brand is the light-welterweight fight between Maurice Hooker (20-0-2, 15koes) and Ty Barnett (23-4-1, 15koes) for the WBO NABO light-welterweight title.  With Ward vs. Brand likely to be a rout in favour of Ward, this looks destined to be the fight of the night. 

Copyright © 2016 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved.

The 2015 Boxing Glove Awards: Emperor's New Clothes Award: Andre Ward

The Boxing Glove Awards 2015
Emperor’s New Clothes
Super Middleweight & Light Heavyweight
Andre Ward

Few boxers have gained so much mileage out of what they have done in the past, as opposed to what they have achieved in recent times, such as Andre Ward.  At one point, Ward seemed to be on his way to being one of the best boxers in the world, pound-for-pound, and perhaps the heir to Floyd Mayweather Jr.  But, that was back in 2010 when Ward emerged victorious in the Super Six World Super-middleweight tournament.  Yet, that was back in 2010 and 2011, and it is now over 4 years since Ward impressively out-boxed Carl Froch. In the 4 years, Ward has fought just 3 times against mediocre opposition. Still some hail him as the best boxer in the world, for others, the veil of brilliance has started to slip. Ward himself still seems to consider himself an elite fighter who can call the shots and name his price. Too often in recent years, fights have fallen though, and proposed match-ups have failed to materialize.  For a while Ward chased a fight with the smaller Gennady Golovkin.  Now he is said to be inline for a showdown in late 2016 with light-heavyweight king, Sergey Kovalev. Such a fight is just what Ward needs to boost his flagging career, but no one can be certain that it will really happen until Ward gets into the ring with Kovalev. If this match up does not take place, and Ward goes another year without fighting a top level opponent, then the last threads of his reputation will surely be finally stripped from him.  

Copyright © 2016 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com

The 2015 Boxing Glove Awards: The Squeaky Wheel: Ward Haye Khan

The Boxing Glove Awards 2015
Squeaky Wheel Award
Amir Khan, David Haye, and Andre Ward

The Squeaky Wheel award is won by the boxer (or boxers) who generally do more talking than fighting.  A Squeaky Wheel likes to talk about the opponents he is going to face and beat, the big fights he has lined up, and yet, when it comes down to it, something invariably happens to scupper these big fights.  Usually it is the squeaky wheel himself who find s a reason or a way to get out of the fights that he had seemed so intent upon taking just a short while earlier.

Amir Khan is an inveterate ‘Squeaky Wheel.’ His pronouncements upon his ‘inevitable’ showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. have become almost legendary over the past few years.  Unfortunately, Khan has been doing more talking about how, when and why, he should be given a shot at Floyd Mayweather Jr., more than he has been fighting in the ring.  Since his July 2012 defeat at the hands of Danny Garcia, Khan has had just 5 fights, and while he has won them all, he has hardly been impressive. While he has been so eager for a big fight (and huge payday) against Floyd Mayweather Jr., Khan has been more than reticent about a possible match up with fellow Brit, Kell Brook. With Mayweather now seemingly ‘retired’ and Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley set to fight each other (again!) rather than Khan, a match against IBF world welterweight champion Brook is far and away the biggest paying match that Khan can hope for at this point in his career, yet still Khan squeaks, rather than fight.

During the “Super Six Super Middleweight Tournament” Andre Ward proved himself to be the best Super-middleweight in the world and one of the best boxers in the world pound-for-pound. The future seemed bright for Andre. However, since his impressive December 2011 victory over Carl Froch, Ward has fought just 3 times, with his most demanding opponent in that time being a weight drained Chad Dawson.

There have been injuries, and promotional disputes, but there has also been a great deal of ‘squeaking’ from Andre Ward of late. He seemed annoyed when the much lighter Gennady Golovkin decided that the time wasn’t right to move up in weight and challenge Ward.  He then talked about a late 2016 showdown with light heavyweight world champion Sergy Kovalev, but only after having a number of ‘warm up’ fights.  The first ‘warm up’ fight was due to take place in November, but after Ward’s choice of opponent was widely criticized, Ward pulled out of the fight.  Ward’s only fight of 2015 was an undemanding and unimpressive performance against Paul Smith in June.

Ward is scheduled to fight next in March 2016, against an opponent, yet to be named, but Wards fights have a habit of constantly falling through, and at this point, one hopes that Sergy Kovalev is not pinning all his hopes for 2016 upon a big fight with Andre Ward.

David Haye is as adept at squeaking as Amir Khan, and has managed to keep his name alive with a series of abandoned big fights and cancelled comebacks. The squeaks became louder this year, with the rise of Anthony Joshua, and Tyson Fury winning the World heavyweight title, David Haye has been finally dragged out from his semi-retirement, and is due to have his first fight in 3 and a half years on January 16, 2016.  Haye is already demanding a fight with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua before he has even had his first come back fight. The guy never stops squeaking.

Copyright © 2016 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com