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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Preview & Prediction: Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. James ‘Jazza’ Dickens

By Peter Silkov

This Saturday, July 16th, will be the return of Guillermo Rigondeaux (16-0, 10koes) to the ring, defending his WBA world super-bantamweight championship against England’s James ‘Jazza’ Dickens (22-1,), at the Ice Arena in Cardiff, Wales.  Rigondeaux is very possibly the best, pound-for-pound, boxer in the world when it comes to pure boxing skill.  Yet, he can also claim to be the worst treated boxer in the world as well.  For all his ability, indeed because of it, Rigondeaux has become the most avoided boxer in the sport, with other fighters stating that he is too boring, and too unpopular with the fans, to merit fighting.

Since he out-classed Nonito Donaire in April 2013, Guillermo Rigondeaux has been essentially blacklisted.  After he beat Donaire, promoter, Bob Arum, turned what should have been a breakthrough victory for The Jackal, onto its head. Arum, who promoted both Rigondeaux and Donaire seemed to take great exception to Rigondeaux beating Donaire, and from that point on set out to criticize, belittle, and discredit Rigondeaux.  Eventually ’The Jackal’ cut his promotional ties with Bob Arum and Top Rank, but the damage has already been done to his reputation.  When your own promoter is branding you too ‘boring’ and describing executives as being prone to ‘throwing up’ when your name is mentioned, then the effect can be quite devastating.

In the 3 years and 3 months since his bittersweet victory over Donaire, ‘The Jackal’ has fought just 4 times, and the big fights that he had wished for against the likes of Carl Frampton, Scott Quigg, and Leo Santa Cruz, have been no where to be seen.  Rigondeaux’s prospective opponents excuse themselves from fighting him by citing the fact that he is boring and cannot draw big money for fights.

Ironically, Frampton and Quigg ended up fighting each other in a ‘super fight’ showdown, which tunrned out to be a dud, and showed just why both boxers had been so keen not to meet Rigondeaux in the ring.

Jazza Dickens, who holds the British Super-bantamweight title, deserves a great amount of respect for taking on the fight that so many ’big names’ have avoided.

Dickens is a boxer with a nicely balanced style, but in Rigondeaux he will be meeting a man who is in a class by himself in many ways.  ’The Jackal’ is a counter-puncher with exceptional speed, accuracy, and power, when he chooses to use it.

Against Dickens, we should see ’The Jackal’ produce a dominating performance, which will culminate in him stopping Dickens by the mid-way point of the fight.

For Dickens, this is the kind of fight that can enhance his career, even if he loses, but for Rigondeaux, this fight represents a chance for Rigondeaux to show just what so many fighters at super-bantamweight are so afraid of.



iFL TV Interviews Rigondeaux from Cardiff, Wales:

iFL TV Interviews Dickens from Cardiff, Wales:
 

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

Erislandy Lara Defends Title Against Jan Zaveck: Premier Boxing Champions on ESPN

By Peter Silkov

Tomorrow, Wednesday, November 25, see’s Erislandy Lara (21-2-2) defending his WBA world light-middleweight championship against Jan Zaveck (35-3) at the Hialeah Park Race Track, in Hialeah, Florida.  The fight will be on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on ESPN. It will be Lara’s second defence of the title that he won on December 12, 2014, with a point’s victory over Ishe Smith.  It is ironic that Lara should be defending his title just days after Saul Alvarez beat Miguel Cotto for the WBC world Middleweight championship.  18 months ago, Lara lost a highly debatable split decision to Alvarez, after a 12 rounds non-title fight in which many believe Lara gave the Mexican a thorough boxing lesson.  However, as is the way with boxing, following a brief explosion of controversy and debate about the split decision victory for Alvarez, the storm soon died down, and has been more or less forgotten about, very conveniently for Alvarez.

Although he has since picked up his world title, Lara’s success has been bittersweet.  While Alvarez has gone on to have high profile, big money fights with James Kirkland and Miguel Cotto since his scare against Lara, Erislandy meanwhile has struggled to gain attention and big fights, despite being a ’World champion.’  The problem for Erislandy is that, like his countryman Guillermo Rigondeaux, he may be too good for his own good.  Lara is an intelligent and slick boxer, with the kind of ability that doesn’t just beat opponents, but makes them look bad.  If there’s one thing most boxers hate even more than losing, it’s looking bad, especially if they’re losing at the same time.

Lara’s only other defeat came against Paul Williams on July 9, 2011, and was another point’s loss that many disputed.  Lara’s nickname is ’The American Dream’ but like his fellow Cuban defector Rigondeaux, Lara has found success in America to be a bittersweet affair.  He has won a world title, but like Rigondeaux, is struggling to secure opponents to defend it against. 

Lara’s challenger on Wednesday is Jan Zaveck, a good solid boxer, who is the former IBF world welterweight champion.  At 39 years old, Zaveck is past his prime, and is not what could be described as an ’exciting’ challenger for Lara.  This should be a straightforward defence for Lara, providing he is not taking Zaveck too lightly.  Yet, Lara’s sights are already set higher, he has stated that he would like to move up to middleweight and fight the dynamite-punching World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.  There could even be a rematch with Alvarez, although that looks pretty remote.  Lara will be hoping to get past Zaveck with the minimum of fuss on Wednesday, with the hope that bigger challenges and bigger paydays are just round the corner for him.

Final press conference:




 Watch the fight:




Copyright © 2015 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com

Carl Froch vs. George Groves Part 2: The Cobra Bites Back

By Peter Silkov

Carl Froch (33-2, 24koes) retained his WBA and IBF World super-middleweight titles against challenger George Groves (19-2, 15koes) for the second time last night, May 31.  Victory came with a spectacular and conclusive finish that left no room for doubt, or debate, unlike the controversial finish to their first match last year. 

Fighting in front of a post WW2 record-breaking crowd of 80,000, at London’s Wembley Stadium, Froch produced the kind of performance, which the great champions are able to pull out when the chips are down, and the odds seem to be stacked against them.  After being written off by many in the run up to this rematch, with everything from his age, technical deficiencies,  to his trainer, being analysed in a negative light, ’The Cobra’ struck back last night to prove all his doubters wrong, and underline once and for all what an outstanding fighter he truly is.

Britain may have produced cleverer, faster, and more athletically gifted boxers than Froch in the past, but there have been few fighters from this country who have been better warriors than ’The Cobra’, in the post WW2 years. Carl Froch has a toughness and warrior mentality that renders things, like superior speed and technique, obsolete.  

 Both fighters entered the ring to the kind of fanfare that seems to be almost obligatory at big occasions such as this.  While Froch’s entrance seemed well balanced, the challenger Groves journey to the ring, (which included an old-fashioned double decker London bus) seemed to be over long, and possibly draining. There had been some talk in the run up to Saturday’s match that Groves, acting as his own manager and promoter, was spreading himself too thin. Today, only Groves will know the answer as to whether all the meetings and public appearances had any bearing upon his performance last night, but one thing for certain is that Froch prepared for this fight with a monkish focus and dedication, and the result of this was clear in his performance on the night. Whereas, Froch fought the first fight against Groves with the harassed and frantic air of a desperate man, last night, he had a focus and a serenity, which never totally left him, even during the challenger’s best moments of the night.

The fight began accompanied by the roar of 80,000 fans; a sound that few modern day fighters will ever experience.  If the fans were anticipating a 1st round explosion, similar to that seen in the first clash between these two men, then they were in for a disappointment, as each boxer started out cautiously, circling each other, and working behind the jab. Groves had stated in the run up to this fight that he would win the rematch by a 3rd round knockout, but he started much more cautiously than he had last November, concentrating on landing his spearing left jab, and barely throwing the right hand, which had Froch down in the 1st round of their first fight. Meanwhile, Froch was cautious, yet, already noticeably sharper than he had been in the previous meeting, and crucially this time, instead of blindly going after the challenger from the start, ’The Cobra’ was working his own jab. Yet, Groves still edged the opening round as his own jabs landed quicker and cleaner than the champion’s did.

As the second round began to unfold, it became clear that this rematch was following the pattern of many such rematches of the past, where, despite all of the well-publicized dislike between the two fighters, both men were taking into the ring a healthy amount of respect for the others fighting prowess, and boxing a cautious, technical fight.  At one point, a clinch resulted in an exchange of rabbit punches, before Groves was forcibly pushed to the floor by the champion. Froch was warned by the referee, Charlie Fitch, but had shown his challenger that he is going to be the boss in the ring this time. It is an almost insignificant incident, but at the start of a contest of intense physicality, such incidences can prove important.

The action continued and Froch’s jab was already working far better than at anytime during the pairs first encounter.  Groves, still edging the round with his own left-hand, which was faster and more frequent, but Froch, his chin tucked into his chest, and his right hand up as a guard, rides and blocks a good many of Groves punches. Groves sealed the round by landing a good left hook near the round’s end, but this was developing into a technical joust for the purist, rather than the kind of barnburner that many were hoping to see.

The 3rd round unfolds in much the same way as the first two stanza’s, with both men fencing with their jabs, and daring the other to make the first move, which could be turned into a mistake. The crowd at this point began to boo, indicating that like many such crowds, it was made up more of people looking for a night’s entertainment, rather than a night of good boxing. As if in reply to the audience’s displeasure, Froch, always the crowd-pleaser, though too often unappreciated, launched forward, and landed a left-right combination upon Groves, who replied with punches of his own.  It is the first real explosion of the fight and the audience, in all their fickleness, responded with a roar.  Both men go back to their jabs, and Froch’s left is visibly upsetting the rhythm of his challenger, while Groves’ jab has reddened ‘The Cobra‘s generous nose.  There was no sign of Groves even attempting to fulfil his pre-fight prediction of a 3rd round knockout, and although he might have won his third round in a row, he is edging the opening rounds, rather than dominating them, and this is not the ideal strategy against a slow starter such as Froch. 

After all of the talk about Groves needing to pace himself for 12 rounds and box, rather than brawl this time round, the challenger had perhaps held back too much in these opening rounds and allowed Froch to fight at his own pace and work himself into the match.     

    

Froch was visibly more relaxed in the 4th round, as if conscious that the fight is following a different pattern to the one last November, a pattern that is favouring him.  Groves was not putting enough pressure onto the champion, and in this round begins to find himself under more pressure himself as ’The Cobra’ begins to dominate the centre of the ring, and is out-jabbing his challenger for much of the round. Groves skirts the outside of the ring pot-shotting, while there was a better flow about the champion’s work.  Groves returned to his corner at the end of the round with a look of frustration about him.

Groves started the 5th round with two stabbing lefts, which fail to land clearly. Froch landed a good right hand and a left hook, which drove Groves into a corner, where he landed some punches to Groves’s body, before the challenger fought his way out. Groves retaliated with punches of his own, but took a combination to the body and the action heats up.  Both men exchange right hands towards the end of the round, but it is Froch who has held his ground in the centre of the ring, while Groves was forced to maneuver around him. 

In the 6th round, Froch seemed to taking control of the match. Starting the round fast, he drove his challenger into the ropes with a left-right to the head, then switches to the body.  Moving back into the middle of the ring, the two exchanged jabs, with both falling a little short of the target. The last forty seconds of the round found Groves driven onto the ropes twice by Froch attacks, as the champion finished the round on the front foot.  

The challenger came out for the 7th round with more

purpose, landing a good jab and then, moments later, a straight left that drove Froch back onto his heels. The champion looked momentarily shaken as Groves threw the left hand now with more venom, catching Froch flush.  Another left, later in the round, provoked Froch to drive his challenger into the ropes, where he unleashed a two-fisted attack upon Groves’ body, but it is the challenger’s round, just at the point where it looked as if Froch was in command of the fight.

Groves tried to carry over his good work of the previous round in the 8th, as he was noticeably more aggressive and continued to fire his jabs with increased intent. Froch looked a little ragged, as Groves tagged him with jabs, and the occasional right hand.  However, the champion stood his ground, while at the same time, not retaliating recklessly. Groves looked more and more confident as the round progressed, as Froch continued to march forward, taking shots, but landing some good body shots of his own.  Most crucially perhaps, Froch was still keeping the centre of the ring. 

With thirty seconds left in the round, as Groves is maneuvered into the ropes, Froch threw a right hand over a Groves’ left hook, and connected to the side of the challenger’s jaw.  It was as potent a single punch as you will ever see, and Groves was out before he landed flat on his back upon the canvas, with his left leg twisted grotesquely underneath him.  Referee Charlie Fitch, who proved to be a good pick for the third man in the ring, waved the fight off without a count. Somehow, Groves, his fighting instincts impressively strong until the last, dragged himself upright, but only to fall onto the referee, then stagger into his own corner, where he collapsed into the arms of his trainer Paddy Fitzpatrick. It was all over for the challenger.

Meanwhile, Froch was being held aloft by his brother and acclaimed by the crowd, his destiny fulfilled, and his legacy as one of Britain’s greatest modern day boxers assured. It was the kind of explosive ending, that would satisfy any crowd of 80,000, and there were no controversies or doubts left this time.

After the fight, both boxers proved that despite their much-publicized acrimony, each retains the class of true sportsmanship. There were no excuses from George Groves, and Froch praised his challenger, while citing his victory as the greatest of his career.

With the challenge of George Groves behind him, Carl Froch can pick his own path from here.  Although another domestic challenge, in the shape of James Degale, seems to be looming, ’The Cobra’ may choose to travel to America and Las Vegas, to end his career in a multimillion dollar showdown with someone such as Andre Ward, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., or perhaps Gennady Golovkin.

For George Groves, last nights defeat will be a bitter pill to swallow, especially in light of the pre-fight talk and predictions, which seemed to be as much as a burden to him in the rematch, as they were a help in the first fight.  Defeats such as these usually prove to be either the making or the breaking of a young fighter. Groves certainly has the talent to move on from here, but may have to learn some hard lessons from this defeat if he is to fulfil his potential in the future.

The night belonged to ’The Cobra’ who showed a crowd of 80,000 (and millions more on TV) what it takes to be a true champion.    

Copyright © 2014 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com