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Philippines, 09 May 2024 |
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Judges Shock Kovalev: Ward New Champ By Ralph Rimpell PhilBoxing.com Sun, 20 Nov 2016  It was a fight that was billed as ?Pound for Pound?. The fight that would determine who would succeed Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the best fighter in boxing regardless of what weight class they compete in. The outcome of last night?s fight does not outright answer who will succeed Pacquiao and/or Mayweather. The outcome does not put us on a path as to when would the winner defend against the likes of Triple G or Adonis Stevenson? Forget about answering those two questions for now. If anything, most fight fans were left confused and Kovalev shocked when Andre Ward was awarded an unpopular decision making him the new Light heavyweight champion of the world! Boxing fans at the T-Mobile arena booed with disapproval as Ward was interviewed by Max Kellerman during the post fight interview. Fans applauded and cheered Kovalev as he was interviewed by Max Kellerman in the post fight interview in the ring. Many boxing fans, boxing luminaries, and boxing writers had picked Andre Ward to dominate Sergey Kovalev and possibly knock him out. It was almost everything but that. Those who watched the fight saw Kovalev aggressively go after Ward and score a shocking 2nd round knockdown against the two time former undefeated super middleweight champion. For the first four rounds Ward appeared frustrated, unable to close the gap, and did a lot of holding. At this point many were surprised and Ward was losing the fight. However, give Ward credit for staying in the fight, but he was unable to dominate and pull a head of Kovalev, the now former champion. 
Sergey Kovalev connects with a left against Andre Ward. 
Ward's team celebrates after the questionable decision was handed. At the end of the fight, bruises and swelling were clearly visible on Ward?s face, while Kovalev?s face had no bruises or swelling. Kovalev was gracious in defeat, but state he wanted a rematch. Ward stated he was happy with his performance citing that these types of fights are going to happen. Not every fight he fights will be a blow out. When asked about a rematch clause, Promoter Kathy Duva cited there was a rematch clause and she will enforce by calling for an immediate rematch. Kolavev stated he wanted a rematch. Ward however was more concerned with celebrating his victory and deferred that question to his manger, James Prince. Prince offered nothing by way of an answer. A rematch is very likely. The three Judges scored the fight unanimously 114-113 for Ward. This writer scored the fight 8-4 rounds in favor of Kovalev, as did most other writers who witnessed the fight. For now Ward improves to 31-0-14KOs, while Kovalev unjustly drops to 30-1-1, 26KOs. Contact Writer Ralph Rimpell: RLuvsboxing@aol.com Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ralph Rimpell.  |
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