LAS VEGAS ? Sergey Kovalev draped an arm over the ring rope, blood still trickling from his nose, a bewildered look on his face. Three judges had just stripped Kovalev of his world titles, awarding them to Ward, handing Kovalev his first defeat, and it was clear the now-former light heavyweight kingpin was still processing what happened.
?It?s the wrong decision,? Kovalev said. ?He got maybe a few rounds, I agree with that. I kept control. I lost maybe three rounds the whole fight.?
In the biggest fight of the year, Ward walked away with a win, and make no mistake: This was not a robbery. Social media exploded with cries of foul play after the fight, and though many ringside reporters scored it for Kovalev ? Yahoo Sports had it 115-112 and 114-113 for the former champ ? the three 114-113 cards submitted by the judges won?t be evidence in an investigation. Ward didn?t dominate, and Kathy Duva?s complaints about Ward?s (surprise!) excessive holding have merit. But Ward took control in the later rounds, landed plenty of clean shots; it wasn?t a clean win, but it won?t rank among the worst decisions, either.
Ward is arguably the most skilled fighter in boxing, and like so many other opponents, Kovalev simply couldn?t unlock him. Kovalev did score a knockdown early, connecting on a short right hand in the second round that sent Ward to the floor. But he struggled to land consistent combinations and Ward ? with an assist from referee Robert Byrd, who had an abysmal night ? was able to wrestle Kovalev around the ring, keep the fight on the inside and steer clear of Kovalev?s biggest power shots.
?Sergey,? Ward said, ?has no inside game.?
Kovalev walks away a loser, but really: Is he? Duva says Kovalev will immediately exercise his rematch clause, guaranteeing him another big fight, another sizeable payday. A Kovalev win might have sent Ward fleeing back down to 168 pounds, to a matchup with James DeGale or Badou Jack, to waiting for middleweight king Gennady Golovkin to grow into the super middleweight division. Instead, Ward will remain at 175, and will likely face Kovalev again next year. Duva says the only way a rematch isn?t immediate is if both sides agree it won?t.
For years Kovalev has craved high-profile opponents and now he has one of the biggest names in boxing standing in front of him. Ward will rise in the pound-for-pound rankings, possibly to the top, and Kovalev will have the ability to burnish his r?sum? against one of the best of this era.
And the next fight should be bigger. Kovalev-Ward was the biggest fight in boxing, but the results of the pay-per-view likely won?t reflect it. The promotion was a debacle, marred by public spats between the promoters, Roc Nation and Main Events, and Ward?s resistance to extend himself to promote the fight. Jay-Z, the head of Roc Nation, was invisible this week, while promoters struggled to connect the best against the best narrative to the mainstream fan base. Officials cringed at the way the fight was trending on Saturday, with the expectation that it will fall well below 200,000 buys.
This was a good fight, a close fight, and a rematch needs to happen, quickly. Neither fighter has an appealing alternative; Adonis Stevenson continues to publicly clamor for a fight against Kovalev or Ward, but he has never been willing to back it up. There is momentum for a Kovalev-Ward rematch, and promoters would be wise not to blow it.
As Kovalev left the ring on Saturday, he crossed paths with Ward in the corner. He tapped Ward on the chest, and Ward acknowledged with a nod and a ?Thank you, man.? After years of opponents running away from him, Kovalev now has one of the best right in front of him. He left the ring a loser, but his best, or at least his biggest, days are in front of him.
