CLEVELAND, Ohio — There is often hesitation when a fight receives overwhelming billing as the next great fight because the boxing public is often disappointed.
The fight often doesn’t live up to the hype.
Remember Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao?
Well the hype for Saturday night’s light heavyweight title bout between Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward has not had over-the-top promotion but it should have. This fight has all of the makings of a great bout because of the different styles (hard puncher in Kovalev and counter puncher in Ward) that usually produces a classic bout.
Kovalev enters the ring with three titles (WBA, WBO and IBF) and a demolition of the light heavyweight division with 26 knockouts in 31 fights. The only mark against his record is a draw in 2011 when the fight was stopped because Kovalev’s opponent couldn’t continue due to an accidental foul.
Ward (30-0, 15 knockouts) is the last American male to win an Olympic gold in boxing (2004 in Greece) and he has not lost a bout since he was 12. Ward has gone through the ranks as a Super middleweight champion. He moved up to light heavyweight earlier this year and hasn’t missed a beat with easy victories.
Which brings us to Saturday’s showdown in Las Vegas. Ward has respectable power although not enough to exchange with Kovalev. But Ward’s inside game will neutralize Kovalev’s power and will make the difference. A Ward victory is not considered a major upset, but Ward stopping Kovalev in the late rounds will be.
Ward’s inside combinations and ring presence will dictate the fight.
I predict the referee will stop the fight in round 10 in favor of Ward by TKO in a classic bout.
