Andre Ward beats Sergey Kovalev – Results

11/20/201611/20/2016 by Boxing News

By Allan Fox: Andre Ward (31-0, 15 KOs) had to get up off the deck to win a very controversial 12 round unanimous decision over IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) on Saturday night on HBO pay-per-view at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kovalev dropped Ward hard in the 2nd round with a left-right combination. After the knockdown, Ward turned the fight into one prolonged wrestling match for the next 10 rounds. It was incredibly boring to watch the fight from that point on. Kovalev was up against it even before the fight started, as it was clearly a pro-Ward crowed. Kovalev was loudly booed by the fans during the undercard fights whenever he was shown in the dressing room by the HBO film crew.

Watch Live! Kovalev vs. Ward Preliminary Bouts

11/19/201611/19/2016 by Boxing News

https://youtu.be/COenKeQhEa8

Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Corona Extra, Monster Products, JetLux, Zappos, Jordan Brand and Shoe Palace. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are available on axs.com and the T-Mobile Arena box office.

Kovalev vs. Ward: The rise of the true champion

11/19/2016 by Michael Vena

By Yannis Mihanos: Light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward will be battling tonight on HBO pay-per-view. Grit, guts, iron will, hunger, these are some of the elements that a true champion has.

To be a champion you must face another champion, that’s one thing to consider. To be a true champion is slightly but significantly different. A true champion reacts different when under pressure.

is Andre Ward treated unfairly like Mayweather was?

11/19/2016 by matthias

By Matthias Predonzan: A large part of predictions, especially between journalists, for the fight between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev are in favor of the Russian fighter.
The old saying that a boxer always defeats a puncher, for some reason this time is not taken into consideration from the most of boxing reporters and commentators I have listened or red about.

There are three main reasons for this trend and if two them I find it quite reasonable, the third, honestly, I don’t understand it.

The first motivation is that Ward is moving up from super-middleweight, the weight class where he got his success through his career, into light-heavyweight, the category where Sergey Kovalev is an established champion.

Having said that, I think has to be considered that Ward is not fighting for the first time in the heavier weight class and also that Ward frame is basically the same as Kovalev. The two fighters share the same height and there is only one-inch reach in favor of Kovalev.

Purses: Kovalev $2M, Ward $5M

11/19/2016 by Boxing News

By Eric Baldwin: Andre Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) will be going into this Saturday’s fight as the challenger to IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs), but he’ll still be receiving the much bigger guaranteed purse for their fight on HBO pay-per-view at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ward will be making a purse of $5 million in guaranteed money compare to just $2 million for Kovalev, according to ESPN.com. Ward is getting almost three times the amount of Kovalev despite the fact that the Russian fighter is a three-belt world champion and Ward just the ring rusty challenger, who hasn’t done much in the sport since 2013.

Mayweather Sr. expects Ward to thrash Kovalev

11/19/2016 by Boxing News

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By Dan Ambrose: Trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. sees IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev getting a beating on Saturday night by Andre Ward in their fight on HBO PPV. Floyd Sr. expects Ward to pick Kovalev apart. When Floyd Sr. was reminded that Kovalev has already beaten a fighter very much like Ward in Bernard Hopkins in 2014, Floyd Sr. said they were not the same type of fighters. He went on to say that Ward will give Kovalev a beating.

Ward hasn’t given anyone a beating recently except for super middleweight Paul Smith, who Ward stopped in the 9th round last year. Smith was overweight and fighting outside of the 168lb division, where he’d been a fringe contender for a number of years. Ward has not given anyone beatings behind the hapless Smith and a weight-drained Chad Dawson four years ago in 2012. That was a different Dawson and a different Ward. That was a younger Ward going up against a less than stellar version of Dawson.

Intense Stare Down at Kovalev-Ward weigh-in

11/19/201611/18/2016 by Boxing News

By Michael Montero: A somewhat subdued atmosphere at today’s weigh ins for the Sergey Kovalev – Andre Ward card was broken up during an intense stare down between the main event combatants, which lasted well over 30 seconds before they were broken up. The pro Ward crowd that filled in to the MGM Grand Garden Arena for the afternoon festivities erupted with chants of “USA! USA! USA!” as both fighters appeared to gaze into one another’s souls, expressionless.

Sergey Kovalev vs. Andre Ward – Official Weights

11/18/2016 by Boxing News

By Jim Dower: IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) and Andre Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) both successfully weighed in on Friday for their fight this Saturday night on HBO pay-per-view from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Both Ward and Kovalev weighed in at the light heavyweight limit at 175 pounds.

Neither of them looked weight drained from having taken water weight off to get down to the 175lb limit. The face-off was a long one with both guys staring at each other until one of the team members stepped in to have them move apart.

Lewis gives Ward edge over Kovalev

11/18/2016 by Boxing News

By Scott Gilfoid: Former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis gives Andre Ward the slight edge over IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev on Saturday night. Lewis thinks Ward has to get off to a fast start against Kovalev, and to make sure he gets close to him so that he can get his shots off.

The closer the better for Ward, as he’s got a great inside game that he uses to dominate his opponents. Lewis sees Kovalev being tough on the outside where he can land his big power shots. That’s not good for Ward to let Kovalev stay outside. Ward needs to crowd Kovalev to keep him from getting his big shots off the way he likes to do.

Andre Ward slight favorite over Sergey Kovalev

11/18/2016 by Boxing News

By Allan Fox: The odds-makers have unbeaten Andre “SOG” Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) still as the slight favorite to beat IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) for their fight this Saturday night on HBO PPV. Ward isn’t enough of a favorite to be counted on to win the fight with any degree of certainty.

It’s pretty much a 50-50 fight. However, based on how the two fighters looked in their last fights, Ward is going to have a very tough time on Saturday night in handling Kovalev’s punching power, range and his high work rate. Kovalev throws more punches than Ward, and believe it or not, he moves better as well.