Tag: Andre WARD
Kovalev: ‘Why everybody thinks that I have a problem with the body shot?’
As his career winds down, WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev hopes to beat the cash cow in the sport of boxing when he battles unified middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on November 2 in Las Vegas.
While he is moving up two weight classes, Alvarez is the favorite in this fight, and part of the reason that he is the favorite is that many believe Kovalev is slowing down, but the last time we saw him, he was able to stop Anthony Yarde. However, before stopping Yarde, Kovalev was almost stopped himself in that fight, and like others, including Andre Ward, Yarde had a lot of success going to Kovalev’s body.
Even with the evidence, the 36-year-old Kovalev believes that his vulnerability to the body is a myth.
“Why everybody thinks that I have a problem with the body shot?” Kovalev said on a conference call on Tuesday. “Why? I never was attacked by body shot, you know.”
When reminded about the second fight with Ward(Kovalev stopped by body shots), Kovalev had this to say.
“Second fight Andre Ward was a low blow, low blow,” he said. “It wasn’t a punch to the body. Was a low blow. I said already like after the fight, it was a low blow.”
Of course, Kovalev is not going to admit that he issues dealing with body shots, but it’s clear that Kovalev does not like it to the body, and Canelo is a vicious body puncher. So, expect Alvarez to spend a lot of time going to Kovalev’s body on November 2, and if he can handle it, maybe Kovalev walks out of the ring still a champion.
Photo/courtesy: David Spagnolo/Main Events
Anthony Joshua: Mayweather, Ward don’t get the respect they deserve(VIDEO)
Floyd Mayweather and Andre Ward are all-time greats in the sport of boxing. Both fighters ended their careers undefeated, and both fighters ended their careers on top. Ward dominated the “Super Six Tournament” and defeated Sergey Kovalev twice, and Mayweather beat such great opponents like Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley, and Miguel Cotto.
While bother fighters were great, it seems that they don’t get the respect they deserve, so says unified heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua
“Look at Mayweather, he doesn’t get the respect that he deserves,” Joshua said on Wednesday at the press conference to promote his fight with Jarrell Miller. “Andre Ward, he doesn’t get the respect he deserves.”
You can nitpick and say that Ward was given a favorable decision against Sergey Kovalev, in their first fight, or Mayweather ducked fighters throughout his career or waited until fighters were past their prime, but in the end, both fighters were tremendous and they deserve the utmost respect for their accomplishments in the ring.
Right now, Joshua is trying to carve out a legacy for himself, and at this point, he is going to have to conquer America to make that happen, It starts June 1 when he battles Big Baby Miller at MSG.
Listen below as Joshua talks about getting respect in boxing:
Andre Ward on Fury: ‘I don’t think he can deal with Wilder'(VIDEO)
After defeating Francesco Pianeta last Saturday, it was announced that former lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury would battle WBC heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder. The fight will reportedly take place in America sometime in November or December.
While most fans would love for Wilder to fight Anthony Joshua, Wilder-Fury is a great alternative. Now, the question is who wins?
According to former Unified Light-heavyweight champion Andre Ward, Wilder gets it done:
“All man, Wilder,” Ward told Paul Gant. “Ain’t no fight easy, especially at that level, but Fury is going to make it interesting for sure. I don’t think he can deal with Wilder; Wilder has been fighting consistently, and he’s in a groove right now. Fury, he had some issues, and the two fights he just had is not going to prepare him for WIlder. It’s not going to do it.”
Listen below as Ward talks Wilder-Fury and whether we will see him make a return to boxing:
John David Jackson suggests that Kovalev may have a drinking problem(Video)
Trainer John David Jackson and Sergey Kovalev had a lot of success together, which included unifying three world titles at 175, but the relationship came apart after Kovalev’s second loss to Andre Ward back in 2017. After his split with Jackson, the 35-year-old Kovalev went on to win two straight fights with his new trainer Abror Tursunpulatov, before getting stopped by Eleider Alvarez in early August.
Many believe that those two fights with Ward ruined Kovalev, but according to his former trainer Jackson, Kovalev ruined himself.
“Sergey ruined Sergey. Andre(Ward) just finished the job,” Jackson said. “Listen, you can’t get mad when you got drunk in front of Andre and his trainers. They saw for themselves; he got drunk. You want to blame that on me? That was your fault. You let people know what you do outside of boxing. Whose fault is that? They capitalized on it. They knew that the body was weak.”
While Jackson did not directly say that Kovalev has a drinking issue, he did hint at it. When asked if he thought Kovalev had a problem with alcohol, Jackson had this to say:
“Do I think? Listen, I’m not going to go into what I’ve seen,” Jackson said. “If he wants to say he doesn’t have one, that’s fine. That’s his problem, that’s not mine. As far as boxing, he finished. Because now the aura of invincibility, it’s off. Everybody knows he’s beatable now, so he can kill that. Once he was a bully, he did his thing. Now they know what to do, he’s used goods; he’s done.”
At age 35, Kovalev could be done, but at this point, we have to wait and see.
Listen below as Jackson talks his time with Kovalev:
Photos from Ward-Kovalev II
Andre Ward has done it again. Ward retains his titles with a controversial stoppage of Sergey Kovalev in the eighth-round on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Here are a few photos from tonight’s action!
Courtesy: David Spagnolo/Main Events
Ward-Kovalev Final Press Conference: Kovalev storms off!(video)
Sergey Kovalev has had enough! No more talking for him! He is ready to fight Andre Ward on June 17.
Watch as Kovalev storms off the podium!
Good exchange between Main Event’s Kathy Duva and Ward’s trainer Virgil Hunter too!
Virgil Hunter on Andre Ward: ‘I told him that we’ll train for a knockout’
Andre Ward can’t wait for June 17. Many believed that Sergey Kovalev won the first fight between the two fighters. In the rematch, Ward wants to leave no doubt. Ward’s trainer Virgil Hunter did his best to make sure there is no doubt after this fight. They trained for a knockout!
“Me knowing Andre’s mindset and how he approaches things, I told him that we’ll train for a knockout. It doesn’t mean it’s going to come, but we’ll train for it. It’ll be quite evident in the fight,” Hunter said. “He’s going to get hit because you got to get hit to win and get knockouts. He’s been hit by Sergey and he described the punches just as I see the punches on TV, very sharp… not concussive but sharp. [A knockout] is a possibility. I’ve only trained Andre to purposefully knock out somebody twice – the first one was Chad [Dawson], the second one was this one. I never trained him to knock anybody out, but those two I did. Only twice have we changed strategy to stop somebody.”
Will Ward knockout Kovalev? We’ll see come Saturday night!
Andre Ward: ‘Now after this, we don’t want to hear any excuses’
LAS VEGAS, NV (June 13, 2017) – Unified Light Heavyweight World Champion Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (31-0, 15 KOs) and former titleholder Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) opened Fight Week Powered by Monster with their Grand Arrivals at Mizuya Lounge at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on Tuesday, June 13, ahead of their ultimate rematch on Saturday, June 17 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The championship event, presented by Corona Extra, will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Here is what Andre Ward had to say:
“I am looking forward to making a statement in this fight and answering any questions that may be out there and removing any doubt that may be out there, so I’m excited. You got to look at the other side of the coin, there’s a lot of people that thought I won the fight and he got what he asked for. Now after this, we don’t want to hear any excuses. We don’t want to hear about anything. We’re going to shut the door on this and, like I said, take all doubt and all questions off the table.
“In this sport, I have very little room for error. I always have the pressure on my side – no matter if I’m the challenger or the champion. But that’s OK because me and my team, we’ve learned how to deal with the pressure. We know how to deal with it. I come here looking forward to bringing back everything that I brought, including those belts. I’m excited. I can’t wait, we’re a couple days away. All of this talking is getting ready to be over. We’re getting ready for my favorite part, which is the fight. June 17. It’s about business, so I did what I had to do the first time. I’m looking to turn it up this time.
“The pressure is always on, man. It comes with my territory and it’s been like this since I’ve been a baby – 16 years old, 17 years old. You get to a point where you don’t run from the pressure, you embrace it. That’s what all the greats do. All I got to do is be myself and that will be enough. Everything else will take care of itself. At the highest level, you’re going to face adversity. It’s not if, it’s when. But the question is how do you respond? We responded like we were supposed to. I’m just looking forward to giving the fans another great fight in a few days here at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on June 17.
“A lot of people talk about the jab and the right hand. But if you look at the second part of the fight, he [Kovalev] wasn’t landing right hands and jabs. He had a good moment and he’s a really great fighter – I’m not taking anything away from him. That’s why I want to face the best, to be the best. Some people thought I won, some people thought I lost. So let’s do it again and that’s the beauty of rematches in this sport. It’s nothing to get defensive about. You just lace it up, do it again and we’ll see what happens.
“I got out of that business a long time ago – trying to prove people wrong – because it’s not an even playing field. I’ve shut guys out – 120-108; 120-107 on the scorecard – and I’ve literally heard grumblings about something. If it’s not this, it’s that. You get to a place where you mature as a man, you mature as an athlete, and you make the decision that ‘I’m going to live my life in the middle.’ I appreciate the praises, but I can’t get too high with those. And the criticisms – I can’t get too low with those. People are entitled to their opinions. Let me just keep doing me and that’s really the best place to be as an athlete.
“Tactically, I obviously want to have a better start and I’m going to have a better start. That’s really what got me in my hole – the start. I’m sure he’s made some adjustments and he’s going to come harder, but I’m ready. I’ve done everything I’m supposed to do. When you prepare the way you’re supposed to – and all the boxes are checked – it’s time to go to work. And I’m going to go to work, having fun and enjoying what I do, and put on a show in the process on June 17.”
Should be a great night of boxing on June 17!
