Andre Ward sure is a talented boxer, but he sure can turn in a boring fight. Last night’s almost pointless 12-rounder with a totally outclassed Alexander Brand has received some of the worst reviews in recent memory, with a number of experts calling the dreadfully dull shut-out win for Ward one of the worst fights ever televised on HBO. Ward cruised to the lopsided win, content to win each round in pretty much the same manner he had won the previous three minutes.
At least we can now look forward to an exciting fight between Ward, 30-0(15) and reigning light-heavyweight king Sergey Kovalev, 30-0-1(26) – or can we? The two are set to meet in a pay-per-view event on November 19, but will the fight be worth paying for? Let’s face it, if the fight does prove exciting it will be down to Kovalev. Ward, as skilled as he is, hasn’t looked anything approaching exciting for a long, long time. You have to go back to the 32-year-old’s super-middleweight days to find Ward in a fan-friendly fight.
Kovalev wasn’t exactly involved in a thrilling fight in his own final rehearsal for the Ward fight, when he struggled a little in claiming a wide points win over Isaac Chilemba back on July 11. Chilemba was able to frustrate Kovalev and the fear amongst fight fans is that Ward will adopt such negative, but effective, tactics against the Russian puncher in November. If this is the case, will “Krusher” be able to do anything about it? Gun to the head time: can you possibly pick anything other than a Ward points win?
Kovalev will be the hardest puncher Ward has ever faced, but will Kovalev be able to hit Ward? The upcoming fight will see Kovalev’s offence pitted against Ward’s defence. Which wins? I’ve got to go for Ward. Whether or not it’s a memorable victory remains to be seen. It was tough to gauge much from Ward’s win last night. Has he slipped at all at age 32? There are no real signs of it. Kovalev is confident going into the fight, but he has stated how he expects a “tricky” fight from Ward.
That much is certain. Let’s just hope those fans who do risk it by buying the pay-per-view get something good for their money.