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Sad affair saturday night at Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. Expectations were high. Fans hoped for a classic matchup. What they got was an attempted mugging and resulting robbery. To call Andre Ward’s efforts scientific would be ill-judged, which is what happened with the decision in Ward’s favor.
One simple way to tell who won the fight is to look at each fighter’s face. Andre Ward’s was red, lumpy and swollen. The Krusher’s face was relatively unmarked.
There were plenty of boxing greats in Las Vegas last night to attend the big Sergey Kovalev-Andre Ward fight, with big names from past and present on hand to watch the light-heavyweight title showdown. One of these great fighters was living legend Julio Cesar Chavez, the greatest Mexican fighter in history according to most experts and fans alike.
And while he was in town, the former multi-weight king was asked – and not for the first time – how he felt he would have done, in his prime, in a fight with 49-0 master Floyd Mayweather Junior. Chavez, who twice defeated Floyd’s uncle and trainer Roger, smiled as he told Fight Hype how, at 140-pounds, he would have “F****d him up.”
In front of a packed house at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and live on HBO Pay-Per-View, Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (31-0, 15 KOs)* won a close unanimous decision victory over Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) to steal the WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Titles in a decision that most ringside media thought went the wrong way.
Both fighters were feeling each other out in the first two rounds. The Krusher continued his come-forward attack and knocked Andre down in the second. Ward managed to get up quickly and took several hard shots from Sergey before the bell rang to end the second round. The next several rounds included heavy shots from both fighters and some wrestling-style moments. The majority of the rounds were hard-fought and close. Many writers had the decision going to the other way but all three judges scored the bout 114-113 in favor of Ward.
Former undisputed heavyweight king Lennox Lewis says that although the current heavyweight division is “wide open,” Wladimir Klitschko remains the man to beat. Speaking with The New Zealand Herald, Lewis said that with Tyson Fury unable to fight (for well-documented reasons we all know about) Klitschko is “still the man to beat right now.”
Lewis, who of course called it quits on a great career after a win over Wladimir’s brother Vitali, says he “feels bad” for Klitschko, who is unable to try and avenge his decision loss to the troubled Fury.
Anyone who has followed the course of Marco Huck’s dozen year, fourty-four bout boxing career is likely to say a couple of things about him as a fighter.
The first thing that can be said is that his style isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing to watch. In fact, I’m being charitable when I write that. Huck’s approach to fighting isn’t pretty at all. It’s actually quite the opposite. This is a fighter who often lunges in awkwardly with rainbow right hands and wide volleys of hooks, and who spends a lot of time grappling and mauling opponents in close, all the while clubbing them with whatever hand might be free at the time. He’s an unorthodox and occasionally crude brawler who doesn’t seem particularly concerned about the rules at any given point, or about where his punches might make contact on his foe’s person. Really, to say Huck (40-3-1, 27 KO’s) isn’t at all pretty is probably understating matters. To refer to his style as being “bowling shoe ugly” is much better way of describing him in action.
Last night in his native London, super-middleweight contender George Groves pounded out a wide 12-round unanimous decision over an incredibly tough and game Eduard Gutknecht. Scores were 119-109 twice and 119-110. Groves is now 25-3(18). Gutknecht, really a light-heavyweight, falls to 30-5-1(13).
The unfortunate aftermath to the fight is the most important thing right now, however. The German, who really shipped some heavy shots from Groves, collapsed in his dressing room shortly after the brutal and one-sided fight had ended. BBC Sport reports how the 34-year-old was taken to hospital on a stretcher. At this time, the only thing that matters is the health and well-being of Gutknecht.
IBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (40-3-1, 27 KOs) defeated Dmytro Kucher (24-2-1, 18 KOs) by a tougher than expected 12 round unanimous decision on Saturday night in front of a large crowd of Huck supporters at the TUI Arena in Hanover, Germany. Huck took a lot of shots in the process of winning the fight against the 32-year-old Kucher, but he did more than enough to get the decision. Despite winning, Huck looked pretty shot and over-the-hill to me. Huck was always a badly flawed fighter from the get go, but he looked just awful tonight. I think age and the negative effects of ring wear is starting to rear its ugly head with Huck. If I’m Huck’s management, I’m thinking cash out right about now.
In a true crossroads fight featuring longtime welterweight contenders, Pablo “El Demoledor” Cesar Cano (30-5-1, 21 KOs) pulled out a split-decision victory over Mauricio “El Maestro” Herrera (22-7, 7 KOs) in an exciting 10-round battle at Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino on Estella TV’s Boxeo Estelar.
VIP guests for the stacked card included Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya, Former Five-Time World Champion Vinny Paz, Mexican Actor and Model Gabriel Soto, Jesus “Renuente” Soto Karass, Angel Bojado, Vergil Ortiz Jr., Joseph “Diamante” Aguirre, and Luis Coria.
Although he is retired (although it’s apparent few truly believe he is) superstar Floyd Mayweather Junior continues to make the news on a regular basis. Now a promoter, the 39-year-old all time great recently closed the door with a slam on a rematch with Manny Pacquiao; a pointless and unneeded return in the opinion of not only Mayweather but all those fans who have not forgotten how one-sided, and dull, the May 2015 fight was.
And it was while talking about how happy he is as a promoter and how content he is with how his career played out (49-0 of course) that “Money” explained just why he became the smart defensive fighter he is best known – for good or for bad- for being. There was a time when Mayweather, when he was known as “Pretty Boy,” delivered plenty of pretty knockout wins/stoppages (see his destruction of Diego Corrales, and of Arturo Gatti).
Tonight, fans around the globe will tune in to what could very well go down as the “Fight of the Year” when American Gold Medalist, Andre Ward (30-0, 15KO’s) takes on Russian Sergey Kovalev (30-0, 26KO’s). 60 victories and no defeats between these two shining stars, although at the end of the night, one of them will face an element of the sport they’ve never quite been a part of. That element? The agony of defeat! As we prepare for this showdown, we take a look at Keys to Victory, Four to Explore, and an Official Prediction: