Manny Pacquiao to Defend WBO Welterweight Title in “Battle of Brisbane” Live and Exclusively on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, Saturday, July 1 at 10 p.m. ET
· ESPN to Televise Pacquiao’s First Non-PPV Fight Since September 2005
· Pacquiao, Going for His 60th Career Win, Faces Australia’s Undefeated No. 1 World-Rated Contender Jeff Horn
SHOWTIME Sports will offer a live stream as Adrien Broner and Mikey Garcia go face-to-face for the first time at a New York City press conference on Monday to officially announce their blockbuster showdown on Saturday, July 29, live on SHOWTIME. The stream will be available for media and online outlets to embed via the SHO Sports YouTube channel.
It’s all about Andre Ward right now, with the unbeaten, unified light-heavyweight king under the spotlight in one huge way. Talk is probably just getting going regarding the low blow controversy, while the debate as to whether or not Ward, with his stoppage win over the previously unstopped Kovalev, is deserving of the top spot on the pound-for-pound charts, is also a hot topic.
The worst type of body shots land below the belt. A good body shot always hurts even when it’s legal and it hurts worse and longer than the usual head bang. Head punch KOs that cause unconsciousness are not perceived as very painful, if at all, while body shots keep the recipient awake and provide clean unobscured pain.
The highly anticipated rematch between undefeated unified WBA/IBF/WBO light heavyweight world champion Andre Ward and former champion Sergey Kovalev did not fail to live up to expectations. The two pound for pound elites battled a second time for pound for pound supremacy in a back and forth fight which again brought out the best of both fighters. In their first bout, Ward was awarded a controversial unanimous decision where most observers believed Kovalev had done enough to win. This time, Andre Ward left no doubt as to who the better fighter was, and he won via eighth round stoppage in another terrific fight.
Last night’s big card in Las Vegas seems destined to go down as one of the most controversial boxing events in many a year. We all know what happened in the main event rematch between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev – with the low blows thrown and landed by Ward infuriating Team-Kovalev.
But if that wasn’t enough (and it sure was), the chief supporting bout was also covered in controversy – even if far less people are talking about what happened in the Guillermo Rigondeaux-Moises Flores super-bantamweight title fight.
It seems that controversy, of one kind or another, is always going to rear its head when light-heavyweights Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev fight. Twice now the two top 175-pounders have met, with Ward winning on both occasions, yet fans everywhere are still debating over who is the better fighter of the two.
Chapter two of Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev vs. Andre “S.O.G.” Ward drama ended in another controversial loss for Kovalev. The referee waived off Kovalev after he struggled to recover from several consecutive low blows from Ward that the official failed to call. Sergey remained on his feet throughout the exchange but nevertheless the referee called a halt to the action at 2:29 of the eighth round.
Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev 2: “The Rematch” took place on Saturday, June 17 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The championship event, presented by Corona Extra, was produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®.
Below you can find all of the fight results and fighter quotes:
In another fight that can be called a total robbery, IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Andre “SOG” Ward (32-0, 16 KOs) was given credit for an 8th round knockout after he hit Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-2-1, 26 KOs) with 3 successive low blows while he was trapped against the ropes at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.