Andre Ward will never sell tickets like Floyd Mayweather but he belatedly gave some credence to those old comparisons with a career-defining yet controversial victory over Sergey Kovalev in Las Vegas.
Ward, the former unified super middleweight champion, now holds the WBO, IBF and WBA titles in the light heavyweight division, as all three ringside judges saw it 114-113 in his favour at the TMobile Arena on Saturday night.
The American was completely outgunned in the first half of the fight and tasted the canvas for only the second time in his career in the second session. Yet, as is his trademark, Ward made the necessary adjustments to gain the upper hand in the latter stages.
Whether that was actually enough to dethrone the reigning champion has divided opinion, with many scoring in favour of Kovalev, who was left disgusted by what he labelled a hometown decision.
The Russian has a rematch clause and his team are determined to exercise it.
“It’s the wrong decision,” said Kovalev, 32-30-1-1 (28KO), to a chorus of boos from a partisan American crowd. “The witnesses are here. They saw it. It’s my job. It was the fight of my life. I am disappointed in the judges’ decision.
“Ward got maybe a few rounds. I agree with that. I kept control. I lost maybe three rounds in the whole fight. It is the USA and all the judges were from the USA. It’s a sport. Don’t make it politics. Of course, I want a rematch, and I will kick his a**.”
Ward, now 31-0 (15KO), denied he was surprised by the verdict, even though his look of astonishment told a different story.
He said: “I was not surprised. I don’t know where you got that from. I know it was a close fight. The crowd, you can hear they thought I won. Kovalev did everything I expected him to do. My coach (Virgil Hunter) did a great job.”
What neither Ward or Hunter would have expected was for him to be sent sprawling to the deck early on. But after claiming the opener, a visibly bigger Kovalev crowned his dominance by flooring Ward with a short straight right in the second.
Indeed, it was hard to give the increasingly-bullied home fighter a sniff before the halfway point. To his huge credit, though, he adapted to the challenge and took away Kovalev’s long-range weapons, closing the gap in rounds seven, eight and nine and landing the cleaner shots.
They were difficult sessions to score but the judges were clearly sold. Only one, Burt Clements, saw fit to give Kovalev a single round after the sixth.
The Russian will feel aggrieved and it will be an injustice if he isn’t afforded the opportunity to reclaim his titles. For now, they belong to Ward, who mustn’t slip into obscurity as he has done before in the wake of a notable triumph.
With Mayweather officially retired, this was billed as a face-off to decide who should replace him at the pinnacle of boxing’s hypothetical pound-for-pound stakes. Ward was once heavily tipped as his compatriot’s rightful heir, but a crippling combination of non-existent promotion, his sullen persona and long spells of inaction had derailed his ascent.
The 32-year-old may never transcend into the mainstream. He may never even be popular within boxing, but he is a rare talent who, like Mayweather, leaves observers with mixed feelings. His skills are obvious, but most fans unashamedly crave action fights.
Ward’s style is like boxing’s equivalent to Catenaccio. He hasn’t lost since he was 12 years old for very good reason, but it isn’t always easy on the eye. Mayweather proved beyond doubt that with the right marketing, a safety-first style can sell, and it will be interesting to see if Ward can finally inject some momentum to his career.
A heavily promoted rematch against a vengeful Kovalev should provide the perfect start.
