Ward-Kovalev II & Pacquiao-Horn – News

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By Allan Fox: When IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Andre “SOG” Ward (31-0, 15 KOs) and challenger Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) get inside the ring on June 17, they’ll be fighting for the Ring Magazine 175 lb. title, as well as all of Ward’s 3 title belts. The Ward-Kovalev 2 fight will be televised on HBO PPV from the Mandalay Bay Events Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The news was revealed today that Ward-Kovalev will have the Ring light heavyweight title up for grabs. It’s kind of a no brainer though, because this fight matches 2 of the best fighters in the 175 lb. division today. Some boxing fans might include Adonis Stevenson and Artur Beterbiev into that mix, but neither of them have fought a high stakes match-up like the Ward-Kovalev 2 fight as of yet. Ward is No.1 and Kovalev No.2 with Ring Magazine in their rankings for the 175lb division at this present time.

Ward beat Kovalev by a 12 round unanimous decision 5 months ago on November 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The judges scored it 114-113, 114-113 and 114-113. The reason for the rematch was because Kovalev had a rematch clause. It’s unclear whether Ward would have given Kovalev a rematch if not for the rematch clause.

Ring Magazine feels that the Ward vs. Kovalev rematch is a big enough one to have their Ring 175 lb. title up for grabs. The previous title holder for Ring Magazine was Adonis Stevenson, who lost the belt 2 years ago in 2015 due to his opposition not being high level enough for the organization.

What makes the Ward-Kovalev 2 fight even more compelling is the pound-for-pound rankings by Ring. Ward is No.1 in the Ring’s pound for pound ratings and Kovalev at No.2 Presumably the winner of the rematch between Ward and Kovalev will be installed as the new No.1 pound for pound fighter with Ring magazine. That doesn’t mean they’re going to stay at that position for any length of time. Vasyl Lomachenko and Gennady Golovkin are right on the heels of Ward and Kovalev. One of them could easily take the spot with a big win and a great performance. It will likely take a win over a big name for one of them to move past Ward and Kovalev to take the No.1 position.

There’s a great of controversy involved with Ward being installed as Ring Magazine’s No.1 pound for pound fighter in boxing. Ring didn’t place Ward at the No.1 spot after his questionable win over Kovalev last November, and it’s understandable why. However, after the previous #1 Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez lost a 12 round majority decision to Srisaket So Rungvisai on March 18, Ring Magazine then moved him off the No.1 pound for pound spot and placed Ward there. Many boxing fans felt that Lomachenko should have been placed at the top spot because his last win wasn’t a controversial one like Ward’s victory was. Having Ward at the top spot in Ring ratings is a confusing move by Ring organization. Ward’s performance in the Kovalev fight was not the type of performance you would think is deserving of the No.1 pound for pound spot. Ward did a lot of holding and wrestling in the fight, and he frequently got the worst of it when the two were exchanging punches.

“It doesn’t get much bigger than this. The winner of this fight certainly will be worthy of being a RING champion,” said Michael Rosenthal, editor-in-chief of THE RING Magazine.

To increase in the Ward-Kovalev fight, the 2 fighters will take part in a big 3-city press tour starting this Monday on April 10 in New York. Ward and Kovalev will talk to the boxing media about their upcoming fight, which is titled Ward vs. Kovalev 2: “The Rematch.” It’s unclear what happened with the other name that was being used for the Ward-Kovalev rematch, “No Excuses.” I thought that was a name that favored Ward, as he felt that was excuses made by Kovalev after he lost last November. “The Rematch” sounds like a more fitting title for the Ward-Kovalev fight.

The second city of the upcoming Ward vs. Kovalev 2 press tour will be on Tuesday, April 11 in Oakland, California. This is Ward’s hometown. Oakland is next door to San Francisco. The final stop for the Ward-Kovalev press tour will be on Wednesday, April 12 in Los Angeles, California.

Manny Pacquiao signs for Jeff Horn fight

The much talked about fight between WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and the No.2 rated WBO challenger Jeff Horn is now a done deal for July 2 at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. The 38-year-old Pacquiao has signed the contract for the fight. Horn, 29, already signed his part of the contract. The fight will be in Horn’s hometown. His management was able to swing the deal to have the fight staged in his country. With the last remaining fights of Pacquiao’s career, it appears that his promoter Bob Arum will have him traveling the world. It’s predicted by many boxing fans that Arum will have Pacquiao fight Terence Crawford in his next fight if he gets past Horn on July 2. The Crawford fight could be the last one of Pacquiao’s career if he loses.

Pacquiao will begin preparation for the Horn fight next month in May. Pacquiao-Horn is not a popular match-up with many boxing fans. Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum doesn’t appear to be listening to the critics or taking advice in who his Filipino star should fight. If Arum was listening to the fans, he wouldn’t have made the Horn fight because there hasn’t been any interest from the boxing public in this match-up. That’s nothing new. Few fans were interested in seeing Pacquiao face Jessie Vargas last September and Tim Bradley last year.

The fans wanted to see Pacquiao fight guys like Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Adrien Broner and Amir Khan. There’s a small chance that Arum could match Pacquiao against Khan or Broner later this year. If I was a betting man, I’d say it’s more likely that Pacquiao will face Crawford in November if he’s still fighting. Crawford is one of Arum’s fighters. Arum wants to make that fight.

“Senator Manny (Pacquiao) already signed the contract early this week,” Pacquiao’s media relations officer Aquiles Zonio told The Manila Times. “Mike Koncz (Pacquiao’s adviser) already informed me that Manny has signed [the contract]. The official training will start in the first week of May and it’s going to be here in Manila because there are still sessions at the Senate.”

Pacquiao-Horn will be seen by a lot of boxing fans at the Suncorp Stadium. It seats 52,000, and it’s expected to be filled on July 2. However, most of the fans will be rooting for Horn. That puts Pacquiao in a tough situation where he’ll be fighting in front of a potentially hostile crowd. That’s not exactly the best way for a mega-star like Pacquiao to be finishing out his career. Arum is putting Pacquiao in a tough situation. If the fight goes to a decision, it could be tough on Pacquiao if he doesn’t win the rounds decisively.

Horn is different from the other top fighters in the welterweight division. There’s no one to compare him to in the division. He’s got some power, size, and he’s good defensively. Horn fought in the 2012 Olympics for Australia. As a pro, he’s been fighting the normal starter level opposition that you see with fighters beginning their boxing careers. Arum is giving Horn a real boost in his career by letting him fight Pacquiao without him being a well-known fighter. It’s a plus for Horn. This move could back fire on Pacquiao agreeing to take the fight if he loses.