Kovalev vs. Ward II. Does Sergey risk losing another local decision?

BoxingNews24.com

By Gerardo Granados: It is said that the challenger must take the title off the Champion, but in their first meeting, the then defending light heavyweight WBA-IBF-WBO Champion Sergey Kovalev did more than enough to beat the challenger Andre Ward but still end up losing all of his belts. Maybe the reader can recall Ward face before the official scorecards were announced, Ward face expression told the story of a beaten boxer, but then when he heard himself as the winner his face changed to a surprised smiley face.

Against Kovalev, referee Robert Byrd allowed Ward many dirty tactics and also a constant systematic clinching, but Byrd is not the first referee to do so thru Ward´s boxing career. If you review Ward fight against Mikkel Kessler you can count up to 88 clinches started by Ward, without referee Jack Reiss have taken a point off and even less disqualify Ward.

Referee Steve Smoger allowed pretty much the same when Ward fought against Carl Froch. There is no such thing as to “tie up an opponent or use tactical clinching”, no, no, no, it is to foul to clinch-hug to negate the opponent to work on the inside, it’s on the damn rules and it is not up to debate to enforce the rules.

I don’t think that referee Tony Weeks is really strict to warn, deduct a point and even less to disqualify a boxer when a constant, systematic clinching occurs, but next Saturday we will find out how really strict he is about it.

The scorecards in the first fight were 114-113 x3, I disagree with such scoring but that’s only my take on the subject and the readers must have a better opinion to decide if the scores were correct or not. But as for me, this was one of those times that a so-called local decision took place and I am certain that if Kovalev was American born that then there had been no way he had lost that night.

The problem for Kovalev might be that once again he is the visitor team. Once again he will have three judges from the US and none from Russia, if Kovalev´s team did not demand three neutral judges for the rematch, at least should have demanded one judge per nation and one neutral, so they better not complain if the scoring doesn’t favor him. Anyways, I don’t suspect of any wrong doing but at times it is better to be clear as water to avoid any suspicion.

The first one wasn’t a barn burner so I don’t expect that this one will be an epic battle; instead, I expect a close competitive boxing chess match but for sure hope that I am totally wrong. I guess that Andre will box smart, move, jab, clinch, hug, shut off rounds and score points, be patient and for sure wait for openings to counter with hard punches. I think Ward can make Kovalev respect his power but if Andre makes a mistake he can end in the canvas just as in the first fight.

I think that Kovalev should avoid fighting at close range and instead stay at mid-long range to avoid being constantly clinched and allow Ward to shut off time from each round. Sergey should fight behind his jab, use it as much as he can, jab double jab up and to the body. Kovalev must avoid becoming predictable on his offense and also impose a high pace on the fight. Sergey better be able to cut off the ring on Ward, who now is the Champion and for sure knows that he might only need to box, move and score points to once again win on the scorecards, so Kovalev better not give up the first rounds or risk end up trying to rally late to win the fight.

I believed that once Kovalev had fallen into Ward dirty tactics that he lost his focus and ended losing dominance in the second half of their first fight. But a friend of mine told me that Kovalev gassed in the second half and I think that my friend must be correct in his appreciation. As I have recently seen an interview in which Kovalev states that he fought on an empty tank against Ward; that Sergey had over trained.

Well if that was the case, then I hope that next Saturday both fine sons of boxing to be fit at the peak of their powers. And as Antonio Tarver once said to Roy Jones Jr “you got any excuses tonight, Roy?” that this time there will be no excuses and also that we won’t have the need to go to the scorecards in this rematch.

I think that once again Kovalev risks himself losing a local decision, but how about the readers, do you agree?