LAS VEGAS - Whatever doubts there were after Andre Ward was handed a highly controversial unanimous decision and three light heavyweight world title belts following his November showdown against Sergey Kovalev, there were none on Saturday night.
HBO will replay the fight next Saturday, Jun. 24 beginning at 10 p.m. ET.
"I don't know. I can't explain it", Kovalev said about the end of the fight. "And you get prepared". You can't chalk this win up to low blows. We don't want to hear about anything.
"He's a good fighter, and I have nothing but respect for him", he said. I always have the pressure on my side - no matter if I'm the challenger or the champion.
Let us know your predictions in the comment section below. Ward got into a rhythm. June 17. It's about business, so I did what I had to do the first time.
'It wasn't like he was hurt to the point where you had to stop the fight. That's what all the greats do. Everything else will take care of itself.
"Honestly, if you look at it, Sergey is not going to have to do much more than what he did because he proved to the fans in the first half of the fight that he can win it at Ward's own game", said trainer John David Jackson. We responded like we were supposed to.
(AP Photo/John Locher). Andre Ward, center, poses for photographers during a news conference Thursday, June 15, 2017, in Las Vegas. With his opponent reeling, Ward went on the assault and threw the kitchen sink at his foe.
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What was perhaps unusual was Saudi Arabian referee Fahad Al Mirdasi pulled the game back a couple of minutes after the incident for it to be reviewed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
Andre Ward landed a clean counter right hand to the chin of Kovalev which had the boxer nicknamed "Krusher" visibly shaken.
"I felt like I was up, I don't know by how many, but a championship fight really starts at the end of six rounds", Ward said. "I'm 13 years in and I've been doing it against the best". Some people thought I won, some people thought I lost. It's nothing to get defensive about. If it's not this, it's that. I got off to a better start.
"Only a low blow [hurt me]". People are entitled to their opinions. So I just have to keep my head down and keep working. The fight seemed to be going the way of Ward, the superior athlete, the better conditioned athlete, the unflappable presence.
"I am planning to put on a show". This has been a great year for boxing and they've gotten nearly every fight they could want.
'Guys get hurt in fights. However the beef has continued to build up, with issues like racism and revenge clouding the air between the two boxers. And they laughed at me.
"I'm not averse to getting hit", Ward said. I want to say to Team Ward - they've said a lot of trash to my side, my team. "When I hit him he was acting like I hit him low".
"I was empty one month before the November fight". Ward's powerful forehand seriously shook Kovalev, who had a panicky step back in the hope to endure till the Gong at the break. I had Kovalev up by one. Howard Lederman of HBO, Dan Rafael of ESPN and the Associated Press were just a few that scored the fight clearly for Kovalev.
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