BOXING: Ward tops Kovalev for title

Andre Ward vowed he would leave no doubt this time around and he didn’t, stopping Sergey Kovalev in the eighth round Saturday night to win their light heavyweight title rematch in Las Vegas.

Ward turned the fight around with a big right hand that wobbled Kovalev, then swarmed all over him. Kovalev was in the neutral corner and Ward was landing shots to the body when Kovalev sat on the ring rope and referee Tony Weeks signaled an end to the bout at 2:29 of the eighth round.

Ward won the first fight in November, coming back from a second round knockdown to get a controversial decision.