Kovalev brings fury into Ward rematch
Light heavyweight aims to recapture three belts
Not a soul alive can convince Sergey Kovalev that those three light heavyweight belts in the possession of Andre Ward belong to anyone but him.
Besides, who would want to try to convince a guy nicknamed “Krusher” that he lost his belts and the first fight of his pro career fair and square? The former champion reluctantly parted with the WBA, WBO and IBF belts Nov. 19 when Ward won a controversial but unanimous decision at T-Mobile Arena.
The three ringside judges all scored it 114-113 for Ward despite the fact that Kovalev scored the only knockdown in the second round. USA TODAY Sports scored it 115112 for Kovalev.
Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) has fumed ever since, blaming the scores on his being a Russian “guest” in the USA and Ward being an American Olympian.
All he knows is he desperately needs those belts back. Saturday, he will get the opportunity when the old champ and new champ meet in a highly charged rematch at Mandalay Bay Events Center (HBO pay-per-view, 9 p.m. ET). Kovalev said he plans to take it out of the judges’ hands by knocking out Ward.
“If my preparation is good, I will knock him out. If not, then my preparation is not very good,” Kovalev told USA TODAY Sports by phone recently. “I must get back my belts and punish him, because he’s right now walking around with my belts as a gift from the judges.”
Kovalev has reconciled the outcome by refusing to accept he lost and by thinking he opened the door for Ward by overtraining, which is why Ward appeared to be stronger in the second half of the fight.
“First, I don’t feel like I lost the fight. Second, I gave him a chance to get that win because of my preparation for the bout,” Kovalev said through manager and inter- preter Egis Klimas. “And the third is, I would rather lose like I lost than to win like he won.”
Ward, 33, a former super middleweight champion who has not lost a fight since he was 12, calls Kovalev’s complaints just another bully tactic.
“He’s a front-runner. He wants things to go his way, and as soon as they don’t, as soon as things turn left, the fingers start getting pointed at everybody but himself,” Ward (31-0, 15 KOs) told USA TODAY Sports.
“The only problem with that is, when you don’t point that finger at yourself, you don’t get better. You don’t grow from the experience, you don’t get any better because the lights were too bright, the ring was too soft, I had to walk first to the ring. It’s always something. ... The amount of excuses this man has come up with since the first fight is unbelievable.”
As angry as Kovalev was with the scoring, he appeared calm in the ring after Michael Buffer announced, “And the NEW ...”
“I was quiet because I was empty. I had no emotions, no energy to do something,” Kovalev said. “I was empty, and I was just killed by (the) decision. I couldn’t change something. ... I thought, when will be the rematch?”
Kovalev, 34, pointed a finger at least partially at himself for not being able to finish Ward after he knocked him down, then running out of steam late in the fight. He says he overtrained.
“I ran a lot. ... I did three workouts a day. I overtrained because I had a conditioning coach (who) was scared to say something to me. ... He thought if he said to me I would dispute his comment or not pay him money. He is crazy. I was confused myself. ... I said to him bye-bye.”
Asked about the intense dislike that has been building between him and Ward, Kovalev said, “First of all, opponents don’t have to like each other or love each other or have some kind of sympathy (for each other). Second, I really don’t like him, and I’m not going to explain to you why. To me, he’s just like an empty place. He’s nobody.
“I just want to prove to him, to myself and especially to his team to watch him. He’s going to be sleeping on the floor on June 17.”