Sergey Kovalev vs Andre Ward 2 Rematch HD Video

June 17, 2017 Sergey Kovalev vs Andre Ward 2 Rematch at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
For the Following Titles:
WBA Super World light heavyweight title
IBF World light heavyweight title
WBO World light heavyweight title

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Andre Ward vs Sergey Kovalev The Rematch

Andre Ward netted another controversial win over Sergey Kovalev last night. The 33 year old won by TKO after serving the Russian a series of weakening hooks to the body in the 8th round.

The two boxers had been going head to head in a light heavyweight superfight in Mandalay Bay Events Center, Los Angeles. This had marked the second time Ward was fighting in Los Angeles. He fought and floored the very same Kovalev at the T-Mobile Arena in November last year. It was this previous fight that had birthed their Saturday night rematch.

A unification fight, the previous match had seen Kovalev lose his WBA, WBO, and IBF light heavyweight titles to the American. Ward had won the 12th round match after the three judges controversially awarded him a unanimous score of 114-113 at the end. Furthermore, he had even weathered a second round knockdown to emerge victorious against Kovalev in that unification bout.

A Rematch of the Year

Coming back to their top billed Rematch, it was in every essence a Rematch of the Year. It was a fight like no other with both pugilist walking in with an intention to get even with the other. Ward and Kovalev share one of the boxing world’s most noteworthy rivalries. They have both been out to be crowned the world’s number one pound for pound fighter. Additionally, their rivalry was heightened following the controversial results of the November 2016 fight.

Prior to his unification bout loss to the American, Kovalev had been unbeaten and was hailed as pound for pound’s top man. The loss against Ward not only robbed him of this status but also his three hard-earned championship belts. You can therefore only imagine how intent he could have been on settling scores with Ward yesternight.

Like Kovalev, Ward too had walked in eager to prove a point or more. Ward had earlier during press conferences expressed his disdain for Kovalev’s brashness and vowed to teach him a lesson. Aside from this, Ward was also likely to have been eager to answer critics who felt his previous win was undeserved.

How the fight went down

The Saturday night duel saw the two pugilists start on a seemingly even note. 34 year old Kovalev appeared to carry the early rounds with his well aimed punches. Things however began to shift as the fight entered its eighth round.

Ward kickstarted the eighth round with a left hook to the belt line of his opponent. He then dealt Kovalev a hard right to the chin that sent him wobbling towards the ropes. Having managed to corner his opponent, Ward next descended on Kovalev with a series of left hooks to the body. It was this trio of left hooks that put a change to everything. It left Kovalev in an excruciating pain which rendered him actionless.

Seeing Kovalev unable to defend himself against Ward’s shots, referee Tony Weeks stepped in to salvage the situation by forcing a stoppage in the 2:29 minute of the eighth round. This by no doubt meant that Ward (32-0, 16 KOs) had once again carried the night against the Russian. Ward’s score had been up one point on two judges’ cards and down three points on one judge’s by the time they were heading towards the eighth round.

Ward on his win

Following his win last night, Ward took time to give credit to Kovalev. He said that the Russian has been his most challenging opponent to date and that his mental preparedness played a huge part on his Saturday night win.

Asked about his boxing future, Ward teased that he could either be moving to cruiserweight or heavyweight. It remains to be seen what his next move will be.

Kovalev’s loss

The recent loss against Ward marks Kovalev’s second ever career loss. In spite of this defeat however, Kovalev (30-2-1, 26 KOs) still deserves some credit for his spirited fight against Ward last night. Statistics from CompuBox showed that Kovalev had outlanded Ward 95 to 80 in the rematch. They also showed that Kovalev had thrown 407 shots whereas Ward had thrown 238 shots. With such statistics, he still does remain a boxer to reckon with.