Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev II

Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev II, billed as The Rematch,[2][3] was a boxing superfight for the unified WBA (Undisputed), WBO, IBF, and vacant The Ring magazine light heavyweight titles between the top-two best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Andre Ward won by an 8th round TKO.[4][5] The bout was held on June 17, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada and was televised on HBO Pay-per-view.[6][7][8]

The Rematch
DateJune 17, 2017
VenueMandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Title(s) on the lineWBA (Undisputed),[1] IBF, WBO, and vacant The Ring light heavyweight titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer Andre Ward Sergey Kovalev
Nickname S.O.G. Krusher
Hometown Oakland, California, U.S. Kopeysk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia
Pre-fight record 31–0 (15 KO) 30–1–1 (26 KO)
Age 33 34
Height 6 ft (183 cm) 6 ft (183 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg) 175 lb (79 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBA (Undisputed), IBF, and WBO light heavyweight champion
The Ring No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter
2-division world champion		 The Ring No. 2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter
Former unified light heavyweight champion
Result
Ward wins via 8th-round TKO

Background

Kovalev's manager Egis Klimas announced that negotiations had begun for the rematch between Ward and Kovalev. According to the NSAC, The T-Mobile Arena was put on hold for June 17, 2017 on HBO PPV.[9][10] On March 24, 2017 Kovalev revealed via Social Media that he had signed his end of the deal. It was also noted that the rematch would take place at the Mandalay Bay in Paradise, Nevada on HBO PPV.[11]

On April 4, 2017, Roc Nation Sports and Main Events confirmed that terms were agreed for the rematch to take place on HBO PPV. The fight being billed as "No Excuses". Ward addressed the public by stating, "I'm going to keep it short and sweet. You got what you asked for -- now you have to see me on June 17. This time leave the excuses at home." The Las Vegas Sun confirmed the bout will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.[12][13] The fight purses were revealed before the fight with Ward taking a guaranteed career-high $6.5 million and Kovalev, not having a base purse, would receive a percentage of PPV and gate revenue.[14]

The fight

In front of 10,592, The fight ended in the 8th round with a victory for Ward once again. A big right hand from Ward had Kovalev in trouble which was followed by several blows to the body. With Kovalev appearing hurt against ropes, the referee Tony Weeks stopped the fight. At the time of stoppage, two judges had Ward ahead 67-66, whilst the third judge had it 68-65 in favour of Kovalev. CompuBox stats showed that Ward landed 80 of 238 punches (34%) whilst Kovalev landed 95 of his 407 thrown (23%).[15]

Post-fight

Ward praised Kovalev in the post-fight interview, "He's a good fighter, and I have nothing but respect for him. First time around, the man is world champion, and he's been on top a long time. I give him credit. He is a great fighter, and when you fight great fighters, you have to raise your game." Kovalev said the fight could have continued, "I don't know. I can't explain it. Not every round, but I thought I was doing very good. I was better, and he was better this fight. I didn't feel like I was getting knocked down with his punches --- I could have continued," Kovalev said. "I didn't feel the punch. This is fighting. We are boxers. Yes, he did punch me, but he didn't hurt me. The fight should have continued."[16][17]

Viewership

According to Yahoo Sports, the fight only generated around 130,000 buys on HBO PPV.[18] The replay was shown on regular HBO averaging 752,000 viewers and peaked at 947,000, which was during the final round.[19]

The event produced a live gate of $2,187,340 from 6,366 tickets sold, including complimentary tickets, the full attendance was announced as 10,592. The venue was set up to hold 10,748.[20][21]

Fight card
Weight Class vs. Result Round
Light heavyweight United States Andre Ward (c) def. Russia Sergey Kovalev TKO 8
Super bantamweight Cuba Guillermo Rigondeaux (c) NC. Mexico Moises Flores
Light Heavyweight Russia Dmitry Bivol def. United States Cedric Agnew TKO 4
Middleweight United States Luís Arias def. Russia Arif Magomedov TKO 5
Featherweight United States Tramaine Williams def. United States Christopher Martin TKO 2

Press conferences

The fight had press conferences in three cities in the United States:[22]

See also

References
  1. Arias, Juan Francisco. "Ward-Kovalev measure force on Saturday". World Boxing Association. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  2. "Andre Ward set to defend title vs. Sergey Kovalev in June - ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  3. "Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev rematch set". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  4. "Ratings - The Ring". The Ring. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  5. "P4P | Transnational Boxing Rankings Board". www.tbrb.org. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  6. "Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev rematch set for June in Las Vegas". LA Times.
  7. "Andre Ward v Sergey Kovalev II set for June 17 in Las Vegas". World Boxing News.
  8. "Ward-Kovalev 2 set for June 17 in Vegas". Fightnews.com.
  9. "Ward vs. Kovalev Rematch Talks Finally Underway - For June 17? - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  10. "Duva and Roc Nation start talks for rematch of Ward-Kovalev June 17 - The Ring". The Ring. 2017-02-27. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  11. "Sergey Kovalev indicates he signed deal memo for Ward rematch - The Ring". The Ring. 2017-03-24. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
  12. "Ward agrees to give Kovalev rematch in June". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  13. "Andre Ward, Sergey Kovalev agree to rematch June 17 in Vegas". LasVegasSun.com. 2017-04-04. Archived from the original on 2017-04-06. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  14. "Andre Ward, Sergey Kovalev purses revealed". Boxing News and Views. 2017-06-16. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
  15. "Ward stops Kovalev by eighth-round TKO". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  16. "Ward vs Kovalev II: Andre Ward produces stunning stoppage win over Sergey Kovalev in rematch". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  17. "Andre Ward Stops Sergey Kovalev in Eight To Retain Belts - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  18. "Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev 2 Disappoints Greatly On PPV Buys". Fightful.com. 2017-07-01. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  19. "Ward-Kovalev Rematch Replay Peaked at 947K Viewers on HBO - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
  20. "Ward-Kovalev rematch underperforms at gate". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  21. "Ward-Kovalev Rematch: Paid Attendance Was Only 6,366 - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  22. "Ward-Kovalev set for 3-city press tour • Boxing News". Boxing News. 2017-04-07. Archived from the original on 2017-04-07. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
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