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Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev II

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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
Purse $6,500,000
Pre-fight record 31–0 (15 KO) 30–1–1 (26 KO)
Age 33 years, 3 months 34 years, 2 months
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) 6 ft 0 in (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/TBRB
No. 1 Ranked Light Heavyweight
The Ring No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter
2-division world champion		 WBO
No. 1 Ranked Light Heavyweight
WBA/IBF/The Ring/TBRB
No. 2 Ranked Light Heavyweight
The Ring No. 2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter
Former unified light heavyweight champion
Result
Ward wins via 8th-round TKO

Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev II, billed as The Rematch,[2][3] was a professional boxing match contested on June 17, 2017, for the unified WBA, IBF, WBO and vacant The Ring magazine light heavyweight championship.[4]

Andre Ward won by an 8th round TKO.[5][6] The bout was held in Las Vegas, Nevada and was televised on HBO Pay-per-view.[7][8][9]

Background

[edit]

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.[10][11] 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.[12]

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.[13][14] 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.[15]

Press conferences

[edit]

The fight had press conferences in three cities in the United States:[16]

The fight

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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 genital area. 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%).[17]

Aftermath

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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."[18][19]

On September 21, via his website, Ward announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 33. In a statement, he said, "I want to be clear – I am leaving because my body can no longer put up with the rigors of the sport and therefore my desire to fight is no longer there. If I cannot give my family, my team, and the fans everything that I have, then I should no longer be fighting."[20][21]

Viewership

[edit]

According to Yahoo Sports, the fight only generated around 130,000 buys on HBO PPV.[22] The replay was shown on regular HBO averaging 752,000 viewers and peaked at 947,000, which was during the final round.[23]

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.[24][25]

Fight card

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Confirmed bouts:[26]

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

Broadcasting

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Country Broadcaster
 Argentina Space
 Australia Main Event
 Ireland Sky Sports
 Panama RPC-TV
 Russia Match TV
 United Kingdom Sky Sports
 United States HBO

References

[edit]
  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. ^ "Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev (2nd meeting)". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Ratings - The Ring". The Ring. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  6. ^ "P4P | Transnational Boxing Rankings Board". www.tbrb.org. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  7. ^ "Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev rematch set for June in Las Vegas". LA Times.
  8. ^ "Andre Ward v Sergey Kovalev II set for June 17 in Las Vegas". World Boxing News.
  9. ^ "Ward-Kovalev 2 set for June 17 in Vegas". Fightnews.com.
  10. ^ "Ward vs. Kovalev Rematch Talks Finally Underway - For June 17? - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  11. ^ "Duva and Roc Nation start talks for rematch of Ward-Kovalev June 17 - The Ring". The Ring. 2017-02-27. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  12. ^ "Sergey Kovalev indicates he signed deal memo for Ward rematch - The Ring". The Ring. 2017-03-24. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
  13. ^ "Ward agrees to give Kovalev rematch in June". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ "Andre Ward, Sergey Kovalev purses revealed". Boxing News and Views. 2017-06-16. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
  16. ^ "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.
  17. ^ "Ward stops Kovalev by eighth-round TKO". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  18. ^ "Ward vs Kovalev II: Andre Ward produces stunning stoppage win over Sergey Kovalev in rematch". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  19. ^ "Andre Ward Stops Sergey Kovalev in Eight To Retain Belts - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  20. ^ "Ward 'leaving' boxing, says 'desire not there'". ESPN. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  21. ^ "Andre Ward: American two-weight world champion retires from boxing". BBC Sport. 2017-09-21. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  22. ^ "Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev 2 Disappoints Greatly On PPV Buys". Fightful.com. 2017-07-01. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  23. ^ "Ward-Kovalev Rematch Replay Peaked at 947K Viewers on HBO - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
  24. ^ "Ward-Kovalev rematch underperforms at gate". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  25. ^ "Ward-Kovalev Rematch: Paid Attendance Was Only 6,366 - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  26. ^ "BoxRec - event".
Preceded by Andre Ward's bouts
17 June 2017 		Retired
Sergey Kovalev's bouts
17 June 2017 		Succeeded by
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