Promoters squabbling over plans for Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev bout
Andre Ward’s promoter, rapper Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports, is dragging its feet to commit to staging a Nov. 19 light-heavyweight title fight against Sergey Kovalev at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Kovalev’s promoter, Kathy Duva, expressed frustration at a Tuesday news conference in Los Angeles when Ward was absent and plans to announce ticket sales for the bout were put on hold.
Boxing fans have been looking forward to the matchup between the unbeaten former super-middleweight champion Ward (30-0, 15 knockouts) and the three-belt light-heavyweight champion Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs).
Duva said Roc Nation Sports backed away from verbal commitments to place the HBO pay-per-view bout in Las Vegas, despite the fact that no venue in New York or in Ward’s hometown of Oakland could provide a better offer.
“They’re trying to use this as leverage,” to assert some control, Duva said.
A spokeswoman for Roc Nation Sports declined to comment.
After striking a deal for Kovalev-Ward in October, Duva said she and former Roc Nation Sports executive David Itskowitch agreed that 20,000-seat T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was the best venue for the bout.
Officials at MGM Resorts, which manages T-Mobile Arena, have expressed some urgency to resolve the dispute, Duva said.
If the Kovalev-Ward site talks continue to languish, T-Mobile Arena could move on and strike a deal to place Manny Pacquiao’s comeback fight there on Nov. 19 instead.
Pacquiao has sought to fight on Nov. 5, but the only arena available that night is Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
On Saturday, after Ward dominated Alexander Brand in a tuneup bout, Kovalev appeared in the ring with Ward on HBO cameras to announce the Nov. 19 bout. But on Saturday afternoon Roc Nation Sports officials made it clear they had not agreed to a venue.
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Ward, earlier in the week, also let it be known he would not appear at Tuesday’s news event because of prior commitments.
“This morning, I got an email [from Roc Nation Sports] saying, ‘We don’t agree to announce tickets on sale,’” Duva said. “This is a tactic. They’re trying to get control.”
Duva said her lawyers at Main Events promotions are working to resolve the situation.
MGM also had put in a request to purchase a large quantity of tickets for the Ward-Kovalev bout, likely to be distributed to high rollers.
There is a provision in the contract that the bout can’t be staged in Oakland or anywhere in Kovalev’s home country, Russia.
“My fear is this is a ploy to push MGM out of the deal and push us to Oakland,” Duva said.
Kovalev was briefed on the matter before his news conference and said after it he wished Ward had showed to help draw interest to their bout.
lance.pugmire@latimes.com
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