Judges’ scorecard: It all came down to the last round
Kovalev’s camp already eyeing rematch
So when’s the rematch?
Andre Ward, boring?
Not Saturday night.
In the most dramatic and courageous performance of his 12-year career, Ward overcame a vicious second-round knockdown to come from behind and dethrone light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev.
Troubled by Kovalev’s powerful jab in the early rounds, Ward adjusted by ducking and stepping out of punching range as the fight progressed.
All three judges scored the fight 114-113 in favor of Ward, as did The Times.
There will be calls for a rematch.
Ward gets the decision, 114-113 in controversial ending
Ward pulled off the comeback victory. 114-113 on all three scorecards. Andre Ward is the new light-heavyweight champion of the world. When’s the rematch?
Round 12: Close round, close fight. It’s up to the judges
Great fight. The crowd was on its feet at the bell. Both fighters looked exhausted for most of the round. Kovalev was warned for a low blow with about 40 seconds to go. About 10 seconds later, Kovalev landed a quick 1-2 upstairs.
Ward retaliated by grazing Kovalev with a sweeping hook upstairs. Another very close round.
L.A. Times card: 10-9, Ward (114-113, Ward)
Round 11: Kovalev trades big shots with Ward
This has become some fight. Ward landed a big left hook early in the round. Kovalev landed a strong jab. A few seconds later, he pounded Ward upstairs with a straight right. A huge left by Ward turned Kovalev’s head. Ward in retreat, waves in Kovalev. Close round.
L.A. Times Card: 10-9, Kovalev (104-104 even)
Round 10: Best round of fight; epic finish ahead
A close round. Kovalev tried to land a huge overhand right in the closing seconds of the round, but missed. Ward landed a big left hook about a minute into the round. Ward landed a couple of big hooks to the body. Kovalev with a jab and hook.
With 10 seconds left, Ward landed another sweeping blow to the body. It will be interesting to see how the judges are scoring this.
L.A. Times card: 10-9, Ward (96-95, Ward)
Round 9: Ward coming on strong as momentum shifts
This fight has completely turned around. With about 50 seconds remaining in the round, Ward landed a right-hand lead. Late in the round, Ward landed a punch to the back of Kovalev’s head that sent Kovalev into the ropes.
Ward is starting to land some hard punches.
L.A. Times card: 10-9, Ward (85-85 even)
Round 8: Fight is getting very tight
It was a slow round and Kovalev is starting to look frustrated. Ward is backing out of range when Kovalev throws his jab. Not much landed, but Ward seemed to land the cleaner punches. While in a clinch, Ward threw an elbow into Kovalev’s chin with 13 seconds remaining.
This fight is tightening up.
L.A. Times card: 10-9, Ward (76-75, Kovalev)
Round 7: Ward tightens up fight with another good round
Ward has taken away Kovalev’s jab. Midway through the round, Ward snapped back Kovalev’s a couple of times with stiff jabs. The two fighters traded shots at close range. Kovalev landed a hard jab with 17 seconds remaining in the round, but Ward leaped inside to land a retaliatory blow.
L.A. Times card: 10-9 Ward (67-65 Kovalev)
Round 6: Close round in the sixth
Ward has really started to dictate the tempo and the space of this fight. Ward stuck a jab in Kovalev’s stomach early in the round and ducked to avoid a counterpunch. That was the first of several times Ward ducked to avoid punches in the round.
He might have found something there.
L.A. Times card: Ward, 10-9. (58-55 Kovalev)
Round 5: Ward has best round of night
Ward is a brave man. After taking some vicious shots form a clearly larger and stronger opponent over the first four rounds, he stood his ground and found his range. Ward landed a quick punch inside early. He landed a couple of solid body shots, too. This is the first round that goes to Ward.
L.A. Times card: Ward 10-9 (49-45 Kovalev)
Slideshow: Photos from the Kovalev-Ward fight card
Round 4: Kovalev keeps pressure on Ward
Ward slowed down the tempo, but still lost the round. He started the round by throwing a lunging hook that missed. Ward landed a few decent jabs, but Kovalev is still in control.
L.A. Times card: 10-9, (40-35) Kovalev.
Round 3: Kovalev gets another round
A disconcerting pattern is developing for Ward, who is stuck fighting at a distance against a fighter with a superior jab. Kovalev throws his jab with the authority of a power punch. Ward started the round by grabbing Kovalev and throwing him into the corner.
After the referee spoke to them, Kovalev reached out to touch gloves, but Ward refused. About 50 seconds into the round, Kovalev buckled Ward’s legs with a jab. Ward closed the distance over the second half of the round, but Kovalev still took it.
L.A. Times card: 10-9, (30-26) Kovalev.
Round 2: Kovalev knocks down Ward with hard right
Kovalev dropped Ward with a counter right with about 40 seconds remaining in the round. Ward had to take some hard shots to survive the round. Even before that, Kovalev’s powerful jab was presenting serious trouble for Ward, who can’t get any offense going.
L.A. Times card: 10-8, (20-17) Kovalev.
Round 1: Kovalev dominates opening round
There were pro-Andre Ward chants of “S-O-G!” as the opening bell rang. It was a cautious start for both fighters. Sergey Kovalev looks like the fighter who outboxed Bernard Hopkins, which might not be what he wants to be today.
It’s one thing to outbox a 49-year-old man and another to outbox the best pure boxer on the planet. Ward landed a couple of quick rights in the first half of the round, as well as a couple of jabs to Kovalev’s midsection. Kovalev landed a powerful jab midway through the round. Kovalev landed a couple of strong jabs late to win the round.
L.A. Times card: 10-9, Kovalev.
Boxers are in the ring
Andre Ward is the first to enter the ring in what will be his first fight in Las Vegas and first pay-per-view event. Crazy for a fighter with his record, but it goes to show how underrated he is.
Sergey Kovalev makes his way into the ring to some Russian pop music.
The crowd in Las Vegas seems to be pro-Ward.
Among the celebrities in the house are Charles Barkley, Dave Chappelle and Marshawn Lynch.
Kovalev vs. Ward minutes from starting
The national anthems are being sung right now and we are only a couple of minutes from the boxers making their way into the ring.
Check back for instant updates with round-by-round analysis from our reporters ringside, Lance Pugmire and Dylan Hernandez.
Undercard done, main event close to starting
Another pay-per-view, another brutal undercard. I don’t mean to single out this particular card. Unfortunately, lineups of this quality have become the industry norm.
Here’s a quick summary:
Former middleweight title challenger Curtis Stevens dropped James De La Rosa in the first round, faded in the middle rounds and held on to win a lopsided 10-round decision.
Ukrainian light heavyweight prospect Oleksandr Gvozdyk improved to 12-0 when Isaac Chilemba retired after the eighth round. Chilemba later said he injured his arm in the third round.
The co-main event was arguably the worst fight on the card with Darleys Perez forced to settle for a disputed draw against Maurice Hooker (21-0-3).
Ugh, where’s Butterbean?
On the bright side, there’s now a decent-sized crowd in T-Mobile Arena.
This about sums up the undercard; main event next
Shields not a fan of Kovalev’s ‘home’ comment
When I think about Kovalev and his sexist comments, it’s about having to prove a point.
— Claressa Shields, referring to Sergey Kovalev’s comment that women should be ‘home’ and not in the ring
Another undercard fight in the books
Olympic champ Shields dominates in her pro boxing debut
Claressa Shields’ campaign to reenergize women’s boxing began Saturday with a convincing, aggressive victory over her former amateur foe Franchon Crews.
Shields, the compelling two-time U.S. Olympic boxing champion from Flint, Mich., took Crews’ best punches in the opening minute, then paid her back with a repeated onslaught of blows that left Crews fatigued by the third round.
Late money coming in on favorite Ward
Ward is ready for the main event
The view from above
Claressa Shields wins her debut
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields was victorious in her professional debut, claiming a unanimous decision over Franchon Crews in an action-packed, four-round super middleweight fight.
Shields, 21, had Crews in serious trouble in the fourth round, staggering her opponent with an overhand right with about a minute remaining. Shields won by scores of 40-36 on all three scorecards.
Shields’ victory wasn’t on the televised portion of the pay-per-view card, which was a surprise. Shields isn’t signed with either of the event’s two promoters, but wouldn’t viewers rather have seen her instead of cotton-fisted Isaac Chilemba?
Ward vs. Kovalev hopes to bring the buzz
LAS VEGAS – When Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev made their grand arrivals at the MGM Grand earlier this week, the crowds that awaited them were modest in size. There was little buzz around town about their light heavyweight championship fight Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
That speaks more to the state of boxing than it does about this fight, which is one of the sport’s few must-see events in recent years. This is the third fight ever between two undefeated fighters in the top five of Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound rankings.
The previous two: Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Meldrick Taylor and Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad. (The opinion here is that James Toney vs. Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Diego Corrales also deserved that distinction.)
This will be a contest not only of Ward’s and Kovalev’s tactical acumen, but resolve, too.
Don’t be fooled by Ward’s cerebral style. He’s tough. He’s Clayton Kershaw on game day, except he’s like that every day. As for Kovalev, he once killed an opponent, but has managed to block out that memory whenever stepping in the ring to remain a devastating finisher.
“He’s stubborn and I’m stubborn,” Ward said. “Who’s going to break?”
The televised portion of the pay-per-view will start at 6 p.m. PT, with the main event expected to start between 8:30 and 9 p.m.
Andre Ward looks to make Saturday night his shining moment
Andre Ward stepped off the stage where he and Sergey Kovalev each weighed in at the light-heavyweight limit of 175 pounds Friday and was asked a question.
How long have you waited for that?
Ward, 32, the 2004 U.S. Olympic boxing champion from Oakland who is seeking his second weight-class belt in his first pay-per-view headlining appearance, exhaled, smiled and answered.
“Twelve years,” he told The Times.
“I feel like it’s my time,. That’s my sense. It’s my time to seize the moment,” Ward said. “I’ve watched so many big fights here in Las Vegas. It’s so amazing now that it’s my turn.”
The former super-middleweight champion whose talent was bogged down by a contractual dispute with the late Southern California promoter Dan Goossen is beyond home-ring dates in Oakland and regular premium cable shows now.
In Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 knockouts), Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) confronts a merciless, power-hitting Russian nicknamed “Krusher” who also is striving to leave an impression on an audience in search of another major boxing talent.
Sparks should fly when Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward step into the ring
Ticket sales are lacking. And pay-per-view buys aren’t expected to reach any record levels.
So, in a rare meeting of two unbeaten fighters who occupy spots on boxing’s top-five pound-for-pound list, the pressure to produce and perform falls on light-heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev of Russia and Oakland’s Andre Ward in their title fight Saturday night.
Both Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 knockouts) and former Olympic and super-middleweight world champion Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) are making their debuts as pay-per-view headliners, and their division isn’t exactly stacked with talent.
“Neither of these guys can find a better opponent,” veteran boxing commentator and writer Larry Merchant said.
Boxing isn’t dead, but on the heels of disappointing pay-per-view numbers in September for Canelo Alvarez (250,000 buys) and Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 5 (220,000), Kovalev-Ward will be fortunate to generate 200,000.
That ratchets the pressure on them to provide the type of compelling action that will fuel talk about them, this fight and their sport.
The struggle to become a popular champion has always stared down Andre Ward
Andre Ward has an African American mother. He looks African American and he knows society views him as African American.
As he wondered aloud about why this should influence his boxing career and shared his disappointment over what fighters of his background have to do to receive mainstream recognition, he was pitched an idea.
Did he ever consider marketing himself as Irish American?
The former super-middleweight champion threw his head back and laughed.
“I thought about it,” Ward said, whose late father was white. “I do have Irish in me.”
Does Andre Ward have what it takes to beat Sergey Kovalev for the light-heavyweight title?
Strip down the light-heavyweight championship fight on Saturday night to its essence, and it comes down to one question.
What kind of fighter is Andre Ward at 32 years old?
This isn’t meant as a slight toward Sergey Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs), the technically sound power puncher who will be defending his 175-pound title at T-Mobile Arena.
This speaks to the fighter Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) used to be — and perhaps still is.
While Kovalev is a dangerous opponent — he’s one of the five best fighters at any weight class — the reality is that the Ward of four or five years ago would have boxed circles around him. That version of Ward was about as hard to hit as smoke is to grab with bare hands.
Ward’s form in his two fights this year, however, has raised questions.