By Carlos Boogs
In an earlier article on BoxingScene.com, Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach stirred the pot when he claimed last Saturday's confrontation between light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev and Adonis Stevenson was a staged event.
At the Bell Centre in Montreal, Roach was working the corner of former WBC champion Jean Pascal (30-4-1, 17KOs), who was stopped in the seventh round Kovalev.
Following the fight, there was a verbal confrontation between Kovalev and Stevenson. The two fighters were pulled apart from each other, with Stevenson being extremely animated during the scene. Roach was among the participants who were trying to calm Stevenson down.
During an interview with BoxingScene, Roach explained his reasons for being annoyed with the entire incident. He claimed to have witnessed Kovalev and Stevenson hugging in the locker room area.
"Well, Adonis and him were hugging in the dressing room after that fight so that [confrontation] was all about bullsh*t. That was just a big act, so....someone is trying to sell tickets. I was disappointed. I was trying to settle the guy [Stevenson] down and stuff like this, and then I saw them hugging and I said 'why did I waste my time doing that sh*t,'" Roach told BoxingScene.com.
Kovalev's promoter advised BoxingScene that Roach made an honest mistake. Sergey was indeed hugging someone in the dressing room, but it wasn't Stevenson. He was hugging former unified middleweight and light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins. Kovalev won a twelve round unanimous decision over Hopkins in 2014. The two fighters have become very friendly since their in-ring showdown.
"I love Freddie. But he was mistaken. Sergey was hugging Bernard Hopkins in the locker room--not Adonis," Duva stated to BoxingScene.
