By Keith Idec
Sergey Kovalev was as surprised as Kathy Duva when she first found out.
That’s Duva’s recollection of how Kovalev reacted when his promoter informed him that Andre Ward’s handlers made an offer to his head trainer, John David Jackson, to join Ward’s team before a deal was finalized for their June 17 rematch. Jackson told Duva and Egis Klimas, Kovalev’s manager, about the discussions he had with Ward’s attorney and adviser, Josh Dubin, about teaming up with Ward and his head trainer, Virgil Hunter.
Duva, chief executive officer for New Jersey-based Main Events, later discussed the unusual situation with Russia’s Kovalev.
“He was just like, ‘Wow!’ I said, ‘Yeah, it happened. John told them no and he’s gonna be in camp with you in a couple weeks,’ ” Duva told BoxingScene.com following Kovalev’s open workout Tuesday in Oxnard, California. “It wasn’t a big discussion or anything. It was just like, ‘Wow! They did that?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, they did that.’
“I’ve been doing this 39 years and I can’t ever remember this happening before. Trying to lure away a trainer while he’s still in the fighter’s camp, not after he’s left him. We’re talking about while he’s still functioning in a fighter’s camp.”
Dubin and James Prince, Ward’s manager, told BoxingScene.com for a story posted Monday night that they had conversations with Jackson about leaving Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) to help Ward (31-0, 15 KOs) prepare for their light heavyweight championship rematch (HBO Pay-Per-View). Dubin and Prince told BoxingScene.com that Jackson contacted them about switching sides, but Jackson contends that they initiated the talks during the winter.
“I don’t know why they’re bragging about it, because I’d think they would be embarrassed,” Duva said. “I actually think they were worried that we would bring this up today [at Kovalev’s open workout], so they wanted to get out in front of it. We were never gonna say anything about it. It’s absurd. Again, they should be embarrassed. Why they would wanna go out and say they wanted to pull a move like this? I have to say, in my experience, it’s unprecedented. And it’s an indication of how bereft of ideas they are. They must really feel like they need some help.”
Rumors regarding Jackson’s displeasure with how training camp went for the first fight against Ward continued to spread following Kovalev’s controversial unanimous-decision defeat to Ward on November 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Ultimately, though, the former two-division champion remained Kovalev’s trainer for a rematch set for two weeks from Saturday night at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Duva views the attempt to poach her former champion’s trainer as a sign of weakness within Ward’s camp.
“Look, if they’re down to trying to lure away his trainer so they can get tips on how to beat him, they’re in bad shape,” Duva said. “That’s a bad look. That’s a very bad look.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
