By Keith Idec
It’s not just what the judges wrote on their scorecards November 19 that has motivated Sergey Kovalev.
The former light heavyweight champion has drawn inspiration from boxing fans who were happy that he lost to Andre Ward in their title fight. Russia’s Kovalev is determined to disappoint them and members of Ward’s team that have talked trash about him during the promotion of their June 17 rematch at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas (HBO Pay-Per-View).
“What gives me motivation is haters,” Kovalev said during a conference call Tuesday. “I heard a lot of applause from them because I lost. In Russia, it’s more than here in America. But even in America, boxing fans of Ward respect me by Facebook, by Instagram, by social media, [they said] I won that fight. And they right now are gonna support me in the next fight.
“Right now, my most motivation is haters. I wanna disappoint them and Team Ward, the team of Ward, because they right now are speaking a lot of bullsh*t to my side. They said that I’m this and this and this. I don’t care. They will pay inside of the ring for everything, for what they said.”
The 34-year-old Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) dropped the 33-year-old Ward (31-0, 15 KOs) in the second round at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Ward avoided another knockdown, gradually adjusted defensively to limit the effectiveness of Kovalev’s jab and right hand, and won a unanimous decision in their 12-rounder to become a two-division champion.
Kovalev contends each of the three judges – Nevada’s Burt Clements, New York’s John McKaie and Nevada’s Glenn Trowbridge – got it wrong by scoring the fight 114-113 for Ward, who hasn’t lost since he was a 13-year-old amateur in February 1998. The controversial conclusion to their fight and their subsequent disagreements have established a lot of bad blood between Ward and Kovalev.
“I’ve believed for a long time that Sergey does his best work when he doesn’t like his opponent,” said Kathy Duva, chief executive officer for Main Events, Kovalev’s promoter. “So Ward and his people have done a great deal to ensure that that will be the case. So I’m really happy about that.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
