By Keith Idec
Andre Ward has remained mostly quiet since the tension-filled, three-city press tour last month to promote his upcoming rematch against Sergey Kovalev.
Like Kovalev, Ward is focused on training for their HBO Pay-Per-View main event June 17 fight at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Ward’s promoter, however, has expressed his displeasure with what he considers continuous “appalling” and “unprofessional” behavior from Kovalev during the buildup toward their light heavyweight championship rematch.
Michael Yormark, president and chief of branding & strategy for Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports, is particularly bothered by the shots Kovalev has taken at Ward through the former champion’s Twitter account.
“I think some of the things that he has done, quite frankly, have been disgusting,” Yormark told BoxingScene.com. “I think [Kovalev’s actions] have been unprofessional. I don’t think there’s a place for that in boxing or, for that matter, in any sport. It’s one thing if you wanna attack an opponent as it relates to boxing, as it relates to what you think about the individual. But when you start to stoop to that level, and you start making racial comments, it’s, quite frankly, unacceptable and unprofessional and as I said, disgusting.”
Russia’s Kovalev caused controversy last month, when he reposted a video meme of a fictitious conversation between him and Ward, in which Ward used the words “n*gga” and “f*ggot.” Kovalev quickly deleted the Tweet.
He explained the following week during an interview posted on the “Behind The Gloves” YouTube channel that he reposted the meme because he thought it was funny. Kovalev also said he didn’t fully understand what the creator of the video was typing as Ward’s answers, which were quickly erased and replaced with respectful responses.
While Kovalev’s English remains limited and occasionally could cause him to misinterpret the language, he posted what was widely viewed as a racist photo on Twitter in April 2015. In that photo, Kovalev referred to WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson as a monkey.
Kovalev, who was trying to land a light heavyweight championship unification fight against Stevenson at the time, later apologized for the Tweet. The Haitian-born Stevenson is black.
“We, as the promoter, and Andre, being our client, quite frankly we’re appalled to see that type of social media being put out by Sergey,” Yormark said. “Andre is very respectful and he takes the high road in everything he does. That’s why he’s so well-respected in the sport.
“I can’t say the same thing about Sergey. And I think, quite frankly, he lost a lot of respect from his peers because when you stoop to that level, you’re really telling people what kind of person you truly are. And I was appalled. That’s all I can say. I was appalled. And we were appalled as an organization and as his promoter.”
Beyond the video meme, Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) has repeatedly referred to Ward (31-0, 15 KOs) on Twitter as “Son of Judges,” a play on Ward’s nickname, “Son of God,” and a “motherf***er.” The “Son of Judges” jokes stem from Kovalev’s conviction that he, not Ward, should’ve won their November 19 fight in Las Vegas, which Ward narrowly won by the same margin on all three scorecards (114-113).
Kovalev also called Ward a coward earlier this month after Ward left Las Vegas on May 7 because the defending champion was convinced Kovalev would not appear for the filming of a “Face-off with Max Kellerman” segment that would’ve been used to promote their rematch.
Kovalev missed a scheduled interview the previous night during the Canelo Alvarez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. pay-per-view telecast. Ward participated in that interview, but left Las Vegas the following morning, when Kovalev arrived for the “Face-off” taping.
“Andre’s a guy that really respects every opponent,” Yormark said. “He respects the sport, he respects the fighters. But I think as it relates to Sergey, he has lost a lot of respect for him. Obviously, he thinks Sergey is a great fighter. But as an individual, I don’t think there’s respect there. And I think both guys genuinely don’t like each other. If you saw in the press tour that we had, there was a lot of animosity towards each fighter, from one another. And I think that fuels the anticipation of this rematch.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
