By Keith Idec
Andre Ward and his trainer, Virgil Hunter, consider Ward’s ability to make adjustments one of his greatest advantages over Sergey Kovalev.
They don’t think Kovalev will be able fight much differently Saturday night than the former champion did during their first fight November 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Ward, meanwhile, demonstrated during that 12-rounder that he could make tactical changes that minimized the effectiveness of Kovalev’s jab and right hand, particularly during the second half of the fight.
Nearly seven months later, Ward and Hunter are prepared to show Kovalev various wrinkles he hasn’t seen from Ward when they square off again at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
“The opponent definitely won’t see the same fighter in this fight for a number of reasons,” Hunter said during a recent conference call. “No need to disclose, but we always go in with several plans or any plan that needs to be implemented at any given time. So that’s always been there.
“And, of course, I’m not gonna ask him to do anything that I know he can’t do or hasn’t worked on or hasn’t practiced. So we’re fortunate enough to be able to adjust and also adapt. So taking those same ingredients into the fight, I believe that what we worked on for Plan A is gonna be more than enough.”
Ward (31-0, 15 KOs), of Hayward, California, got off the canvas in the second round and edged Russia’s Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) by the same score, 114-113, on each of the judge’s cards November 19. The former undisputed super middleweight champion also won the IBF, WBA and WBO light heavyweight titles from Kovalev that night.
The controversial conclusion to their first fight has helped generate interest in a rematch that’ll headline HBO Pay-Per-View’s four-fight telecast Saturday night (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT; $64.99 in HD).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.