Kovalev's Trainer: Barrera Looked Worse Than Ward Looked Good

By Steve Kim

John David Jackson was an interested observer of the March 26th bout between Andre Ward and Sullivan Barrera that was won by Ward via twelve round unanimous decision in Oakland, California.

Jackson trains unified light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (29-0-1, 26KOs), who could be facing Ward (29-0, 15KOs) in the fall. Ward and Kovalev have an agreement in place to face each other at the end of the year, but each boxer plans to have an interim-bout in the summer.

Jackson's thoughts on what he saw?

''Barrera looked worse than Ward looked good," stated Jackson to BoxingScene.com.

"Listen, I take my hat off to Andre. He makes most fights go the way he wants them to and it works for him. He's very intelligent, he's a very smart boxer. He understands the game of boxing to a degree. He doesn't have a good inside game, he's not as strong as some give him credit for, but at 175 he looks a little bit stronger."

After a distinguished run at super middleweight, Ward is now a full fledged light heavyweight.

Jackson continued - "Listen, I don't sell him short. He was undefeated as an amateur for a long time and as a pro. He does what he does. He may not excite people but his job is to win and that's what he does. But you want to ask about him and Sergey? Well, that's a different fight for him. He's going to need a lot more offensive weapons and his defense will have to be tighter for him to be victorious versus Sergey."

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.