Who is duckin' who? Kovalev or Stevenson?

[PK3434]

Stevenson clearly ducked kovalev earlier.

now, maybe Stevenson realizes that he should fight kovalev before he gets too old, after he made some millions fighting bums.

But now the fight is much more difficult to make.

What reason would kovalev even have to duck Stevenson? He will be heavily favored and Stevenson is almost 40

[ShoulderRoll]

Kathy Duva begged the WBC to make Kovalev the mandatory to Stevenson. They did so, but then when a purse bid was called to make this fight happen she withdrew from it.

So basically she didn't want to pay these guys what they are worth and she also didn't want to let other people pay these guys what they are worth.

[The Gambler1981]

It is a pain in the ass fight to make, and is not really big enough to make them work together.

So it comes down to what is HBO willing to give up to make the other side of the street let it go down over there, or what is HBO willing to take to let the fight go down elsewhere, with both questions also being applicable to Showtime/PBC.

Which one would get it would likely be who pays best, but it is that extra part that is key because neither side will just let it go down they need to get something out of it.

[FrankieClutch]

Their situation is so weird and confusing to me that I have no idea who's ducking. At first I was inclined to say it was Stevenson because he switched networks and then called out Kov, but the whole purse bid situation later on made it confusing for me. So I'll say they are both ducking lol

[The Hammer]

Stevenson and Kovalev both want the fight.

The problem is the dispute between Stevenson's manager Al Haymon and HBO.

They should put their differences aside and make the fight.

[about.thousands]

Neither is ducking. For anybody that says Stevenson ducked Kovalev when he went to Showtime then you gotta admit Hopkins ducked Stevenson when he went to HBO. But that's not what really happened. Hopkins fought Kovalev so that Main Events would drop the lawsuit against Golden Boy. Stevenson gave HBO an opportunity to match Showtime's offer and they refused. Stevenson was champ but HBO was offering Kovalev a deal instead of Stevenson. Duva then went to the WBC convention and asked that they make Kovalev/Pascal the WBC eliminator, which is as weird as the WBC making GGG/Rubio the WBC MW eliminator and allowing Cotto to fight for the WBC MW in his first fight at MW. The WBC agreed and negotiations were to be complete 25 days after Kovalev defeated Pascal. GYM, Adonis promoter, asked for an expedited purse bid because of previous dealings with Main Events. The WBC accepted and even took the unheard of step of splitting the purse 50/50. Usually the champ, Stevenson, would get 75% or 70% and the challenger, Kovalev, would get 25% or 30%. Duva pulled out of the bid citing Kovalev's commitment to HBO although he didn't have an HBO deal at the time. HBO had first right of refusal to his next fight, which was Mohammedi, and then Kovalev would've been free to fight anywhere. The WBC ordered a second purse bid and Main Events pulled out because by that time Kovalev had signed a deal with HBO. Now, when Adonis signed his Showtime deal he had language written into his contract that he could fight off network if it involved a purse bid. I know why Duva didn't want that in Kovalev's contract but I don't know why Klimas didn't put it in there. Duva is looking out for Main Events. Klima is supposed to look out for Kovalev. If Kovalev isn't going to be able to defend his titles to the highest bidder then he should stop fighting for belts. The rules of the sanctioning organizations trump exclusive contracts when you hold their belts.

I blame HBO & Main Events for the fight not happening. I don't think Kovalev or Stevenson are ducking each other. I know Stevenson/Kovalev ain't May/Pac but considering how much we the fans pay to watch fights on their networks they should come together and give us the fight.

[mathed]

Stevenson is a lying coward. He knows Killa Kov would put him out of commission.

[Boxfan83]

Really its always bothered me when people accuse pro fighters of ducking one another bcuz i like to believe theyll fight anyone their promotion puts in front of him. But with that said Kovalez and his skinhead fanbase better be careful what they wish for cuz it just might happen.

[mike1010011]

Really its always bothered me when people accuse pro fighters of ducking one another bcuz i like to believe theyll fight anyone their promotion puts in front of him. But with that said Kovalez and his skinhead fanbase better be careful what they wish for cuz it just might happen.

Skinhead fanbase? So does Stevenson have the black panthers backing him up?