Ward vs Kovalev II should be staged in Moscow...

[NaijaD]

Contractually rematch can't be in Russia or Cali. If I was a betting man.. I'd guess Roc Nation finds a way around it and stages the fight in Oakland.

Yeah the contracts state that the fights can't be held in California or Russia. It's probably going to be Vegas again due to the money but with a neutral panel of judges.

Roc Nation and Ward were reluctant to acknowledge the rematch clause so it won't surprise me if they did try to exploit some loopholes but I'm hoping there won't be any of that. Kovalev had a very strong case for winning the fight and should not have the odds stacked even higher against him in a return bout.

[bojangles1987]

It's funny because Kovalev fights worse in front of friendly crowds than he does when they all hate him.

[IronDanHamza]

It's funny because Kovalev fights worse in front of friendly crowds than he does when they all hate him.

The Cleverly fight for example.

Epic

[bojangles1987]

The Cleverly fight for example.

Epic

He defies the old saying of fighting angry making a fighter more vulnerable. Which is yet another reason he should probably be favored in the rematch. Krusher feeds on hatred, both his own and others.

[Robbie Barrett]

no, but it's an interesting thought experiment to imagine the reaction if the first fight had taken place one oblast over from chelyabinsk and had all russian officials. i doubt that the people currently pooh-poohing claims of hometown bias would be so dismissive in that case

i reckon somewhere on the east coast would be best for the rematch, with neutral (non-american, non-russian) judges. not sure about the ref. i thought byrd did a fine job

Kovakevs team were "happy" with the officials before the fight.

[Kagami Taiga]

He defies the old saying of fighting angry making a fighter more vulnerable. Which is yet another reason he should probably be favored in the rematch. Krusher feeds on hatred, both his own and others.

Very true. I think the rematch is even more appealing to me than the first fight. While everyone else wants to argue over scores we are overlooking the fact that we can have a legit grudge match at the top of the p4p list.

[BattlingNelson]

It's funny because Kovalev fights worse in front of friendly crowds than he does when they all hate him.

Haha. Thats true. But then again its not like any of those fights was close at all.

[New England]

vegas is not squeaky clean, but it's generally the most neutral site for a big fight on the planet. they needed to get rid of robert byrd, he reffed that fight like an amateur fight when ward was hurt. and then when ward grabbed kovalev literally by the back of his leg he admonished kovalev



still, russia is not fit for the biggest fight in boxing. it's just a bad idea. the state was indicted for doping, ffs.

[-Hyperion-]

vegas is not squeaky clean, but it's generally the most neutral site for a big fight on the planet

americans keep telling themselves that. The Perez-Booker just proved what horse**** that statement is.

[TOBYLEE1]

Kov is based in the US with a US team and promoter.

He agreed on the the judges and stated himself that he had no problem with them.

Ward has no ties to Russia so it is a mute point. The TS is still angry that Ward beat Kessler