Comments Thread For: A Redo For Andre Ward, Sergey Kovalev and Their Promoters

[Mr. Luthor]

yeah I'm pretty sure andrea coWard had to do it. rematch clause baby!

Was he a "coward" when he fought him, won and took his titles in the first fight? Two fights against a top 5 P4P Light Heavyweight, that's pretty impressive for a "coward".

[cameltoe]

Ward needs to get right in Kov's face from the start in this fight. I think he underestimated Kov and thought he could outbox him at range. He can't, Kov has excellent reach and power. Ward needs to take away his advantages like he did toward the end of the first fight and tear him up on the inside.

[ruedboy]

Incorrect because Ward could have retired, vacated the belts and/or switched divisions. A rematch was not Ward's only option.

Don't forget a court challenge. "Son of K" loves to go to court.

[Gillie]

He didn't have to do it? Umm.. pretty sure he signed a contract that said he did.

That was my first thought! If he didn't have to, he wouldn't have.

[Gillie]

Was he a "coward" when he fought him, won and took his titles in the first fight? Two fights against a top 5 P4P Light Heavyweight, that's pretty impressive for a "coward".

He isn't a coward. He moved up and fought a killer and won a controversial decision. It was the diva like behavior after the fight that rubbed people the wrong way ie...threatening to retire etc. Ward has always fought the best guys in their primes so I don't get the whole coward thing.

[Dean_Razorback]

Kovalev is already doing his part on social media, and the best part about it is every gripe he has is legitimate, even if I'm not really down with the religious jokes. Other than that, he is just speaking the truth, and righteous anger at the decision, which should hype the fight a lot.

We'll see if Ward does his part this time, or if it will just be more of the same.

nah, ward will keep posting pics of the belts like his fans do in here lol

[hitking]

This fight shouldn't have been a PPV fight. Boxing keep propping up these pretenders to be the next big thing but the problem is you can't fake these things. No matter how much trash talking Kovalev does the fans aren't buying it. This fight will do the same PPV buys as before and end up with the same result.

I don't think any fight "should be a PPV." Most fight fans subscribe to HBO and SHO exclusively for boxing. Forcing us to essentially pay a double cable bill to watch a quality fight is bull****.

That said, in the current landscape of boxing, fights like this are gonna be PPV. That's just how it is. And if there's a fight that "hardcore fans" should be willing to bite the bullet and pay the ticket, it should be this one. As a hardcore fan, it doesn't get much better than Ward-Kovalev. The first fight was a legitimate superfight between two bonafide top 5 P4P fighters. Both pretty close to their physical prime. Both undefeated and pretty much unchallenged. What more do you want as a fight fan? And that fight lived up to expectations. Closely contested and fairly entertaining. And both men are coming back for more. If you consider yourself a hardcore fan and aren't excited enough about this rivalry to pay a lil extra. You seriously need to evaluate whether you're actually a hardcore fan.

Which brings me to my final point. 10-15yrs ago, Ward-Kovalev does 300K PPV buys easily, probably closer to 350K. Which leads me to believe that the quality of the individuals that make up the "hardcore fight fan" community has drastically decreased. And you can see it on sites like this one. If you're regularly posted on a boxing site, you're more than a casual fan. But nowadays these so called hardcore fans act like casual fans of yesteryear. A lot of these cats are merely hardcore fans of particular fighters. And they follow boxing based solely on how a fight affects their favs. And if a fight has no bearing on their favorite, they're not interested.

[hitking]

He didn't have to do it? Umm.. pretty sure he signed a contract that said he did.

"Andre ward didn't have to do it. But he did." See,that's just plain wrong. The first fight had an rematch clause,which kovalev used. Ward was legally obligated to give him the rematch,or they would have met in court instead of the ring. A little research goes a long way.

yeah I'm pretty sure andrea coWard had to do it. rematch clause baby!

Don't forget a court challenge. "Son of K" loves to go to court.

That was my first thought! If he didn't have to, he wouldn't have.

This is the level of "hardcore fight fan" I was speaking of in my post. Would much rather entertain the whole WWE soap opera bull**** than be all in on a fight of this magnitude. These clowns are what's killing boxing. If any of you ate like me, you're probably the only, or one of few non-casual fight fans among your peers. And those peers often question you about the world of boxing. But instead of speaking of how amazing a match-up this is. You spew bull**** like the quoted posts above. Then wonder why nobody watches boxing anymore. You people are f.uck'n pathetic.

[HarvardBlue]

I don't think any fight "should be a PPV." Most fight fans subscribe to HBO and SHO exclusively for boxing. Forcing us to essentially pay a double cable bill to watch a quality fight is bull****.

That said, in the current landscape of boxing, fights like this are gonna be PPV. That's just how it is. And if there's a fight that "hardcore fans" should be willing to bite the bullet and pay the ticket, it should be this one. As a hardcore fan, it doesn't get much better than Ward-Kovalev. The first fight was a legitimate superfight between two bonafide top 5 P4P fighters. Both pretty close to their physical prime. Both undefeated and pretty much unchallenged. What more do you want as a fight fan? And that fight lived up to expectations. Closely contested and fairly entertaining. And both men are coming back for more. If you consider yourself a hardcore fan and aren't excited enough about this rivalry to pay a lil extra. You seriously need to evaluate whether you're actually a hardcore fan.

Which brings me to my final point. 10-15yrs ago, Ward-Kovalev does 300K PPV buys easily, probably closer to 350K. Which leads me to believe that the quality of the individuals that make up the "hardcore fight fan" community has drastically decreased. And you can see it on sites like this one. If you're regularly posted on a boxing site, you're more than a casual fan. But nowadays these so called hardcore fans act like casual fans of yesteryear. A lot of these cats are merely hardcore fans of particular fighters. And they follow boxing based solely on how a fight affects their favs. And if a fight has no bearing on their favorite, they're not interested.

I agree that the quality of opponents makes this fight special. However, think about all the great match ups we got back a few years ago that all you need was HBO or SHO subscription. I'm talking around 2007-2010. Those great match ups made it easier for the superstars like Mayweather and Pacquiao to thrive on PPV. Now we're getting fights like Canelo/Angulo on PPV. Canelo/Chavez is easily a Boxing After Dark special a few years ago. Someone like Ward could become a bonafide superstar, especially if he's able to take care of Kovalev in a clear decisive victory. I guarantee the lack of a good PPV showing will sully the impact of the victory.

[alexjust]

Incorrect because Ward could have retired, vacated the belts and/or switched divisions. A rematch was not Ward's only option.

And by doing so he would have earned a new nickname: "A.D.B. -Andre Da B1tch".

BTW, without seeing a contract I don't know if what you say is true. You might be right, but a lot depends on how draconian the contract is.