WBC ordered Stevenson vs Gvozdyk

[N/A]

Duva wasn't ready for a bid = Kovalev wasn't ready for the fight?

When you have to resort to hiding behind semantics you've lost the argument.

When you have to resort to hiding behind your promoters money to keep your title - like Superduck - you don't deserve to call yourself a champion.

You're not making any sense. Duva requested that Pascal be allowed to "defend" the diamond title. The WBC said no problem and Stevenson did not object. Duva requested that the winner of the diamond title fight be named the mandatory. The WBC said no problem and Stevenson did not object. Duva requested a 50/50 split for the mandatory fight, which was highly unusual. The WBC said no problem and Stevenson did not object.

Once Duva was given everything she wanted, Stevenson asked for a purse bid so they could fight. At a time when Kovalev was a television free agent.

Duva then used the threat of that fight taking place on Showtime to pressure HBO into giving Kovalev another long term exclusive television contract, thus killing the Stevenson fight.

Duva did the right thing for her business, but make no mistake about who ducked the fight. Stevenson was willing to risk it all, Kovalev wasn't. If Kovalev beat Stevenson, HBO would have paid more than ever after the fight to lock him up. If Kovalev lost, the HBO deal would be off the table. Kovalev didn't want to take the risk. Which is fine. But don't lie about who ducked the fight. Don't fall for lame excuses like "not being ready" for the purse bid. No, they weren't ready to take the risk. Period. They never were. It was all smoke and mirrors and they folded when Stevenson went all in.

[kafkod]

You're not making any sense. Duva requested that Pascal be allowed to "defend" the diamond title. The WBC said no problem and Stevenson did not object. Duva requested that the winner of the diamond title fight be named the mandatory. The WBC said no problem and Stevenson did not object. Duva requested a 50/50 split for the mandatory fight, which was highly unusual. The WBC said no problem and Stevenson did not object.

Once Duva was given everything she wanted, Stevenson asked for a purse bid so they could fight. At a time when Kovalev was a television free agent.

Duva then used the threat of that fight taking place on Showtime to pressure HBO into giving Kovalev another long term exclusive television contract, thus killing the Stevenson fight.

Duva did the right thing for her business, but make no mistake about who ducked the fight. Stevenson was willing to risk it all, Kovalev wasn't. If Kovalev beat Stevenson, HBO would have paid more than ever after the fight to lock him up. If Kovalev lost, the HBO deal would be off the table. Kovalev didn't want to take the risk. Which is fine. But don't lie about who ducked the fight. Don't fall for lame excuses like "not being ready" for the purse bid. No, they weren't ready to take the risk. Period. They never were. It was all smoke and mirrors and they folded when Stevenson went all in.

Right, and the time before that, when Duva had Kovalev and Stevenson lined up to fight each other, and Stevenson suddenly decided he wanted to move to ST to fight Hopkins and Pascal instead - then didn't fight either of them.

I guess that was Kovalev not wanting to take the risk too, eh?

And the third and final time that Duva tried to make the fight, when she spent months negotiating what Stevenson's promoter called "a very fair deal" only for Stevenson himself to turn it down because Duva couldn't agree to a joint screening with ST and HBO - Kovalev ducking again, I guess?

[DinoCop]

He’s just a name to me. What the hell has he ever done that I should remember him?

You just watch him doing his art, see how perfectly balanced he is with each move, see how he steps with each punch, observe his stance before and after and attack, see his counters, see his 1-2-1 combo, see how he slips and notice good defense. Soviet style.
You'll know these guys are not just soulless robots as some call.

[N/A]

Right, and the time before that, when Duva had Kovalev and Stevenson lined up to fight each other, and Stevenson suddenly decided he wanted to move to ST to fight Hopkins and Pascal instead - then didn't fight either of them.

Stevenson was a restricted free agent. He was obligated to seek the best offer in the marketplace to bring to HBO to match or decline. It's not his fault HBO declined. Stevenson vs Kovalev didn't happen at that point because HBO didn't want to chip in the 50k it would have taken to match Showtime's offer. They didn't chip in the 50k because the order came down from the top of HBO to get out of the Stevenson business due to his criminal record receiving so many headlines.

You can't blame Kovalev for the fight not happening at that time, but you can't blame Stevenson either. HBO declined the fight and then smeared Stevenson on the way out the door.

[kafkod]

Stevenson was a restricted free agent. He was obligated to seek the best offer in the marketplace to bring to HBO to match or decline. It's not his fault HBO declined. Stevenson vs Kovalev didn't happen at that point because HBO didn't want to chip in the 50k it would have taken to match Showtime's offer. They didn't chip in the 50k because the order came down from the top of HBO to get out of the Stevenson business due to his criminal record receiving so many headlines.

You can't blame Kovalev for the fight not happening at that time, but you can't blame Stevenson either. HBO declined the fight and then smeared Stevenson on the way out the door.

Making excuses for Stevenson not fighting Kovelev does not refute my argument .. which is that every attempt to make the fight came from Kovalev's side.

[N/A]

Making excuses for Stevenson not fighting Kovelev does not refute my argument .. which is that every attempt to make the fight came from Kovalev's side.

But it turns out the "attempts" were BS. So you can't credit them for "attempts" that ended up just being bluffs. They didn't actually want the fight.

[kafkod]

But it turns out the "attempts" were BS. So you can't credit them for "attempts" that ended up just being bluffs. They didn't actually want the fight.

You have more excuses than a pregnant nun, mate.

[Sheldon312]

if GV wins this, he is P4P top ten.

[daggum]

You're not making any sense. Duva requested that Pascal be allowed to "defend" the diamond title. The WBC said no problem and Stevenson did not object. Duva requested that the winner of the diamond title fight be named the mandatory. The WBC said no problem and Stevenson did not object. Duva requested a 50/50 split for the mandatory fight, which was highly unusual. The WBC said no problem and Stevenson did not object.

Once Duva was given everything she wanted, Stevenson asked for a purse bid so they could fight. At a time when Kovalev was a television free agent.

Duva then used the threat of that fight taking place on Showtime to pressure HBO into giving Kovalev another long term exclusive television contract, thus killing the Stevenson fight.

Duva did the right thing for her business, but make no mistake about who ducked the fight. Stevenson was willing to risk it all, Kovalev wasn't. If Kovalev beat Stevenson, HBO would have paid more than ever after the fight to lock him up. If Kovalev lost, the HBO deal would be off the table. Kovalev didn't want to take the risk. Which is fine. But don't lie about who ducked the fight. Don't fall for lame excuses like "not being ready" for the purse bid. No, they weren't ready to take the risk. Period. They never were. It was all smoke and mirrors and they folded when Stevenson went all in.

such blatantly biased drivel.

how was the fight killed...because they couldn't reach an agreement at one moment in time therefore its dead forever? what about the same exact offer for a fight on hbo ppv that stevenson never ever took? they never wanted it yet they made him the same exact offer? makes zero sense and you know it. just cause they gave stevenson a way out does not mean they didn't want the fight. they were still right there ready willing and able to make it but stevenson was no longer obligated to do it. so he didn't do it. pretty simple.

you said stevenson didn't object to 50-50. yet what he did object to was fighting kovalev on an hbo ppv, and for the same 50-50 split he didn't object to. hmmm so the only way stevenson was ever goign to fight kovalev was if he was legally mandated to it? and since kovalev let him off the hook to secure his own contract before resuming the pursuit its ok to duck kovalev for years after? nothing changed. nothing. the only thing that changed was stevenson wasnt forced to do the fight. doesnt mean the fight was killed. it was there but stevenson didn't take it.

you are so used to defending duckers that if the guy pursuing him doens't put 100 percent effort into a single fight at the sacrifice of hs own career he suddenly becomes the ducker? illogical. he still pursued stevenson over and over with the same exact deal structure. no fight. stevensons popularity, ratings, and purses(official ones) withered away while this happened.

you can't just arbitrarily pick one moment in time and say well its dead now. they were both top guys for years after that and stevenson never ever took the offer on hbo ppv. huge evidence against your claim that he wanted the fight. of course you ignore this huge detail. stevenson fought on showtime, spike, and probably other networks but he couldnt go on hbo ppv? what the hell argument is that? yeah fighting on spike is so much better...he didn't want the fight cause he had gotten his money. kovalev wanted the fight even after getting his money. thats the diffrence.

both guys had gotten their money from haymon and hbo and yet it was kovalev who was still trying to make the fight. it was stevenson who did not want to make it. look at the guys he fought...utter crap. its obvious he was happy making that easy money. kovalev had his money but was still taking risks.

[N/A]

such blatantly biased drivel.

There's nothing biased about it. At all times, Duva did what was best for her. Good for her. She's a promoter, not a manager. It's not her job to do what's best for Kovalev. At all times, Haymon did what was best for Stevenson. That's his job. He's a manager. He has a fiduciary duty to Stevenson. Duva has no obligation to look out for Kovalev.

how was the fight killed...because they couldn't reach an agreement at one moment in time therefore its dead forever?

They didn't need to reach an agreement! It was a mandatory fight! No agreement necessary. That is why purse bids exist. Can't get a fight made? Send it to purse bid. It's the ultimate problem solver.

what about the same exact offer for a fight on hbo ppv that stevenson never ever took?

SHO was offering more money than would have been generated by an HBO PPV. Why should Stevenson have gone to Kovalev's network to fight for less money than his own network was offering?