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Flashback: Ward has already mentally defeated Kovalev
http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=722411
“I don’t think this fight will be easy,” said the affable Kovalev. “It’s hardest test of my career. I have never fought a boxer at the level of Andre Ward. He’s never lost. If I win I will break his zero, and that is my motivation.”
Like Kovalev, former super-middleweight king Ward is regarded among the best active fighters today. As Kovalev’s promoter Kathy Duva pointed out, such a collision has been all too rare in the current era. Refreshingly, this bout was made almost as soon as the fans started to call for it. Slick and intelligent, Ward has only been on the Russian’s radar since announcing his intention to move up to light-heavyweight one year ago.
“I hadn’t really seen him fight before,” Kovalev said of his rival. “I saw a couple of rounds of his fights against Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler. I never thought that one day I would face him. I had enough attention in my division, I didn’t need him. But now he’s at light-heavyweight I need to fight him. I must be ready for anything. This is the hugest test of my boxing career.”
“I will try on November 19 to fight how I want, how I decide. I am ready for a long fight, a short fight, whatever. He is good on the inside and outside, he is a universal fighter. We will not be trying anything new – there’s no time. I will be ready for 12 rounds, it looks like it will go 12 rounds, 99 per cent. But we don’t know.”
Rumours have swirled in recent months, with some substance, that Kovalev was dropped in sparring by his friend Gennady Golovkin several years ago. Sergey addressed the claims with a smile.
“Did you see it for yourself? Don’t believe it then,” he said before explaining, “In sparring, sparring happens. We are not swimmers, we are boxers. Anything can happen.”
As Golovkin’s name threatened to overshadow proceedings, Duva stepped in.
“Sergey used to spar with Gennady all the time. At the time, Sergey was an eight-round fighter, and Gennady was a world champion.
“Let’s just leave it at that.”
Read more....
http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=722411
“I don’t think this fight will be easy,” said the affable Kovalev. “It’s hardest test of my career. I have never fought a boxer at the level of Andre Ward. He’s never lost. If I win I will break his zero, and that is my motivation.”
Like Kovalev, former super-middleweight king Ward is regarded among the best active fighters today. As Kovalev’s promoter Kathy Duva pointed out, such a collision has been all too rare in the current era. Refreshingly, this bout was made almost as soon as the fans started to call for it. Slick and intelligent, Ward has only been on the Russian’s radar since announcing his intention to move up to light-heavyweight one year ago.
“I hadn’t really seen him fight before,” Kovalev said of his rival. “I saw a couple of rounds of his fights against Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler. I never thought that one day I would face him. I had enough attention in my division, I didn’t need him. But now he’s at light-heavyweight I need to fight him. I must be ready for anything. This is the hugest test of my boxing career.”
“I will try on November 19 to fight how I want, how I decide. I am ready for a long fight, a short fight, whatever. He is good on the inside and outside, he is a universal fighter. We will not be trying anything new – there’s no time. I will be ready for 12 rounds, it looks like it will go 12 rounds, 99 per cent. But we don’t know.”
Rumours have swirled in recent months, with some substance, that Kovalev was dropped in sparring by his friend Gennady Golovkin several years ago. Sergey addressed the claims with a smile.
“Did you see it for yourself? Don’t believe it then,” he said before explaining, “In sparring, sparring happens. We are not swimmers, we are boxers. Anything can happen.”
As Golovkin’s name threatened to overshadow proceedings, Duva stepped in.
“Sergey used to spar with Gennady all the time. At the time, Sergey was an eight-round fighter, and Gennady was a world champion.
“Let’s just leave it at that.”
Read more....
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