Team Kovalev, Team Ward Have “Found A Way To Move Past The Impasse”
By: Sean Crose
“We found a way to move past the impasse on the site,” Kathy Duva informed Boxing Insider this morning. “We are working hard,” she continued, “on the draft contract with the MGM Grand and the T- Mobile Arena and hope to get it signed and tickets on sale as soon as possible.”
Thus may endeth one of the more frustrating boxing stories in recent weeks – friction between Roc Nation, which represents Andre Ward, and Main Events, which represents Sergey Kovalev, in the leadup to a November light heavyweight extravaganza.
Indeed, the match, which may well be to decide who the number one pound for pound fighter in the world is in the minds of many analysts, much less light heavyweight supremacy, seemed like it may actually have been in danger of falling through. For neither Ward nor his team showed up for a press gathering this week to kick off the festivities. What’s more, Main Events honcho Kathy Duva was clearly exasperated by what she felt was Roc Nation’s dragging of its feet (willingly or not) on behalf of Ward.
The issue at hand was the impending fight’s location – which was supposed to be at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas – and it was one that immediately got the fight world buzzing as to whether the much anticipated matchup between the two top level fighters would come to fruition. Both Ward and Roc Nation, after all, have been said to be extremely difficult to deal with when it comes to making fights happen. With Thursday’s news from the Main Events team, however, it appears all is well at the moment and that things are moving as originally planned. And so, as it stands, it looks like what may be the most significant fight of the year is back on track to becoming a reality.
Ward, the 30-0 former super middleweight kingpin, has recently moved up to the light heavyweight division. By facing the hard hitting (and sneakily skilled) Kovalev, 30-0-1, the master boxer will be stepping up against a master puncher in a fight that’s hard for even the sharpest minds to predict a winner of. In short, it’s a classic stylistic matchup between two fighters who may well be at the top of their games. That’s not hyperbole, it’s just the truth.
Here’s hoping this bout sees its way through to fruition. In an age of ducking and margination, fans deserve to see a match between two fighters of this caliber.