By Norm Frauenheim–
One is portrayed as scary and angry, yet Sergey Kovalev has a keen sense of humor with an engaging ability to deliver one-liners as though they were jabs.
The other is seen as stubborn and aloof, yet Andre Ward talks about home, controversy and maturity like a philosopher willing and ready to adjust his thoughts as though they were tactics.
Contradictions abound in a rivalry as fascinating as it is unappreciated. There is mutual respect for the dangerous skills that each possesses. There is mutual contempt for what one thinks he has heard and seen from the other.
All of that and so much more were abundantly evident in back-to-back conference calls this week, first with Kovalev on Tuesday and then Ward on Wednesday in the buildup for their light-heavyweight rematch on June 17 at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay.
They are picking up where they left off after Ward’s victory over Kovalev in November. The decision was unanimous in name only. It angered Kovalev.
Yet in one of the surprising twists to the rivalry, it also won the Russian some fans he might not have had if not for the outrage expressed by so many after scores — 115-113 on all three cards — were announced.
Mention Russia in the United States these days and a lot of people think collusion. Mention Kovalev and lot of people think People’s Champ.
“Even in America, boxing fans of Ward text me by Facebook, by Instagram, by social media that I won the fight,’’ Kovalev (31-1, 26 KOs) said Tuesday during a call when he cracked wise, saying Adonis Stevenson fights only Uber drivers and other guys he can beat. “They right now are going to support me in (the) next fight.’’
In the immediate wake of the November bout at Vegas T-Mobile Arena, social media became a noisy megaphone for those fans who thought the judges had colluded. It was surprising, even suspicious enough to wonder if both fighters got robbed.
Only 160,000 were reported to have bought HBO’s pay-per-view telecast. But the social-media reaction was huge, seemingly much bigger than the PPV number. It was as if everybody had watched. In a hackers’ world, there are many ways not to pay anymore. But that’s a story for another day, perhaps the day when HBO’s PVV results for the June 17 rematch are reported.
For now, the lingering outrage from November’s bout is a source of motivation for Ward, who might find himself in a curious position before opening bell next week. Ward is the last American to win an Olympic gold medal —at the 2004 Athens Games. Yet, he might not be the fans’ favorite in his home country in the rematch because of controversial scorecards in the first one.
“I enjoyed my victory just like I would any other victory,’’ said Ward, whose unbeaten record (31-0, 15 KOs) matches the playoff mark of his hometown Golden State Warriors as they go into Friday’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals against Cleveland. “People have to understand that anytime there’s a close decision, you’re going to have opinions either way. I’ve never refuted the fact that it was a close decision. But all those out there that say that it’s some home cooking, they’ve got to remember that I’m not, you know, from Las Vegas, Nevada.
“You can’t just highlight that side of it. You got to highlight the people that also felt I deserved the victory and (that it) was a tremendous comeback. It doesn’t take a close decision to get criticism. I’ve shut guys out for 12 rounds and got criticism. So you become immune to it after a certain period of time.’’
Philosophical about it, too
