Saturday night’s showdown between two boxing titans didn’t disappoint.
In a thrilling light heavyweight title bout that went the full 12 rounds at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Andre Ward defeated Sergey Kovalev in a controversial decision to improve to 31-0-0 in his legendary boxing career and hand the Russian his first loss (30-1-1).
All three judges scored the fight 114-113 in favor of Ward in a razor-thin decision that not everyone agreed with. Kovalev got off to a fast start, taking round one and delivering the biggest blow of the night in the second round by knocking Ward to the mat with a thunderous right hook.
But Ward held his ground. The “Son of God” mounted a steady comeback over the next several rounds, wearing Kovalev down with body shots to claw back into the fight. Both fighters got in some huge blows as the intensity mounted.
The fight came down to the last few rounds, as Ward continued his comeback while Kovalev kept his opponent at bay for what he thought would be a unanimous decision in his favor. But the judges thought differently.
Even Ward seemed a bit surprised by the decision, which got a mixed reaction from boxing pundits.
Either way, it was a terrific fight that’s deserving of an encore, and it looks like we’ll get one soon.
Thumbnail photo via screenshot from Twitter/@jnsanchez
