Over the last few weeks, we’ve all heard the whining for Sergey Kovalev.
Let’s see. There’s this one:
“I won that fight, like I’m going to win this fight. I know what I did wrong. I trained too hard. I over worked for that fight. I worked more than I should have. By the end of the fight I was empty. I won’t make that mistake again. I will kick his (butt) this time.”
And this one:
“He hit me with little punches, punches like a girl. None of his punches hurt me. They were little punches and the judges counted them. That’s what they saw. The public and anyone watching that fight saw something else.”
He can’t take his excuses into the ring with him on Saturday night. They won’t help his defeat Andre Ward. Like Ward said, Kovalev will have to back up all his talk in the ring. He showed the composure of a champion after being knocked down in the second round.
“Look at the punch stats. Look at the fight again after the fifth round. I dominated.”
Ward is hoping that he keeps the momentum of his hometown, Oakland (Golden State Warriors), and defend his belt in his much anticipated rematch with Kovalev. The press tour has been contentious at times. Kovalev is still clearly effected by the loss in the first fight.
Ward dominated the second half of the fight. It looked like it was fought at two different times. The first half of the fight was controlled by Kovalev. The left jab of Kovalev seemed to give Ward trouble and eventually set up a short right hand that sent Ward to the canvas. But, Kovalev couldn’t take advantage of the knockdown and a few rounds later, it was apparent that Ward had overcome any damage that had been done.
Ward starting beating Kovalev to the punch. He got off first and countered effectively. Kovalev looked confused, fatigued and frustrated. It led to a decision that still irks the once undefeated champion. It has turned the press tour into the Kovalev Excuse Tour.
What should be more important to Kovalev are the questions still looming over him.
Will he tire? He spent the first half of the fight stalking Ward but spent the second half of it following him.
His inability to adjust in the first fight allowed Ward to comeback. Is that on Kovalev or his corner?
How can he prevent this from this being an extension of the first fight?
So many questions that can’t be answered via excuses.
My Interview with the Fight Talk 2 Night crew to talk Ward-Kovalev II
Marcus “Mook” Washington is the host of Making The Cut. Follow Mook on Twitter: @mtcwithmook and IG: MTCWithMook
