In a highly anticipated fight, former super middleweight champion Andre Ward (31-0, 15 KOs) overcame a second round knockdown to outwit unified world light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) by unanimous scores of 114-113 across the board, to snare the Russian’s WBA, WBO, and IBF light heavyweight titles on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Ward, (31-0, 15 KOs) found himself in hot water early in the bout, stunned by the Kovalev jab in the first then sent to the canvas by a quick right hand in the second. Kovalev seemed to shake Ward up frequently up until the third. Ward played a close physical game in the middle rounds, clinching often to nullify Kovalev's obvious power and physical advantages.. Once recovered from the early crisis, Ward started to land clean crisp shots often, while the frustrated Russian struggled to find the target.. Ward surprised Kovalev with a straight left hand in the seventh, and found further success in the next three sessions.. Wards confidence was evident by the tenth, Kovalev having rarely landing anything more than single shots since the fifth was being outsmarted down the stretch.. Both fighters had their successes in the championship rounds, each landing big punches, with Ward just looking the more sharper and boxing with more authority to edge the fight on the final scorecards. The victory appears a career defining win for Ward, albeit by the slimmest of margins.. split opinions at ringside suggested that the bout could have gone either way.. Kovalev, disappointed in defeat made it clear that he will pursue the rematch, claiming that the fight itself is evidence of the true verdict, although defeated in the eyes of the judges, Kovalev walks away from this fight with his reputation in tact.. The bout lived up to the hype and both fighters emerge as victors after such a scintillating battle..
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