By Norm Frauenheim-
LAS VEGAS – On the scale, there was no difference. Not even a fraction of an ounce separated the two. It was 175 pounds even for each in a weigh-in that seems to reflect how tough it is to pick between Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward.
The betting odds are almost as even as the scale was Friday for the light-heavyweight bout scheduled for Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena and HBO’s pay-per-view television. Talk in the press room tips one way, then another, favoring Kovalev at one moment and Ward the next.
It’s a fight that looks to be as close as possible. Each has 30 victories. Each has never lost. As advertised, it also should have a heavy impact on the pound-for-pound debate. The winner figures to get No. 1 recognition in the first bout between unbeaten fighters ranked among the top five in The Ring’s pound-for pound ratings since Felix Trinidad’s upset of Oscar De La Hoya in 1999.
The only real question is whether anybody really cares. Ticket sales have been slow. Seats at all prices were available Friday. Less than two years since Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao disappointed a record 4.6 million PPV customers, the boxing pay-per-view business has been in the toilet. Kovalev-Ward promoter would be happy – make that ecstatic – with 300,000 buys.
It’s anybody’s guess what a reasonable PPV expectation might have been in the heady days before Mayweather-Pacquiao. Kovalev-Ward has all the elements that would have made it a solid attraction. Maybe there would have been 500,000 PPV buys in the bout’s history, knockout power in Kovalev’s right hand and tactical skill in Ward’s overall ring IQ. It’s puncher versus boxer. It could be a classic.
For now, however, it might be fight that a lot of people wished they had had seen. That might represent a new beginning for a battered business. A great fight might lead to a rematch, a renewed appetite and perhaps a recovery. In the here and now, however, Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) and Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) can only take care of the immediate task that awaits them at opening bell.
The close nature of the bout has led to each camp trying to get an edge, which means there has been a lot of talk over the last few days.
“I think it’s simple,’’ Ward said moments after he stepped off the scale. “He doesn’t like me. I don’t like him. This will be my best performance of all time. I’m not leaving Las Vegas without those belts.’’
The belts – an acronym collection that includes the IBF, WBO and WBA light-heavyweight titles – belong to Kovalev, a Russian whom Ward has repeatedly called a bully.
“I’m not going to disappoint you,’’ said Kovalev, an unknown amateur in Russia whose steady rise began in North Carolina five years after Ward got big headlines for winning America’s last boxing gold medal at the 2004 Olympics.
In many ways, it’s an unusual fight. To wit: The purses are upside-down. Kovalev, the champion, is getting $2 million or less than half the challenger’s purse. Ward is getting $5 million.
“The challenger gets a boat load of money, but the champion don’t,’’ said Ward trainer Virgil Hunter, who has had a lot to say throughout press conferences and even weigh-ins. “I don’t understand it. Maybe, it’s not true. But it bothers me.’’
Over the last couple of weeks, Hunter has spent a lot of time confronting Kovalev trainer John David Jackson, questioning his credibility and even his readiness on the eve of the bout. As Kovalev and Ward posed after stepping off the scale, Hunter started in on Jackson in an exchange that proved to be the weigh-in’s only fireworks.
He told Jackson that Kovalev looked “a little dry,” suggesting that the Russian might have weakened himself in battle to make weight. Jackson replied, saying that Hunter isn’t taking the punches.
“Ward will,’’ Jackson told him.
Enough said.
