A Kovalev Ward rematch is one being clamored by fight fans around the world following the pound for pound rated pugilists sharing a very close, controversial fight last year.
Boxing News and Views spoke to promoter Kathy Duva briefly on what the latest is as regards the rematch, among a host of other news at her company Main Events.
Duva is a busy woman at the moment, and with news of the Beterbiev vs Barrera title eliminator finally set to happen, we wanted to know first off how happy she was to finally see the fight made.
It was initially announced back in 2015 only for it only to fall out.
She enthused:
“We have wanted to make this fight for quite some time so, of course, we are delighted to see that it may actually happen. We are looking forward to hearing from Yvon Michel regarding the particulars, such as the date and place where the fight will take place.”
Touching on how she thinks Sullivan will deal with the power of Beterbiev, Duva added:
“Sullivan has fought much better competition than Beterbiev. And he has learned so much from those experiences. After his big upset win over Shabransky in December, Sullivan is on a high right now and very anxious to fight. He is accustomed to fighting powerful opponents. I think the real question is: How will Beterviev deal with fighting his first world class opponent who is in his prime? That was not the case with opponents like Campillo and Cloud who had certainly seen better days.”
The only defeat of Sullivan Barrera’s pro career so far came at the hands of Andre Ward (hat tip and credit: HBO Boxing YouTube)
I then asked is a Russian light-heavyweight showdown between her other light-heavyweight charge Sergey Kovalev and fellow Russian knockout artist Beterbiev something she thinks will happen inevitably – to which Kathy replied:
“The fans have been expecting to see Sergey face Beterbiev ever since Betebiev turned pro because he holds wins over Sergey in the amateurs. So, of course, even if Beterbiev loses to Sullivan, I would expect that Kovalev-Beterbiev will happen eventually. And I know that Sergey is very anxious to get the chance to avenge his amateur loss.”
Before my questions were over, the one that many fight fans want to know could not be escaped, in terms of an update on if or when the Kovalev vs Ward rematch will happen in 2017.
Duva for the moment noted:
“So far, we have heard very little from Roc Nation on this subject. So, unfortunately, I do not have an update at this time.”
Many fight fans will hope the rematch can be made for 2017. Lets hope it happens.
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