This could be early mind games or just a lack of caring – causing this Ward vs Kovalev HBO segment to get cancelled.

Mind games and trash talk in boxing are as frequent as night following day in the modern sweet science landscape most would acknowledge.

They are not just limited to between fighters either. Promoters and camp members often like to get involved to get what could perceived as an ‘edge’ for their man.

This weekend in Las Vegas saw a huge swirl of activity in boxing with Cinco De Mayo weekend been headlined by Canelo Alvarez and Julio Chavez Jr at the MGM, followed by the massive news afterwards that Golovkin vs Canelo will now happen this September.

Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev were also floating around Vegas on fight weekend but by all accounts stayed well clear of one another.

The two are set to rematch with each other later this summer in the fight capital of the world but according to Kovalev’s promoter the popular HBO ‘Face Off’ segment had to get pulled for the fight at the last minute because:

We regret to inform you that there will be no Face Off for #WardKovalev2. The coward @AndreWard left Las Vegas to avoid @KrusherKovalev! pic.twitter.com/5sinCaF0it

— Main Events (@Main_Events) May 7, 2017

Oh dear.

One criticism of the first event is that it was not frankly promoted enough considering the quality and calibre of both fighters within the sport.

Surely the HBO ‘Face Off’ segment is an important part of building up the rematch?