Kovalev and Ward continue to evoke verbal jabbing by boxing fans online after two, in the eyes of some, still unsatisfactory fights.

It is the issue currently dividing the sport of boxing, scroll through any boxing forum and read the comments in regards to both eventual outcomes and it’s crystal clear and evident as to the gulf between the opposing sides.

Sergey Kovalev has filed a protest to have the stoppage lose against Andre Ward on June 17th 2017 changed to a no contest.

The former light-heavyweight champion Kovalev has stated his dissatisfaction over the way the fight was stopped in the 8th round and believes he was the victim of continuous low blows that the 3rd man in the ring that night failed to address, adding a preserved insult to injury because of the  controversial points decision victory by  Ward in the original bout on the 19th November 2016.

Clearly Sergey Kovalev believes the “low blows” were intentionally administered by the unbeaten Ward, a view shared by a selection of boxing fans and pundits and hotly argued as an excuse by again another selection of boxing fans and pundits who believe that the writing was already on the wall and the ex champion was a spent force by the time the referee called a stop to the bout.

Unfortunately this whole situation if we are looking at it objectively is a muddled composition. A boxing Gordian knot if you like:

“The Gordian Knot” is a legend of Phrygian Gordium associated with Alexander the Great.

It is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem when trying to disentangle an “impossible” knot.

Let’s be honest here, if either side believe there’s any realistic and satisfactory outcome to this boxing soap opera short of a 3rd and controversial free bout they’re mistaken.