And you can read the full fight report here:
That’s all for now. Thanks as always for following along with us and be sure to check back later for a full fight report.
Kovalev landed 126 of 474 punches (26%), compared to 116 of 337 for Ward (34.4%). But the only numbers that matter are 114-113: the score on all three official cards.
Official cards from tonight's #KovalevWard fight. Sergey won one of a possible 18 rounds during the second half. pic.twitter.com/ShbDhKdaVd
— Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham) November 20, 2016
Updated
“It was the wrong decision,” says Kathy Duva, who promotes Kovalev. “It was quite clear it was the wrong decision. Although I think Ward would have a great career in the UFC. I haven’t seen so much wrestling since Conor McGregor was fighting. Ridiculous.”
Duva says Kovalev will be exercising his rematch clause.
“This is a beautiful thing,” Ward said. “We did it, baby. This is what we set out to do. I’m a five-time world champion in two different weight classes. Man, it’s amazing.”
Says Ward’s trainer Virgil Hunter: “This is a good feeling. We were a little careless with that knockdown in the second round. But we landed the cleaner punches. Kovalev was aggressive but not effective. That’s why we won.”
Updated
Andre Ward wins by unanimous decision over Sergey Kovalev!
In a surprise decision, Ward has won a unanimous decision and is the new WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight champion. All three judges turned in scores of 114-113. You could hear the reactions of disbelief in the crowd.
Updated
Round 12 (Ward 10-9)
Ward knows he needs the round, probably more. He’s fighting like it. But Kovalev is ust too big, too strong. He’s found a second wind and is really looking to close the show. Ward does enough to take the round but – at least on our unofficial scorecard – it won’t be enough. Waiting on the scores that matter.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Kovalev 9-10 Ward (Kovalev 115-112 Ward)
Round 11 (Kovalev 10-9)
Now it’s Kovalev who is rejuvenated! He lands a series of hard left jabs. He’s back to stalking Ward around the ring and has Ward fighting on the back foot for the first time in a few rounds. But Ward fires back and it’s going to be a close round. Almost too close to call. I’ve got to tip it to Kovalev, who landed the harder shots. One more round and the only certainty is, barring a knockout, the outcome will be controversial.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Kovalev 10-9 Ward (Kovalev 106-102 Ward)
Round 10 (Kovalev 10-9)
More good work from Ward here, working from behind the jab. Some devastating two-way action here, both fighters trading serious punches. Ward’s body work seems to give him the edge, but it’s Kovalev who bites back in the final 30 seconds, landing a big shot that moves Ward back. That was the best round of the fight and it goes to Kovalev.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Kovalev 10-9 Ward (Kovalev 96-93 Ward)
Round 9 (Ward 10-9)
Andre Ward! His jab is finding the target with greater frequency. Kovalev appears to be tiring but he’s landing punches and in the fight. Ward with a bolo punch! Kovalev clearly frustrated with Ward’s holding. The American is the busier and more accurate fighter from bell to bell. The round ends with practically all of the 13,310 spectators on their feet!
Guardian’s unofficial score: Kovalev 9-10 Ward (Kovalev 86-84 Ward)
Round 8 (Ward 10-9)
Another round for Ward, whose current strategy can be accurately summed up as punch-and-hold. A bit cynical, but referee Robert Byrd doesn’t seem too overly interested in breaking them up. Ward, true to form, is doing whatever it takes. Remember, it’s been nearly 20 years since he lost a fight on any level. Ward wins it on body shots. Kovalev looking a buit slower and more tentative. This could be shaping up for a highly interesting finish.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Kovalev 9-10 Ward (Kovalev 77-74 Ward)
Round 7 (Ward 10-9)
Best round of the fight for Ward, who caught Kovalev flush with a jab and a hook that really brought the crowd back into it. He’s moving well and finding the target with crisp shots, working nicely behind the jab. Kovalev seems to be slowing a bit here but he rallies late and tags Ward a few times. Not enough to steal the round.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Kovalev 9-10 Ward (Kovalev 68-64 Ward)
Round 6 (Kovalev 10-9)
A left-right combo from Kovalev. Ward jabs to the body to keep Kovalev at bay. Ward circling and turning Kovalev as much as possible, but the Russian really cutting off the ring effectively. Kovalev just misses with a heat-seeking right. Big combination from Kovalev! Ward’s movement so much better here than in the opening rounds, but Kovalev did more than enough to take that one.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Kovalev 10-9 Ward (Kovalev 59-54 Ward)
Updated
Round 5 (Ward 10-9)
Some nice work from Ward here. He connects with a jab and a straight right, then a body shot. But these punches don’t seem to have any effect on Kovalev, who looks so calm and composed. It’s unnerving, really. Lower output from Kovalev here. He needs to be careful to not reduce pressure and give Ward any confidence. He’s just let Ward nick that round.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Kovalev 9-10 Ward (Kovalev 49-45 Ward)
Round 4 (Kovalev 10-9)
Ward lunges forward and Kovalev makes him pay with a short counter, then he lands an uppercut that snaps Ward’s head back. Kovalev doing this all behind the jab. For all the talk of his concussive power, he’s a truly underrated boxer. He’s making the most of his reach and moving so well. Ward holding every time he goes inside. Another Kovalev round, easier to call than the third.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Kovalev 10-9 Ward (Kovalev 40-35 Ward)
Round 3 (Kovalev 10-9)
Ward simply too easy to hit right now. Perhaps the ring rust – he’s fought only four times in the last 50 months due to injuries and a promotional spat – has something to do with it. But Kovalev is really bullying him around and walking him down, moving the fight where he wants. The discrepancy in power is really the story of the opening act. Now Ward lunges forward and snaps Kovalev’s head back with sharp jab. A very close round, almost too close to call – but Kovalev nicks it from my vantage point.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Kovalev 10-9 Ward (Kovalev 30-26 Ward)
Round 2 (Kovalev 10-8)
A right hand then a left by Kovalev and Ward staggers backward again. Ward trying to work the jab and enjoying modest success. And down goes Ward! A left-right combination but it was the concussive right hand that did it! Ward smiles as he beats the count but he is hurt and in trouble! He’s saved by the bell and the crowd roars in approval. Ward seemingly can’t deal with the power of Kovalev, who is applying intelligent pressure.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Kovalev 10-8 Ward (Kovalev 20-17 Ward)
Round 1 (Kovalev 10-9)
A measured opening as the both men feel one another out. Chants of S-O-G! S-O-G! for Ward, a nod to his nickname (Son of God). Ward measuring distance and keeping out of range as Kovalev stalks, a predator in wait. Then Kovalev lunges forward and connects with a jab – he’s hurt Ward with that jab! – and Ward practically doubles over to wrap him up. Ward staggered backward and did not take that punch well. A nice uppercut inside by Ward, but that’s a Kovalev round as the bell rings. Both fighters trying to operate with the jab but Kovalev was dominant with his.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Kovalev 10-9 Ward (Kovalev 10-9 Ward)
The fighters are getting their final instructions after being announced. We’ll pick it up from here with round-by-round coverage. See you on the other side!
Andre Ward has just made his ringwalk wearing a mostly black poncho. Still strange to see a guy who’s been a champion for so long enter the ring first. Now it’s Kovalev, wearing a wide smile and trailed by a cluster of seconds holding his belts aloft.
Ward closes as a -200 favorite at the MGM Grand sports book, Kovalev at +160.
Michael Buffer now announcing the celebrities in the building to watch tonight’s fight from ringside. The list includes Dave Chappelle, Michael B Jordan, Romeo Santos, Fabolous, CC Sabathia, Robinson Cano, Marshawn Lynch and Memphis Bleek.
Now it’s anthem time: first Russia, then the United States. Not much longer now.
A pitch-perfect finish to a fairly dreadful undercard: Maurice Hooker and Darleys Perez have fought to a split draw that prompts boos from the crowd. One judge had it 97-93 for Hooker, another 97-93 to Perez with the third handing down a score of 95-95. Now that’s a grim decision. Perez won the fight easily – I had it 97-93 – but Hooker is the fancied prospect and Perez is the journeyman and you can do the math.
Official scorecard from that Hooker-Perez fight. A robbery in broad daylight. pic.twitter.com/qKNtwmCv6z
— Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham) November 20, 2016
Consider that Perez landed 146 of 413 punches (35.4%), compared to 104 of 485 for Hooker (21.4%). Perez even managed to outjab his taller opponent. Sad!
Updated
The T-Mobile Arena is starting to fill up as Hooker and Perez plod along into the eighth round of their 10-rounder. Lots of boos for Kovalev when he is showed on the big screen in his locker room between rounds. There’s little doubt who will be the crowd favorite tonight, though I spotted more than a few clusters of well-lubricated Kovalev supporters when taking a walk through the concourse an hour ago.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk, a fancied light heavyweight prospect from Ukraine, improved to 12-0 with 10 knockouts with an eighth-round stoppage of Isaac Chilemba. That’s particularly impressive considering Chilemba had gone the distance only a few months ago with Kovalev, who had stopped 26 of 30 opponents inside the distance before they met. Gvozdyk was busier, connected more frequently and landed the harder punches.
“I’m very excited and happy,” said Gvozdyk, who turned pro after winning an Olympic bronze medal in London. “What more can I say? This is the best feeling!”
Said a despondent Chilemba: “I am devastated. If I hadn’t hurt my right arm in the third round it would have been a completely different outcome. I was in an incredible amount of pain from the third round through the rest of the fight.”
Only one more undercard fight before the main event: a 10-round junior welterweight tilt between Maurice Hooker and Darleys Perez.
Updated
Claressa Shields, who became the first American boxer to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in August, made her professional debut earlier tonight and it was a smashing success. The 21-year-old from Michigan cruised to a four-round unanimous-decision win over amateur rival Franchon Crews in an entertaining fight.
“It feels so good to have just made my pro debut,” said Shields, who landed 76 of 214 punches (35.5%), compared to 27 of 182 (14.8%) for her opponent. “This is what I’ve been training for. I’m faster and I hit harder. And I’m the better fighter. But Crews brought 100% and I respect her for that.”
Curtis Stevens opened tonight’s televised pay-per-view undercard with a 10-round unanimous-decision win over James De La Rosa by scores of 98-90 and 96-92 (twice). Stevens dropped his opponent in the first and nearly ended it in the third, but an apparently injured left hand in the fourth slowed his momentum gave De La Rosa a chance to recuperate.
“I give myself a C minus,” said Stevens (29-5, 21 KOs). “Could have thrown my jab a little more. I am glad I got the W but I am a little disappointed in myself. The jab was good but I could have popped that shit a little more. Hurt my left hand in the fourth round. He’s got a hard-ass head. But I am glad I got the win.”
Updated
Good evening and welcome to tonight’s light heavyweight title fight between Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward. Normally in sports, the best going against the best is a matter of routine. It’s kind of the point, really. But there’s nothing normal about boxing, where great fighters in or around the same weight class in the same era can go their entire careers without facing off for a myriad of reasons, none of them particularly compelling. That’s what makes tonight’s rare matchup of undefeated fighters in their prime so exceptional. Remember all the hand-wringing over how much better last year’s overhyped superfight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao would have been if they had fought years earlier when they were closer to their physical peaks? Consider that if they had fought in January 2011, they would have been 32 and 33 years old ... the same as Ward and Kovalev tonight.
We’re currently in the eighth fight of a nine-bout undercard leading up to the main event, which should go off in about 90 minutes’ time. Here’s a look at the results so far.
- Curtis Stevens UD 10 James De La Rosa, middleweights
- Darmani Rock UD 4 Brice Ritani-Coe, heavyweights
- Claressa Shields UD 4 Franchon Crews, women’s super middleweights
- Tyler McCreary MD 8 Vincent Jennings, featherweights
- Sonny Fredrickson UD 8 Gabriel Deluc, junior welterweights
- Bakhram Murtazaliev TKO 2 Botirsher Obidov, middleweights
- Meirim Nursultanov UD 6 Henry Beckford, middleweights
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime, have a look at his take on what tonight’s main event could mean to the challenger.
Four years ago, Andre Ward was poised to succeed Floyd Mayweather’s spot as the best prizefighter in the world, regardless of weight. The Olympic champion from Oakland had cleaned out the talent-stacked super middleweight division with a string of clinical victories over Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green, Sakio Bika, Arthur Abraham, Carl Froch and Chad Dawson. He offered a fresh-faced alternative to Mayweather’s pantomime villain: a happily married devout Christian with four children, Michael Jordan’s endorsement, a level-headed personality and talent to burn.
It was all there for the taking – until it wasn’t. Ward’s clear path to mainstream stardom was interrupted by a host of injuries and a promotional spat that conspired to limit him to four fights in the last 50 months, during which he’s all but disappeared from public consciousness.
That could all change on Saturday night when Ward steps in with current WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It is the biggest fight of the year, and perhaps the best that can be made in boxing today. Both Ward, who is 32, and Kovalev, 33, are undefeated and in their primes. Both appear in the top five of virtually every pound-for-pound list. It’s the rare high-profile pay-per-view headliner worthy of the price tag, even if it’s drawn a sliver of the attention generated by last year’s overhyped blockbuster between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
