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Andre Ward Knocks Out Sergey Kovalev & Floyd Mayweather, JR Update – Breaking Boxing News

By Joshua “City” Brewer

Andre “SOG” Ward, 32-0, 16 KO’s, defeated Sergey Kovalev, 30-2-1, 26 KO’s, in dramatic fashion as he got the stoppage in the 8th round of their championship fight. Ward has definitely solidified himself as the #1 pound for pound fighter in the world. It was an intense fight and some of the punches were borderline, but there is no question that Ward hurt Kovalev to the head and body, which was ultimately his demise. I would have like to have seen the fight continue on but referee Tony Weeks felt the need to stop it. It’s a judgment call. Kovalev wants a rematch. Ward may have other plans. As with the last fight, this one ends in controversy and I’m sure there will be much conversation in the coming weeks.

Boxing is making news waves left and right, enhanced by the announcement of Floyd “Money” Mayweather, JR. postponing his retirement to take on Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) superstar “The Notorious” Conor McGregor. For Mayweather, JR. he’ll have have the opportunity to get his 50th win as McGregor makes his boxing debut, and largest payday. Personally, I don’t mind the matchup but I don’t like people beefing it up as though it’s a legitimate competition. McGregor is nowhere near Mayweather’s striking ability and as I’ve seen in comments, likely wouldn’t be able to last with D and C level fighters such as the likes of Rod Salka.

Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, 3-0, 1 KO, picked up the World Boxing Council (WBC) super middleweight title with a win over Sydney LeBlanc, 4-2-1, 0 KOs. LeBlanc took the fight on three days notice but was able to push Shields to a decision win. Shields has been active since turning pro in 2016 and has the makings of a boxing start. The question will be whether she continues to move down in weight where more competition is available, and potentially bigger paydays. Stay tuned.

Dimitry Bivol, 11-0, 9 KOs, is the real deal from the look of things. He has tremendous skill, decent speed, and excellent power. He made quick work of Cedric Agnew, 29-3, 15 KO’s. Bivol is on a role There are several good fights that can be made at light heavyweight so it will be interesting to see where he goes from here. I’m sure his handlers don’t want to move him up too fast but then again, he seems to be a level above his current competition. All in all, when you have the “it” factor, it’s eventually revealed through adversity. A major step up may not be such a bad idea.

I was interested in whether Guillermo Rigondeaux, 18-0, 12 KO’s, still had the goods considering he hadn’t fought in nearly a year and is 36 years old at this point. Not only was he in excellent shape, his reflexes looked as good as ever. Rigondeaux’s problems have been inactivity. There are many fights out there for him if he really wants them. As suggested by Max Kellerman in the post fight interview, it would be great to see Rigondeaux in a catchweight fight with either Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez or Vasyl “Hi-Tek” Lomachenko. There’s plenty of time to make this happen before the end of the year.

Remember in boxing, anything can happen!

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