Vinny’s Views: Is Andre Ward Pulling a Houdini Disappearing Act?

By Vinny “Glory Days” Lucci (Who else would it be by?)

Time to lift the over turned apple cart, and sift through the debris and stench of Andre Ward’s no show at last week’s Los Angeles press conference announcing his November 19 challenge of light heavyweight champ Sergey Kovalev. Shooting from the hip sports fans, it’s easy to take aim at Ward and his camp, and not miss the target. It’s bad enough he was hand fed a hundred to one underdog as a tune pre-quill to the fall extravaganza, but allowing it to be called a title fight for the vacated WBO title belt left a touch of audacity and an air of arrogance in its wake.

When Adonis Stevenson bolted HBO and an agreed upon match that he’d unify titles with Kovalev, the sporting life assumed he wanted to cash in on a few easy paydays setting up his retirement fund before backing up all his rhetoric “Superman” talk, and actually get in the ring. Now a couple of years later, we see Stevenson doesn’t have the heart, stones or guts to negotiate a social dance with Kovalev on the canvass dance floor. Complicating matters in unifying division, add novice entry boxing promoter Jay Z, and his Roc Nation Sports for pulling a disappearing act this week. Kathy Duva of Main Events was left holding the empty bag at press conference, without tickets sales made available to the public. Frustrated boxing fans, she warned the boxing community that this fight is indeed in jeopardy.

First and foremost point of contention, which loosely interpreted means pampering and placating bloated egos, is Roc Nation dismissing Las Vegas which for decades has been hallowed ground for the most prestigious of title fights and the events that shape fistic history. They feel that Ward, needs to have hometown advantage of Oakland, even though its already been proven that neither Oakland nor New York, can supply a venue or match the Vegas numbers. This boorish behavior of posturing is beneath Ward’s classic bravura of style and substance…. or is it? Hell, looking for hometown advantage? Kovalev hails from Russia, and you don’t see him belly aching about jetting home to the motherland.

While we were all admiring Andre’s mettle and willingness to move up in a current world of cherry pickers and catch weight artists, we have also lost sight of the fact that it’s been four years since Ward’s last meaningful fight against Chad Dawson. Pretty much on blind faith we assumed his greatness remained intact while he went on a two year self -imposed exile over contract dispute with his last promoter, Joe Goosen. His recent foray into the 175 pound weight class has been anything but legendary, earning unanimous decisions in what amounted as nothing more than glorified sparring sessions. To his defense, Andre has stated in the ring post-fight interview that if he isn’t ready now, he never will be. Seems the fighter has more guts than his promoter. While all parties involved jockey for position at the gate, the November date is in serious jeopardy of being lost, quite possibly to Bob Arum looking to showcase his Manny Pacquaio Vs Jessie Vargas pay per view welterweight clash.

Had Ward asked for a third warm up fight, as HBO analyst Max Kellerman has constantly asked if one more was necessary, we all could learn more about Ward as a light heavyweight if he took on a highly worthy foe like Jean Pascal. Learning if Ward could truly outbox and hurt a highly skilled, impressive puncher in the 175 ranks would at least clarify the proposed parity that he seeks. On paper, the stats match up more evenly than the naked eye.

Both Kovalev and Ward stand six feet tall, with Sergey enjoying a slight one and a half reach advantage at 72 and a half inches. In the ring, Ward still resembles a middleweight, while Kovalev gives the impression of more height, and with his long lanky muscular arms, more reach. Their respective records align fairly evenly, with Ward boasting a perfect 30 wins, with 15 knockouts, while Kovalev’s resume boasts 31 wins, 30 by KO, with 1 second round draw due to accidental foul. What was just recently the most debated match up this year, has quickly lost some of its luster with Ward going 24 rounds at light heavy against Barrera and Brand, the latter claiming Andre carries no power at all.

So, before you spill beverage of choice in defense of Ward, keep in mind the disparity in power and what each man has accomplished in this division and who has the right to request where their fight will be contested. To get this fight signed, Ward will have to commit and engage the pocket, same way he will on fight night. If this dodge and disappearing act last week is any indication of how he intends to handle his adversary in the ring, we may already have gotten our hopes too high. Here’s the kicker. What if the fight is postponed or cancelled? Now that Ward has been gifted a title, wonder how many defenses he makes in the same vain as Stevenson before wanting to negotiate with Kovavlev again? Stay tuned….

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