Abel Sanchez: Ward Will Beat Kovalev, It Won't Be ControversialBy Edward ChaykovskyA few months ago, veteran trainer Abel Sanchez was very vocal with his belief that Sergey Kovalev did more than enough to defeat Andre Ward last November at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.Sanchez, best known as the trainer of IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, was ringside for the fight and watched Ward get off the floor in the second round to win a twelve round unanimous decision with three cards of 114-113 from the judges.Ward gave Kovalev his first career defeat and captured the WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight belts. The controversy continues to rage on overwhich fighter actually deserved to win that night.Sanchez felt it was a clear victory for Kovalev by a few rounds. Sanchez had trained Kovalev in the early part of his career. The Russian boxer eventually parted ways with him and hooked up the man who led him to the light heavyweight crown, John David Jackson of Florida."I thought Kovalev won, I thought Kovalev won by at least a couple of rounds and I said it after the fight. I thought it was the kind of fight that I didn’t want to see. The first six rounds were okay but the last six rounds were a wrestling match. You shouldn’t be able to win a fight by wrestling, this is not wrestling, it’s boxing. That’s how Andre fights and it’s not a pleasing style but for some reason he convinced the judges and they gave it to him, but I don’t think he won the fight," Sanchez toldOn The Ropes Boxing Radio.There was an immediate rematch clause, which Kovalev exercised. Bothsides are in talks for a potential date of June 17th, also in Las Vegas.While Sanchez was confident that Kovalev would win the first fight, and believes he did, he's picking Ward to come back better the second time around to win the rematch - and this time he believes there will be no questions lingering in the aftermath."That's a very difficult fight for both guys, but I think Andre with his brain trust, with the coach that he has, will be able to adapt a little better and will be able to change what he needs to chance and add the things that he needs to add - to beat Kovalev and get the decision, and this time the decision will not be controversial," Sanchez told BaylorIC Worldwide-TV
" moment that it was previously being held at, bc of their insistence to act as if they won or had GGG on the ropes barely hanging on before it was stopped
