LAS VEGAS — Boxing got what it needed Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena: fans clamoring for a rematch for all the right reasons.
Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev will meet again real soon, and figure their rematch to be bigger than their pay-per-view rumble Saturday night that ended with Ward capturing a unanimous decision and the WBO, IBF and WBA light heavyweight titles.
Plenty of fans and media believe Kovalev couldn’t have lost a fight in which he knocked down Ward in the second round and dominated the first half of the 12-round bout.
“I think I won this fight, but the decision was not on my side,” said Kovalev, who lost for the first time in 32 pro fights. “Everybody saw what happened. Look at his face and look at my face and see who is the winner.”
What the judges saw is Ward (31-0, 15 KOs) turning the fight in the seventh round and capturing just about every round the rest of the way toward a 114-113 edge on all three scorecards. The Post also scored the bout 114-113 for Ward, who had moved up to the 175-pound division after winning various world championships at 168 pounds.
Ward, an Oakland native fighting in Las Vegas for the first time, was on the defensive from the opening round absorbing hard right hands from Kovalev, who entered with 26 knockouts. Ward was dropped for only the second time in his career by a right cross in the second round. He survived the second, but was down by five points on two cards after six rounds.
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