Meanwhile during November of last year, Kathy Duva confirmed that Kovalev had signed a contract extension with HBO that will presumably tie him to the cable network “for the rest of his career” (her precise words).
Unfortunately, Sergey Kovalev’s exclusive contract with HBO was the main reason why he has failed to secure a bout against Adonis Stevenson, due to the fact that his team couldn’t participate in the WBC’s purse bid process because the Russian would be unable to compete on rival networks (if they lost the bid).
Whilst Kathy Duva insists that she’ll trigger the Kovalev-Ward rematch clause, she also conceded that the second fight didn’t need to take place immediately, as long as both parties agree.
Now that Andre Ward has captured the WBA, IBF & WBO 175lb titles, the fact that he’s a network free agent, he could potentially choose to face Adonis Stevenson to unify all the belts.
The thing is… what is there to stop him? Ward could potentially offer Kovalev the opportunity to engage in a rematch, therefore fulfilling his contractual obligation, but also include a stipulation that the fight has to be covered by Showtime, knowing full-well that the Russian would be unable to agree those terms (due to the nature of his exclusive contract with HBO).
Alternatively, Ward could choose to remain a network free agent, face Stevenson to unify the division and then either engage in a highly-lucrative rematch against Kovalev or alternatively face the unified 160lb champion at a catch-weight, in an attempt to add GGG’s name amongst his impressive list of fighters that he has defeated.
Thoughts?
