Kathy Duva isn't happy, and it's understandable. With news that Showtime had bid on the May 24 fight between Adonis Stevenson and Andrzej Fonfara, and that HBO was not going to counter, the idea of a potential Sergey Kovalev vs Adonis Stevenson fight was killed on Tuesday.
Duva on dealing with Yvon Michel (Stevenson's promoter) earlier this year
"About two months ago, we made a deal. I had a deal with Yvon Michel. I had a deal with HBO. We all got on the phone together when we were in Atlantic City for a fight that we had there on the 24th of January, and I walked around that day very happy. I was smiling all night, because we had a deal. I hadn't really been concerned about whether or not Adonis would fight, because I had been told by his promoter that he was willing to do so."
Duva on Stevenson's general reaction to questions about Kovalev
"We've all seen his interviews, we've all seen the way he acts when Sergey Kovalev's name is mentioned. We see his mouth move, but all we hear is quack, quack, quack, quack coming out."
"I think that every time I saw Adonis Stevenson asked whether or not he wants to fight Sergey Kovalev, you saw him start to stutter. I think he had absolutely no desire to fight him. I think it's quite clear he has no desire to fight him. He made the one move he could, which is running to a rival network with a manager who's known as an obstructionist. Yes, he got his wish. He doesn't have to fight Sergey Kovalev right now."
Duva on Al Haymon's involvement
"Did (Stevenson) make the ultimate move to make sure the fight wouldn't happen? He probably did. Who in the world is better at making sure the public doesn't get to see the fight they really want to see than his new manager?"
"This is a bump in the road. It's going to work out. I have faith because I am just that stupid, that I think down the line people are going to realize, that being the impediment to making the best fights doesn't make you a genius."
Duva on Kovalev's future and the idea of Stevenson vs Bernard Hopkins
"I can't let it derail me. I can't let it stop me. I can't let it derail Sergey Kovalev's career. The truth is, he's 31. He's the future of the division. We're talking about a fight between a man who is literally old enough to be his father in Bernard Hopkins, and Adonis Stevenson, who is much older than Sergey."
"I want to send this message loud and clear, OK? If (the fans) want to give him a pass and let him go and fight a guy who's 49 years old instead of the fight that you wanna see -- if you wanna sit back and say, 'Well, it's OK, he's fighting a legend,' and all that. If you don't want to get really pissed off, and send Twitter messages to Adonis Stevenson every day, and say, 'Why aren't you fighting Sergey Kovalev?' Reporters, if you don't want to ask this guy whenever you get in a room with him, 'Why aren't you fighting Sergey Kovalev?' then you don't deserve to get to see him fight Sergey Kovalev."