In HBO’s latest installment of Hey Harold!, the longtime boxing commentator gives his take on this weekend’s fight...
“June the 17th. Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward - it’s a very, very good fight. We know that because they fought before. Kovalev scored a second round knockdown, Andre Ward got up, Kovalev didn’t finish him off, and Ward stole the fight in the last five or six rounds.
“He impressed the judges to the point where they gave him the fight based on what he did in the late rounds. So, it should be a sensational rematch, two guys that belong the in Top 5 pound-for-pound fighters in the world getting back in the ring with each other.
“I thought Kovalev was gonna win the first fight, he didn’t, Ward got the decision, we’ll see what happens in this one. Can Ward outpunch him again and steal another decision? Or is Sergey Kovalev gonna come back and knock him out?
“They’re saying all kinds of nasty stuff about each other ‘cause they don’t like each other. That makes it more interesting. I mean they seriously don’t like each other. And, uh, you know, that makes for a good fight. You know, you got two guys that love each other, I don’t know if they’re gonna come in and beat the heck out of each other. But these two guys don’t like each other, so we can expect a very, very, very good fight. That’s what I’m looking for.
“I think it’s gonna be as good a fight as it was the first time. Possibly somebody is gonna get knocked out in this second fight. Possibly it’s gonna be another controversial decision so everybody’s gonna be screaming for the third fight. Remains to be seen but I think we’re gonna have a good show.”