Comments Thread For: Duva: 'Irrelevant' Stevenson Has No Interest in Fighting Kovalev

[Tatabanya]

Next Sunday morning we will know if the Krusher is back with a vengeance, or if he is positively finished.

[WhitehouseTKO]

Again Stevenson is irrelevant as that article states. Kovalev has wanted this fight for many years so he isn't ducking him. Duva should have never pulled out of purse bid, she showed her true colors right there, and gave Stevenson a lasting excuse not to pursue the fight. I don't think Stevenson really wanted it cause he has gotten so lazy since Manny Stewart passed, and I don't think Duva wanted it cause she couldn't control everyone.

Fans are the real losers cause these two a few years ago were THE guys at LHW and they needed to fight.

[Outwest Exp 355]

Kovalev just fought Ward twice, but he's ducking

Chickenson is the one who ran to Showtime.

Ward is a great fighter but he’s not the killer Stevenson is.

[PBR Streetgang]

Come on MisanthropicNY, don't leave stuff out. Stevenson signed with SHO and prevented the fight from happening. Then Kov withdrew from the mando position he asked for and resigned with HBO, thus preventing the fight from happening.

HBO should've locked them both up when they started planning the fight. They didn't and SHO signed Stevenson to hurt HBO. HBO then made him withdraw from the mando since they knew Haymon would outbid them.

Everyone is to blame.

Agreed 100%, both sides to blame. That being said Kovalev's fighting Ward is relevant when compared to the quality of Stevenson's fights over the same span. I know that sycophant My Low Place will chime in to defend his idol; trying to tell us how good "Top Dog" Williams is or that Tommy Karpency and Dmitry Sukhotskiy are world-beaters....

[Boxing Logic]

What does fighting Ward twice have to do with ducking stevenson? Stay on topic or just stfu lol

He took Ward thinking it would be an easy win.

He got salty off the first fight and wanted an immediate rematch and still got schooled.

Duva clearly and it is known that she didn't want to partake in a purse bid when it was time to negotiate to fight stevenson.

AND my post says "Kovalev is ducking TOO" ...never said Stevenson wasnt ducking

dumbass

You're the dumbass. You forgot the key part where Team Stevenson moved the purse bid months in advance knowing that was the only time Main Events would not be able to comply with the purse bid, due to the fact that Kovalev had one more fight left on his HBO contract. If Team Stevenson had just waited until the original purse bid date months down the line, which would have been AFTER Kovalev's final fight on the HBO deal, Main Events would have been able to take part with the purse bid as planned, seeing as THEY WERE THE ONES WHO ASKED FOR IT IN THE FIRST PLACE, and Stevenson would have gotten the fight.

However, Team Stevenson knew Kovalev still had one fight left on his HBO contract, and that if they moved the purse bid up, he wouldn't be able to take part. They did it on purpose. They found yet another clever way to duck the fight, just this time they also found a way to fool IDIOTS like yourself with low IQs into believing Kovalev was the one ducking this time, despite the entire history of the Kovalev-Stevenson negotiations making it obvious to ANYONE WITH A BRAIN who wanted the fight and who didn't.

You think Ward schooled Kovalev? The real schooling is what Team Stevenson did to you. They spun you like a merry go round. They pulled the wool over your eyes like a child. God gave you a brain. I hope for your sake, and the sake of this forum and the sport as a whole, that you and all the other "muh purse bid" fools start to use it. Stop making yourselves so damn easy to manipulate and fool. Please. Why would Team Kovalev go to the trouble of petitioning the WBC to make Kovalev mandatory to Stevenson if they didn't want to fight Stevenson? If they were ducking Stevenson, why draw attention to it? Why not just stay in their lane and live off the good PR they got when Stevenson ducked Kovalev the first time and ran to HBO?

Except they didn't do that. They went to great lengths to keep trying to make the fight and give fans what they want, but easily manipulated fools like yourself aren't grateful at all. Kovalev and Main Events have been literally the most aggressive promoter/boxer combo in the entire sport the last few years when it comes to chasing elite competition immediately, and yet in your fake imaginary upside down idiot reality, you believe it's the opposite. So I repeat, God gave you a brain, PLEASE start using it.

[kennethjohn]

Kovalev thinks he could beat Joshua
Stevenson thinks he is the best ever

it's the promoters that dont want the fights

[N/A]

why didn't he agree to the same exact split which was still available for years?

Because 50% of Showtime's offer would be a larger purse than 50% of HBO's offer. Stevenson was willing to fight Kovalev as long as the fight was sold to the most interested buyer. Why would Stevenson want the fight sold to the network offering LESS money?!?

When Kovalev's HBO contract expired, the WBC called for a purse bid. There should have been no excuse at that point. You have a purse bid and you sell the fight to the highest bidding network.

Stevenson was all about it. He always wanted the Kovalev fight, as long as the fight was sold to the highest bidder. If you're going to cash out, you don't half ass it. You maximize the revenue.

The problem was that Main Events wasn't willing to cash out. Because if Stevenson lost, he'd have a bunch of money and that's just the risk you have to take. If Stevenson lost, GYM would have a bunch of money and that's just the risk you have to take. A loss would suck for GYM, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. They have other fighters. They make money in their market. They have power in their market with or without Stevenson.

But for Main Events, a loss would have been devastating. Especially at that time. Kovalev was the difference between having HBO dates and having absolutely nothing. You always have to follow the money in this sport. You can't just take Kathy Duva's word at face value, especially when she's been caught lying so many times.

The fight was there for the taking. Kovalev ducked. Not because HE was scared, but because his promoter put their interests above Kovalev's. Kovalev would have made way more fighting Stevenson than he made fighting Ward. Kovalev is the big loser in all of this. Stevenson is still doing great.

Kovalev ducking that purse bid was the best thing for Main Events. Classic example of a promoter screwing a fight.

[SinderellaMan]

There was a time when we all thought Kov would walk through Adonis. But if Kov got hurt bad vs Ward, Adonis would take his head clean off.

[N/A]

Kovalev thinks he could beat Joshua
Stevenson thinks he is the best ever

it's the promoters that dont want the fights

Yes, when we say Kovalev ducked (which he did), it's his TEAM ducking the purse bid. If his team said go through with the purse bid, Kovalev would have gladly fought Stevenson. Stevenson and Kovalev will fight anyone their team tells them to. The problem for Kovalev is that he's had amateurs guiding him.

But, we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that Yvon was far more confident in Stevenson winning than Duva was in Kovalev winning. Had the purse bid not been ducked, Stevenson's team was very confident in him winning.