by Cliff Rold

It didn’t look like much of a fight going in.

It was less than that in the ring. Sergey Kovalev was better than Jean Pascal a year ago. He was several leagues better the second time around. Nothing about their first fight made this rematch all that interesting. Jean Pascal’s lucky but exacting decision over Yunieski Gonzalez made it less so. What was the point here?

Money and time to kill are the only real answers. The fight that should have happened, and should still happen, between Kovalev and Adonis Stevenson continues to languish. Kovalev-Andre Ward sounds great but Ward wants two fights first and hasn’t had three fights in the same year since 2009.

If that pattern holds, any excitement about an actual fight (instead of a proposed one) may drag into 2017.  

Given the possible mandatories available to Kovalev, there could be more time killing before a killer fight emerges.

Let’s go the report card.

Grades

Pre-Fight: Speed – Kovalev B; Pascal A-/Post: Same

Pre-Fight: Power – Kovalev A; Pascal B/Post: A; B

Pre-Fight: Defense – Kovalev B+; Pascal B-/Post: B+; C

Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Kovalev A+; Pascal B/Post: A+; B+

Dating back to before his memorable war with Carl Froch in 2009, Pascal has always showed plenty of heart. On Saturday, he fought to keep his feet and fought his corner for one more round. He wasn’t throwing back much after three rounds, and didn’t throw much in general, but he didn’t quit either.

That’s a credit to him. That he was allowed to keep playing heavy bag to Kovalev past the fifth round was a credit to no one. He was clearly done, with almost nothing to offer in the last two rounds of the fight. He was blocking a lot of shots but even those seemed to hurt.

The honor code of letting a guy go out on his shield is part of boxing but so is sense over valor. The referee or corner could have, should have, saved Pascal punishment he didn’t need. This wasn’t a fight where he was showing signs of life or there appeared any chance of a dramatic rebound.

It was over after Pascal launched a salvo late in the third. It was over last March. That the referee may have blown knockdown calls on at least two, if not three, occasions made the display harder to watch.

For Pascal, it might be time to think about doing something else. A fight with Adonis Stevenson might still do some business in Canada. Would it be worth it? He’s taken beatings in three straight fights and has faced a who’s who in the last six years. His technical flaws are only going to be easier to exploit.

For Kovalev, there just doesn’t look like anyone ready to beat him right now. Stevenson jumped in the ring after the fight but no one seems to think his team is going to let him fight on HBO. Kovalev is married to HBO. Boxing in all its inglorious chaos.

So we turn our eyes towards Kovalev-Ward. It is a fantastic matchup. Kovalev and Ward are both highly skilled but with different weapons in their arsenal. Ward is quicker and better defensively. Kovalev has a power edge and maybe the most fearsome jab in the division since Bob Foster.

How far into the horizon are we turning our eyes? That’s the big question. We probably aren’t ever getting Kovalev-Stevenson. Kovalev-Ward isn’t imminent even if it’s likely. Until we get there, it will probably just be Kovalev knocking out mandatory challengers.

It will feel like a long wait to get to the good stuff. 

Report Card and Staff Picks 2016: 5-1

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com