Hall of Fame announcer ‘The Colonel’ Bob Sheridan has seen his share of boxing decisions. Sheridan has been in the sport for over forty years and has seen both the good and the very bad when it comes to judging in the sport of boxing. In part 1 of my interview with Bob Sheridan, I get his thoughts on this past weekend’s super fight between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev. Bob shares his views on the controversial scores for the bout, breaks down his scoring for the fight and talks about the perception that the fight was a robbery. Additionally, Bob talks about fellow Hall of Famer, Larry Merchant’s view on the fight and if he think’s Ward’s body punching slowed down Kovalev. Here is what Bob Sheridan had to say.
Robert Brown: What were your thoughts on the Sergey Kovalev vs. Andre Ward fight?
Bob Sheridan: Kovalev started very fast like he had expected to and he smothered Ward in the first four rounds of the fight. The fourth round might have been a turning point and I think some of the judges gave the fourth round to Ward. Ward was down in the second round but it was one of those flash knockdowns, he wasn’t on queer street or anything like that, he had his wits about him. It wasn’t looking good for Ward after three, but after the fourth round, Ward did what great champions do, he started battling back. Ward started getting to the body of Kovalev.
After the fourth round, Kovalev didn’t seem to go after him like he did in the first three rounds, it seemed like he slowed down a little bit. I remember talking to Andre the day before the fight, I asked him, “What do you think your edge is?” and he said, “I think I’m in better condition, I think I’m a better conditioned fighter and I also think I have more tools. We know he has the big punch and I’m aware of that, but I just think I have more tools.” As the fight progressed, he showed that.
Robert Brown: What rounds did you score for Andre Ward?
Bob Sheridan: I gave Ward rounds five, six and seven, and the eight round as well. Going down the stretch I had Ward winning ten, eleven and twelve, and as it worked out on the judges score sheet, it was very important. One of the three judges didn’t give Ward the twelfth round but still came to the same score as the other two judges at 114-113. Because of the knockdown and the crowd reaction, people thought that Kovalev had won the fight, but not by much.
When you have four very close rounds in the fight, this can lead to controversy. In spite of th fact that I had Kovalev winning by two points, I scored it 115-113, I have no qualms about the fact that Ward won by one point. I thought that Andre Ward showed remarkable grit in his ability to come back and I got no qualms about him getting the decision from the judges.
Robert Brown: What do you think of Larry Merchant saying that the fight was a highway robbery?
Bob Sheridan: People don’t score the body punches and that’s where Ward did some really fine work on Kovalev. Larry Merchant wasn’t seated right at ringside where he usually is when he’s commenting on a fight. He was back a few rows and it’s very hard even when you’re back four rows to be able to judge a fight like the judges that are right on the apron because you can see a couple of things that you can’t see from a few rows back. The most important thing is the power of the punch when it lands to the body.
Larry, who I have a lot of respect for, and he and I have worked together many times, I just don’t agree. I don’t fault Larry, but I don’t think he had the perfect perch to watch and score on a very close fight. It was no highway robbery.
Robert Brown: Do you think Kovalev slowed down as a result of Andre Ward’s body punches?
Bob Sheridan: In the first three rounds, every time that they would get to a clinch, Kovalev had his arms underneath the armpits of Ward and prevented him from working on the inside. As the fight progressed, Ward was able to create some distance when they would go towards the clinches and the referee allowed it to let it go.
I think Andre at least slowed him down to the body enough to where Ward was able to win the closing rounds of the fight, and that’s his history. That’s the way Ward fights, he doesn’t start real fast, he’s not a huge puncher but he’s a real ring technician and is very intelligent in the ring.
Only the American media saw Ward won the fight. The global boxing fans saw it otherwise.The boxing rats of vegas did it again, no wonder people have been shifting to MMA because of controversial decisions and incompetent boxing mice judges and referees. Kovalev won the fight, he was faster than Ward, he taught ward a boxing lesson. Andre could not even believed that he won because he knew he lost! it was a gift decision to him, an early christmas present, hurray for the Son of God! SOG!
Bob Sheridan has to re-watch to learn who outlanded who and who did the more damage. That said, i think there is something fishy about the fight, about Kovalev’s trainer as he did not give proper advice in the corner. I don’t think he wanted his ward to win, i don’t know if this was a fixed fight or the trainer is a traitor who sold his ward to the opponent. This Virgil Hunter, the Mayweathers, and John David Jackson…these are good friends with each other. Kovalev has to dump his trainer! He must be the mole.
This must be a fixed fight. I noticed that there was no force behind Kovalev’s punches that’s why Ward claimed Kovalev’s punches never hurt him in any way. Boxing is shit.