Interim WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (10-0, 8 KOs) says former champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) must use his feet to fight at a distance with IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Andre “SOG” Ward (31-0, 15 KOs) at all times for him to beat the American in their rematch on June 17 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Bivol feels that Kovalev has the advantage over Ward when he’s on the outside due to his quicker feet than the 32-year-old. Bivolv notes that Kovalev gave his advantage last time he fought Ward by letting him crowd him and fight on the inside rather than staying on the outside the way he needed to for him to win. Bivol says that Kovalev doesn’t need to make a lot of changes in his game in order for him to beat Ward in the rematch other than to make sure that he stays on the outside.
“I don’t think he has to do much different,” said Bivol to Fighthype.com about what Kovalev needs to do in the rematch with Ward. “He has to do what he was doing in the beginning of the fight. Some people may not realize but Kovalev’s big advantage is his legs also. He does a lot of movement with his legs. As soon as he started letting Ward in close distance, it was a disadvantage to him. I think if he can save that freshness in his feet and use his feet to fight at a distance, he can have an advantage and keep it for the entire fight,” said Bivolv.
Bivol, 26, defeated Samuel Clarkson (19-4, 12 KOs) by a 4th round knockout last Friday night to win the interim WBA light heavyweight title at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
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