The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of March 27
Andre Ward is back!
Once again!
Ward dominated Sullivan Barrera on Saturday night in what was close to a vintage performance, so we ponder whether or not the once-undisputed super middleweight champ is ready for the challenge of Sergey Kovalev.
We also look at what comes next for Kell Brook, the Adrien Broner disaster, Tyson Fury vs. Wladimir Klitschko II and send some prayers to Nick Blackwell.
These are the hottest boxing storylines for the week.
Is Andre Ward Ready for Kovalev?
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Ward did what Ward does on Saturday night, battering and thoroughly outclassing Sullivan Barrera for a unanimous-decision verdict in front of his hometown fans at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
It wasn't quite vintage Ward, a former undisputed super middleweight champion, but it was close. And given his sporadic activity and another long (nine-month) layoff that preceded the fight, it was much more than most expected.
Ward looked sharp, beguiling Barrera, a previously undefeated Cuban contender, with his speed and boxing acumen that allows him to see the board and plan several moves ahead. He dropped Barrera in Round 3 with a precise left hook and dominated the whole way.
The win all but clears the path for a fall showdown with Russian unified light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev, so long as both men win interim bouts over the summer. Both men are entitled to one more fight, which must take place by the end of June.
Kovalev is planning a defense in his native Russia (though no opponent has yet been named) while Ward definitely plans to take advantage of the opportunity to face live fire once more before battling the Krusher, per Mike Coppinger of USA Today.
That means, barring any unforeseen setbacks, Ward and Kovalev should do battle sometime in the late fall on HBO pay-per-view, which is great news for boxing fans.
What's Next for Kell Brook?
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Brook didn't have the slightest bit of difficulty in dispatching Kevin Bizier, a pretty pedestrian mandatory challenger, on Saturday night. He won by knockout in the second round to retain his IBF Welterweight Championship in Sheffield.
The result wasn't unexpected, but it was the ferocity of the Brit's attack that really stuck out on this night. He didn't play around, jumping on Bizier early and often before getting him out of there in emphatic fashion.
Not much else has to be said on that fight, really.
It's what comes next for the champion that should be dominating the headlines.
Brook seems most interested in unification fights, calling out Danny Garcia and Jessie Vargas, among others, in pre-fight comments, per Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook. He said he was willing to once again come across the pond to the United States to make significant fights happen.
He also didn't back down from one challenge that seems (to some at least) a bridge too far.
Brook made news last week when he brought up the idea of moving up in weight to challenge undefeated Kazakh wrecking ball and unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin. He won't back down from that challenge, though it seems unlikely since it would require a catchweight, which GGG's team opposes.
Still, give him credit for having guts.
Either of the other two fights he mentioned work, however.
Can Broner Overcome Theophane, and Does It Matter?
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Broner is obviously a troubled young man.
The three-division world champion defends his WBA Junior Welterweight Championship Saturday night against Ashley Theophane in what's really a proxy war with his former mentor Floyd Mayweather.
But he has much bigger problems than that.
TMZ reported on Thursday that Broner has a warrant out for his arrest in his native Cincinnati for felonious assault and aggravated robbery (with a gun) stemming from an alleged incident outside a bowling alley in the early hours of January 21.
The story would be ridiculous if it wasn't so troubling and fit into a larger pattern of bizarre and self-destructive behavior over the past year.
Court documents obtained by TMZ state that Broner waited outside the alley after losing thousands of dollars in high-stakes bowling belts, retrieved his gun from his car and demanded his money back. The documents say at that point, he punched the man, rendering him unconscious and took the cash from his person before fleeing the scene, according to TMZ.
The alleged victim sustained injuries and was taken to a local hospital where he received stitches on his chin.
The fight will go on despite these allegations, but they'll become a grim backdrop for Broner, who had so much promise before a lack of commitment and out-of-ring troubles stalled his progress.
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Will Fury-Klitschko II Remove the Stench of the First Bout?
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It's not like Fury's heavyweight title rematch with Klitschko has much to live up to.
The first fight was the very definition of a stinker, and short of a rematch clause written into the contract which Klitschko immediately activated, as was his right, there would be no reason to ever see it again.
Ever.
Alas, Edward Chaykovsky of Boxing Scene reports that the rematch will likely take place this July in the United Kingdom, which would give the newly-crowned champion a deserved home-field advantage.
The towering Brit traveled to Germany in November to unseat the long-reigning champ in front of a hostile crowd and earned a chance to defend his crown at home.
One looking to take the glass-half-full approach to this fight has a couple of things going.
The first fight was so bad that it can't possibly be that bad again, right?
Klitschko looked so wary and gun shy that he allowed Fury to beat him with mostly feints and the occasional punch. The biggest losers, other than Wlad, were the fans who somehow resisted the urge to snooze on the couch during such a significant fight.
Wlad received so much criticism for his unwillingness to do much of anything, even when it appeared he was well behind and needed a knockout to win. You'd have to think he'll be more aggressive, which should make for a better fight.
Prayers for Nick Blackwell
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It seems like these type of stories are written far too often in boxing these days.
Chris Eubank Jr., the son of legendary British former world champion Chris Eubank, battered Blackwell on Saturday night to capture the British middleweight championship. But unfortunately, the story is what happened after the fight.
Blackwell, who had severe swelling above his left eye, was pulled from the fight in Round 10 due to his injuries but collapsed in the ring and was taken to the hospital where it was discovered he had bleeding on the brain.
Haroon Siddique of The Guardian reports that the Wiltshire fighter is currently in a medically-induced coma.
British Boxing Board of Control general secretary Robert Smith described the procedure as "normal" but cautioned that there was "no timescale" for a potential recovery. It's a game of wait and see now.
Obviously this is gutting news for all boxing fans.
We wish nothing but the best and a full, speedy recovery for Nick Blackwell.
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