Tony Bellew v Ilunga Makabu was advertised as a real life rocky story by promoter Eddie Hearn. This branding was largely based off Bellew’s role in the Creed movie where he played “Pretty” Ricky Conlan. However, after a controversial first encounter, this weekend’s rematch between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev, provides us with plenty of parallels with what is arguably the most compelling of the rocky story-lines.
In Rocky IV, Russian boxer, Ivan Drago, comes to the United States to challenge Apollo Creed. Fueled by cold war symbolism, the movie begins as Apollo Creed and Drago square off in Las Vegas at the MGM grand. Apollo takes a severe beating in the fight and dies soon after. Enraged by the unapologetic Drago, Rocky bravely challenges him in an attempt to avenge his friend.
The evocative narrative frames the fight between the two men as more than an athletic contest. It was pitched as a battle of good vs evil, reflecting the obvious reality of a world divided between two political ideologies: capitalism and communism. The fight takes place in the Soviet Union. Rocky is booed into the ring by the hostile Russian support who vehemently oppose his American values. In what is an incredibly hard fought contest, Rocky struggles in the early portion of the fight but through his resilience, he wins over the crowd as he digs deep to come out on top. He gives a politically motivated victory speech and marches out of the stadium to a standing ovation.
Fast forward 30 years and another hard punching Russian came to Las Vegas to fight America’s Andre Ward. It is billed as a battle to be crowned the best pound for pound fighter in the world. Like Rocky fighting on rival turf, Kovalev was booed into the ring by a very pro Ward crowd. In the opening salvos of the fight, again like Rocky did, Ward struggled as Kovalev knocked him down in the 2nd round. Kovalev applied the pressure for the next 4 rounds but then began to fade and as a resilient Ward battled back. At the final bell everyone including Andre Ward, was shocked to hear Ward announced as the victor by unanimous decision. In his post-fight interview, Kovalev was cheered by crowd as he explained that he felt he had been robbed.
It is generally accepted in boxing that in order to dethrone a champion, you must win in convincing style. It is hotly contested whether Ward won at all and it certainly wasn’t convincing. The Red Scare and anti-Russian feeling from the 1980’s still pervade American society today and it would be naïve to think that it didn’t play a part in the solely American judging panel’s decision. As a result, the parallels with the cold war sentiment of the Rocky movie are obvious.
In the buildup to this weekend’s rematch, the Russian has once again been demonized, branded as hot-headed, disrespectful and at times racist. Meanwhile Ward has been portrayed as cool, calm and collected, the consummate champion who is ready to correct the one blip on his otherwise spotless record.
It is very surprising to me that more hasn’t been made of the once again, a solely American judging panel, that will be adjudicating the contest. Perhaps the judges themselves don’t even see it, but the innate cultural bias is there. Kovalev’s promoter, Kathy Duva, requested neutral judges but it was denied by the commission. Given the history of the two nations involved in this contest, it is hardly an unreasonable request.
As we go into the rematch then, Kovalev has it all to do. He is Rocky in Russia. He faces a hostile crowd on foreign territory and a judging panel comprising of exclusively judges from the home nation. He is also no longer the defending champion having lost his IBF,WBO and WBA light heavyweight belts the last time round, making the task all the more difficult. Furthermore, in what could be interpreted as a gross betrayal, rumors have circulated about Kovalev’s trainer John Jackson attempting to jump ship to team Ward. Accusations which Jackson has denied, saying Ward’s team reached out to him. Regardless, it will have no doubt strained the pair’s relationship.
Either way, this political twist makes for compelling viewing. There will be no love lost between the pair when the opening bell rings. Can Kovalev come through this career defining fight and win over the American public? Or could his nationality provide an insurmountable barrier? Kovalev who is known as “The Krusher” will certainly be looking for a stoppage to take it out of the judge’s hands. Paradoxically, he will be looking to emulate Rocky, as he seeks to do the improbable on enemy turf.
