Andre Ward scored an eighth-round technical knockout over Russia’s Sergei Kovalev to defend his three light-heavyweight titles.
The 33-year-old Ward on June 17 improved his record to 32-0 (15 knockouts) by defeating the 34-year-old Kovalev (31-1-1, 26 KOs) in the 175-pound title rematch.
The Las Vegas fight ended with Kovalev in the corner and Ward landing shots to the body. Kovalev sat on the ring rope, and the referee signaled an end to the bout at 2:29 of the eighth round.
Kovalev had won the early rounds before Ward came back as Kovalev began tiring.
Ward received a guaranteed $6.5 million payday for the fight.
Kovalev, a former champion, will receive a percentage of the pay-per-view TV revenue, likely far less than what Ward received. In his previous fight against Ward in November 2016, Kovalev received $2 million while Ward got $5 million.
Ward won the first fight between the two by a 114-113 margin on all three judges' scorecards, earning the U.S. boxer the IBF, WBA, and WBO championships. It was a controversial decision after Ward came back from a second-round knockdown to get the decision.
