Andre Ward survives second round knockdown to come back and beat Sergey Kovalev and remain 20-years unbeaten
Self-proclaimed Son Of God finds redemption to inflict first defeat on Russian big hitting Kovalev
ANDRE WARD came back from a second round knockdown to win on points against Sergey Kovalev.
Both fighters were unbeaten going into the bout but Ward snatched all three of the Russian's belts in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
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Kovalev set the tone for the early rounds by hurting the American in the first with a heavy left hand shot.
The Russian sent Ward to the canvas in the second round with a right hand that landed flush on the side of the American's head.
Ward, 32, had to call on all his skills and experience to survive as Kovalev looked to finish the night early and inflict the only defeat on the self proclaimed "Son of God's" record as an amateur or professional.
The former Super Middleweight champion, in his third fight as a Light heavyweight, won on all three judges scorecards 114-113 to win the WBA, IBF and WBO belts.
But many pundits and fans thought Kovalev won.
Kovalev felt aggrieved by the close decision as foreigner fighting on American soil he said "I'm a guest here in the USA and he's a local, and all the judges are from the USA.
"I agree they support their boxer but honestly, this is sport. Don't make it like politics."
Here's what fighters, pundits and fans had to say on social media after the fight in Las Vegas.
'But I don't want to give my opinion. Everybody is here, witnesses are here, everybody saw what happened.
"He got maybe a few rounds. But not the whole fight. I kept control. I lost maybe three rounds.' Kovalev added.
It came as no surprise the 2004 Olympic Champion saw things differently claiming "You never know how judges are going to see it. But take nothing away from Kovalev.
"In a tight fight, he's going to feel like he got robbed, I'd have been been disappointed. But we got the belts tonight." Ward added.
With the fight so close and boxing opinion split, there will surely be a clamour for a rematch with Ward earning around £4million and Kovalev £1.6m with a cut of the pay-per-view numbers.