By Keith Idec

LAS VEGAS – Andre Ward’s promoter vehemently disputed Sergey Kovalev’s contention that Ward hasn’t done enough to help promote their pay-per-view fight Saturday night.

Russia’s Kovalev will be paid primarily from percentages of pay-per-view and tickets sales. The former light heavyweight champion has grown increasingly angry this week in part because Ward will be paid a guarantee of at least $6 million by Roc Nation Sports, no matter how their rematch performs on pay-per-view ($64.99 in HD) or at the gate at Mandalay Bay Events Center ($105-$1,255 for tickets).

Roc Nation Sports’ Michael Yormark contends Kovalev has no one to blame but himself and his promoter, Main Events. Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) participated in a three-city press tour in April, a media day at his training camp and a conference call last month, and an interview session with reporters Tuesday at Mandalay Bay to help promote their rematch.

He has been criticized, though, for skipping another interview session with reporters prior to Thursday’s press conference, for leaving in the middle of the press conference and for not making it to Las Vegas in time to do a live interview, alongside Ward, during HBO Pay-Per-View’s broadcast of the Canelo Alvarez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight May 6 at T-Mobile Arena.

“I think it’s odd that they would even make a comment about it because they’ve done nothing to promote this fight,” Yormark, Roc Nation’s president and chief of branding & strategy, told a group of reporters Thursday. “Kathy [Duva, Main Events’ CEO] has been quoted as saying that, ‘I wanna take a backseat. Let Roc Nation and Team Ward do what they wanna do.’ She’s really done nothing. Sergey’s done nothing. If anything, Sergey has hurt the promotion with some of the comments that he’s made, some of the outrageous comments that he’s made. The champ has carried this promotion from Day One. There’s not an interview we asked Andre to do that he didn’t do, because he knew how important it was to get behind this.

“And let’s be honest, while we’re talking about this, Sergey has no following. I mean, Main Events has had him for what, five, six years? What have they done with him? Nobody knows who he is, he has no following, he can’t sell tickets, he can’t sell pay-per-view. You know? We’ve got one person in this fight, OK, that’s got a following, that has fans, that can help sell pay-per-view, that can help sell tickets. Kathy Duva, on 24/7, on the HBO show, actually said that when she walked into the building [T-Mobile Arena] in November she was shocked that 90 percent of the crowd was there to support Andre. The last time her fighter fought here at Mandalay Bay [in July 2015], they had 2,000 people in the building, when he was defending his title [against mandatory challenger Nadjib Mohammedi]. OK? So I don’t know what she’s talking about.”

Ward was more diplomatic, but the IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion also disagreed with Kovalev’s claim.

“I felt the same way,” Ward said. “I felt like we did 80 percent of the work. And that’s a fact. He’s not the most entertaining guy. He’s not the most – when you talk to him, you don’t walk away blown away. I mean, just being honest. Same lines, same rehearsed stuff. He’s got an image he’s gotta uphold and that’s the image that a lot of media gave him and he gave himself, as being this ‘Krusher.’ So, you know, the dude walks around angry all the time. And, you know, that doesn’t really – hardcore fans may like it and appreciate it. But mainstream fans, they don’t really understand that. The guy’s gotta smile a little bit more. He can still be mean. I smile, I have a good time. I definitely have my game face on, but there’s a time to turn the switch on and when to turn it off.

“But in terms of promoting the fight, I think we’ve done way more than him, way more than him. And it really doesn’t even matter. We’ve explained the [HBO] ‘Face-Off’ situation in detail. It’s not really a long story. It’s a short story. I’m just not even interested in elaborating on that stuff. I’m on a mission right now and refuse to be distracted by any of the outside chatter. That stuff is for the buildup and we’re here now. We’re a few days away, so I’m on a mission to get in the ring, defend my belts, and glorify God and go home and kiss my wife and kids. That’s the mission. But let me ask you this? What if I skipped this [interview] session? What do you think would be written?”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.