There appears to be some early troubles in the negotiation for the WBO light heavyweight title bout between Sergey Kovalev and Anthony Yarde.
The fight was previously ordered by the WBO on March 13 with a purse bid currently scheduled for April 12 and Kovalev's manager Egis Klimas doesn't have much reason to believe that the fight won't happen one way or another. In an interview with Boxing Talk, Klimas opened up about the current negotiations could either result in a deal being made this week or the purse bid would be conducted. Such a purse bid would result in a minimum bid of $300,000 with Kovalev getting the lion's share of the winning bid.
"It has to be because the WBO ordered Yarde as the mandatory. We don't have any scheduled fights and they gave us some time for negotiations and I believe this week if a deal isn't made we'll be going to a purse bid," Klimas said.
Negotiations hit a bit of a snag, according to Klimas, as his side received an unflattering offer from Yarde's camp. Klimas said an offer was also sent to Yarde and his team and he is currently awaiting a response.
"They're making a crazy offer and not a respectable offer for a legendary champion who has been at the top for a long time. They offer they gave was disrespectful and unacceptable. We offered them the same amount of money if they wanted to do the fight in Russia and what do you think they said to that? So we will see," Klimas said.
Kovalev has held the WBO title since February when he defeated Eleider Alvarez in a rematch that took place in Frisco, Texas. Kovalev is now in his third title reign as the WBO light heavyweight champion.
