John David Jackson details split, lambasts Sergey Kovalev

Jackson claims that he is no longer Kovalev’s trainer.

Andre Ward and his camp insisted there there was friction in Sergey Kovalev’s corner prior to their rematch. Turns out they were right.

John David Jackson, Kovalev’s (presumed former) trainer, sat down with boxing podcast ATG Radio recently and was, well, less than generous towards his most famous pupil. World Boxing News transcribed some of the choice bits, which include:

I knew that we could have won the rematch but Sergey started making money, getting big headed and he didn’t want to train hard anymore. Every camp was worse and worse.

I was doing some body work on Sergey, I made him fold up. I’m 54 years old and he couldn't take it. I told Don, if Ward can get inside, withstand his early shots then he (Sergey) is in trouble and that is what happened, he proved me right.

Sergey likes to talk trash. He said a couple of things. He's blaming me for the loss but let me tell you this, you can’t blame me for your loss when you quit. He quit!

He makes Russian people look bad, all the Russians that I’ve trained, they are wonderful people man. They would give you the shirt of their back. This guy (Kovalev), is a complete dick. He wants everything for himself.

It will definitely be worth watching whether Kovalev is as damaged as Jackson says when he eventually makes his return. There were rumblings about him possibly facing Sullivan Barrera, who is for sure not somebody to fight in anything below peak condition.