I think a good match up for the winner would be against Artur Beterbiev, especially if Kovalev wins. I'd like to see either one of them fight Adonis Stevenson, but I don't expect Adonis to take that fight, especially if Kov wins. I have a feeling that he would be more open to fighting Ward, but he has shown me that he wants to part of Kovalev. As for the loser, I think a match against Slava Shabranskyy in the future would make for a good fight if he gets past Barrea, which he should. If Ward is the loser then the fight has a good story as they will have a common opponent and if Kovalev loses then it would be a good rebound fight against a solid opponent. Now that I think about it, has Ward even said what he plans to do after this fight?
Why would either of them think beyond the fight directly in front of them? Now is not the time to look beyond the big fight, but instead, towards the big fight.
People ask Kovalev what happens next. Having future plans doesn't necessarily mean that you are looking past your opponent. It isn't that absurd to think that the future is on the mind of both fighters.
If Kovalev loses he will continue his path towards a rematch and to regain his titles through who ever he has to. It will only give more guys an excuse to try and not fight him with out the belts even though the 175 division is not what it was in 2010-2013. If Ward wins or loses I think he might retire. I really don't think he wants to fight anymore and the only reason he took this fight was because he is the underdog that he was considered back in the Super 6 tournament. Ward likes the pressure of being doubted and if he beats Kovalev it leaves nothing for him at 175. Every fight people will call a cherry pick no matter if its Stevenson or what ever. Side Note: When Ward beats Kovalev he will never get an Adonis fight. Haymon and Jay-Z have some stupid ass beef that has something to do with Haymon and Beyonce and that's why they never have any cross promotion fights between the 2. Sad
I forgot about that. I heard about it once before, but I never found any details. From your phrasing I'm guessing the public doesn't really know what happened between them. That's very interesting and weird. That's a pretty solid prediction on what could potentially happen in the future. I hadn't considered Ward retiring, but it is possible. I've heard a lot of people speculating that Ward would go back down to 168, but he himself has said that he isn't sure he can even make that weight anymore so that kills that theory.
If the fight is contentious and or profitable, I expect a rematch, both guys don't have that many options. If not, for Ward I think his career could be over if he loses badly to be honest, I just don't see him as the type who could easily bounce back. For Kovalev, I don't think anything major would happen, kinda like Froch really, he'd continue on without that many problems.
Yeah, Ward is done, not because of his age or health but he is not mentally ready for work unless it's a big fight. Even after the Goossen suit and switching promoters he had his last 2 fights to fulfill his Roc Nation contract. Al Haymon switched from music to boxing just to drag that bull**** from over there to here. I like Haymon for his business acumen but he DKSAB or it's fans.
When Ward gets out of the hospital, he'll stay away from boxing for a year, and then come back and beg GGG for a catchweight fight.
It will probably be Adonis Stevenson for the winner. I think Kovalev will "krush" Ward and then the ultimate fight of the 2 strongest punchers in our generation will fight each other. Their is always issues coming from the promoters in organizing a fight. Haymon and Klimas will have to agree for once and for all. We all want to see Stevenson vs Kovalev. Let's just wait and see who will win the main event; Ward-Kovalev.
