The fight was FIXED! Hopkins was ROBBED!

I think the real winner tonight was boxing. Credit goes to both guys.

 

I think that was either lying there or maybe just lying to himself.

Kovalev has never been just a walk in and hit you kind of puncher. He punches with full extension using his reach so controlling distance is a big part of his game but we had really only seen that when Kovalev was moving forward, we didn't know if he could do it moving backwards or laterally against such an agile opponent like BHop.

Kovalev showed he has other facets to his game. His upper body movement and defense could be better but his foot work and control of range is superb which for me means he would be a big favourite against Stevenson as Stevenson relies on this to get in and out but against Kovalev I see him getting caught jumping in as Kovalev actually has the better footwork and control of distance.

 

Credit to Nard for taking this fight. I don't think many thought he'd ever be on the end of such a schooling as his fans would put it.

 

Massive props to Bernard, but he took the fight cos he was daring to be great and because if you're boxing for the challenge and the glory (let's face it, Bernard already has all the money he'll ever need) at 50 years old you don't want to be wasting fights on the likes of Najib Mohammedi - the mando he would have had to face had he not been able to get a unification fight.

He reached out to Main Events and Kovalev with something like 2 days to spare before the IBF would have enforced the mandatory. He was obviously trying to get the Stevenson fight but apparently being stalled by Haymon who knew of the issues with his mando and was either trying to upbid him or (possibly) hoping he'd vacate.

You're right though - he could have carried on fighting the Mohammedis of the World (Shumenov and even Cloud aren't much better, but of course they had the belts so were justifiable fights) but its to Bernards massive credit that what he wanted was to be great(er) by unifying the division. After the Cloud fight (or pre Shumenov) when that ambition appears to have crystalised everything he's done since makes perfect sense once you understand what he was trying to do.

Kovalev was obviously a step to far, but FWIW I think BHops probably would have beaten Stevenson had the fight been made. Regardless, you can't help but be impressed by the ambition and drive of the man.

 

He has already beaten him twice hasn't he I believe it was in the amateurs

 

Never seen a welterweight with destructive power in both hands along with the high ring iq and boxing ability.

Lucas Mythesse was the last hyped up puncher but anyone could see he was one dimensional and pretty stupid inside the ring.

 

Rummy you're a **** ( i don't mean that, you know i'm joking )

But props to you for having the balls and the conviction to side with Nard pre fight, and props for having the balls to come back after the event and say " i got it wrong ".

Nard made lots of friends by taking this fight and by fighting in the correct manner, there was no contrversy.

What a shame we don't have more fighters like Nard ( taking the biggest challenges )

And more posters like Rummy ( calling the shots, and holding their hands up when they get thing wrong )

 

Yes - Kovalev proved himself further in this fight against the wily Hopkins (who should be applauded himself, just for making the distance). His patience, precision and power were all on display - over the full twelve - which, as you allude to, was more satisfying to watch than Kovalev's virtually routine blasting out of opponents.

I can understand why people called it for Hopkins before the fight because he has surprised in the past but, as I have said in another thread, Kovalev is not a run-of-the-mill Boxer and demonstrated that beyond doubt, last night.

 

Fair play Rumsfeld, fair play. Nice to see a fan of a certain fighter giving credit to the opponent when they're beaten rather than excuses :good

 

Beterbiev was the European and world champion in the amateurs, and was one of the premier boxers there as well (he had a reputation of one of the biggest punchers in the AMs). At the Bejing Olympics he was robbed against the home fighter Zhang Xiaoping, who later went to win the tournament. He then moved up to heavyweight and was twice closely defeated by Usyk (another elite guy, who is now on the mission to take over the cruiser division). Beterbiev is a big light heavy, and him competing at heavyweight in 2011/12 in the amateurs makes me question whether or not will he be able to stay withing the LHW limit for long. He is 29 years old, so I guess that if he doesn't have major problems making the weight, it's safe to say his time is coming.

Tavoris Cloud, although not as good as his pedigree suggested (world champion until just recently), was a big step up in class for only 6th fight. I favored Beterbiev and expected him to break Cloud down and eventually stop him mid/late rounds, but certainly didn't expect to see him walking through Cloud and destroying him in 2 rounds. Anyway he just confirmed that everything he showed in the amateurs was there, so if everything goes as planned, he will make his way to the top pretty soon.

Regarding the possible Kovalev fight, he already beat Sergey twice in the amateurs, and would be possibly the most difficult style match-up for Kovalev in the pros. Considering that Kovalev is now the champion and Beterbiev is just on his way up, and also being slightly generous to the champ, I'd say that this is right now a 55/45 or 60/40 in Kovalev's favor.

Regarding Andre Ward, yes, he could definitely have a good chance against Kovalev, assuming he comes with the right strategy and perfectly executes the gameplan (which is one of the things he is known for). I'm not exactly sure about the fight favorite as it would require deeper analysis but Ward is more complete than Hopkins in my opinion and has some qualities that Hopkins never even possessed, and he is definitely among the boxers who stand at least a solid chance against Kovalev at the moment.

 

Plus a 40 lb. bloated head to carry around for awhile- definitely an alien head- just making fun
He took some hammers and I'm glad he's not hurt

 

na rummikub is a nerd, he spoke alot of **** leadin up to this, and when his knowledge of boxing is shown to be flawed, he tries to be all humble and friendly. hes a gimp like mvc,sweetsciguru,markq,ciscoroute,ellerbe. all gimps them. :hat