After watching how Ward has not only changed the wrinkles in his offense, but seeing that he's slipped I can't give him any chance against the king at 175. Ward relies too much on that power jab, and leaves it out there looking to time the right. A master straight puncher like kovalev who has range and power advantages over Ward will be able to punch w/ Ward and won't wait to land perfect like Kessler did. I see KOvalev catching Ward on the trade and hurting him continously. Ward gets wiped out in 4-5 rds IMHO.
Ward's chin is not the greatest, and Kovalev sure can crack, so it stands to reason that Ward would get starched in such a fight.
Ward is tough nut to crack for anyone and only thing Kovalev has over Ward is punching power. Against Ward punching power is something that is not easy to utilize in the ring. Ward is better in close distance and at least as good in all other departments of boxing as Kovalev is. They are pretty much the same size, too. It would be very difficult to predict who would step out of the ring as a winner in Ward-Kovalev bout. There are a few masters in killing a boxing match with their defensive skills and Ward is one of them.
So you're 100 percent sure that Ward gets KO'd by someone who couldn't knock out a 49 year old? The same Boone that also dropped Kovalev.
It's true that Kovalev isn't exact George Chuvalo himself, but Ward - unlike Kovalev - doesn't have the pop to take advantage of it.:deal
Fight with Ward could be similar but I doubt Kovalev would treat Ward with as much respect. Hopkins COULDN'T do anything due to being countered with Russian nuclear grade plutonium. Ward won't be able to fight his fight. Kovalev is a great box puncher.
Ward will take away his best weapon. I doubt Kovalev will have as much success as some of you guys think. Ward can quickly capitalize off a simple mistake made by an opponent. Kovalev's output will shrink as the fight goes on.