Which 175ers in history would you comfortably favour over Sergey Kovalev?

Spinks, Jones Jr, Moorer, hearns, Quawi, Saad Muhammad. Even James Toney who fought there for awhile.

 

Moorer looked impressive at LHW but had few wins over decent opponents at that weight. Leslie Stewart was stopped in the 8th round by Moorer and was somewhat of a pain in the ass prior to the stoppage. Stewart had already been stopped in the 7th round by Marvin Johnson and in the 4th round by Virgil Hill. Hill was not known for winning fights inside the distance. He had also been stopped in the 5th round by Donny LaLonde and dropped a close decision to Bobby Czyz. He still looks to have the potential to give any LHW problems.

Ezzard Charles still ranks #1 all-time at LHW on my list.

Michael Spinks, no reason to think he couldn't handle what Kovalev had to dish out. Tyson and Kovalev are two different animals. Other than Tyson, no other fighter dropped Spinks.

Virgil Hill? Hill had speed and skill, he also could take a great shot... he'd have to vs. Kovalev.

Archie Moore, Bob Foster, Gene Tunney, others?

I like Kovalev but I'm not convinced that he would have beat any of them yet. Bob Foster didn't have the best chin so that might be a problem. On the other hand Gene Tunney was 1 of only 3 Lineal HW Champs who were never stopped... Marciano and Bowe are the other 2... Tunney could take a good punch.

 

I'd pick him over Toney. Toney didn't do much at LHW to be honest. He lost to Griffin twice and even Thadzi. His win over Charles Williams was actually at 168 and Williams was not at his best.

 

Spinks, Moore, Foster, Loughran.

 

None "comfortably."

 

He is a handful for anyone but who has he beat?
His resume doesn't compare to.
Harold Johnson's, Conn's,Loughran's, Foster's, Moore's.,Lewis's,Rosenbloom's,Greb's Charles',Tunney's.
We don't even know if he can beat Stevenson.
Would he beat Qawi,Spinks,Galindez,Saad,Conteh?

 

If he beats Stevenson and Ward, he's a certified ATG LHW in my book.

 

He only needs to beat Ward. I'd favor none in history comfortably over Kovalev at 175 pounds.

 

Stevenson is a test of power. As it stands he's not beaten a big puncher.

 

Kovalev has been a world champion since August 2013. Not even three years. His big fights are ahead of him.

Ward is a lock for the hall of fame. Kovalev vs. Ward is a rare prime vs prime matchup of undefeated fighters. It's the best possible match up in boxing today.

I'd pick Kovalev to beat Conn, Johnson, Loughran, Rosenbloom, and Greb.

The other's we shall see.

 

I love Kovalev. But, he is relatively untested at this point. He (through no fault of his own) has faced a lot of bums, and very few quality fighters to truly evaluate him. Hopkins was WAY past prime, and the rest of Kovalev's resume is more of a "who's that?" than a "Who's Who?" of the LHW division.

As it stands now, I would take Tunney, Charles, Foster, Spinks, Qawi, Moore, Greb, Loughran, Conn, and Fitzsimmons as clear favorites over Sergey.

A number of fighters like Virgil Hill, Roy Jones, Jack Dillon, Johnson, Saad-Mohammed, Moustafa-Mohammed, and Galindez would all have a very good chance of beating Sergey. He definitely has flaws, and his chin is far from concrete.

A match against Ward will tell us a lot.

 

KRUSHER Kovalev is a total package, i just want him to fight a puncher like adonis. when he does dispatch him, we can rate him more.

Qawi is a hard man to beat, so tough.

 

Kovalev's only wins of note are over Pascal and an ancient Hopkins .There is no basis to pick him over proven atg 175 pounders on that resume.
He is 33 years old ,time is not on his side.

 

This would be a great debate after he retires. Right now no because his best win is over a scared Bernard Hopkins.

 

I think even Tommy Hearns would have a good chance...