Obviously no connection with British boxing but the main forum threads always descend into crap arguments so making this here. How have you guys got this? I have Ward clearly on points. He'll take away Kovalev's brilliant jab/hook and nullify him IMO.
I think Ward points but I'm not really confident about it. If Ward can bring the Super 6 form with him then I can't look past him. But Kovalev can change a fight with one shot and he will land at some point. Plus, Ward's feet have looked good since returning but lack the real sharpness he once had. It's difficult to be that inactive for so long and retain what he had previously.
Kovalev via TKO. He can take that power into the twelfth, Ward hasn't been facing the best in years, and no way does Ward hold him off for the full 36 minutes. Kovalev. TKO. Round 10. Ward is phenomenal, but this is Sergei's time.
Kovalev all day for me maybe biased as big fan think his boxing skils are severely underrated obviously he can punch ( Agree with cut throat fade General forum crap at times) A lot ppl were sayin kov would be outboxed by clev then Hopkins would old man him and he made both look easy always rises challenge willing go other boxers backyard as well never shirks a challenge unlike others and hope he does win as always liked attitude guy wants the best and belives is best but not a dick like others he can box and fight and is good watch plus hopin if he does win sets up Stevenson fight again a think wins. Really hope and do believe could be a really good fight tho and stick neck out say kovalev in 7-9 rounds.
Can't decide already changed my mind like 3 times. Looking forward to it though and hope it lives up to the hype.
Yeah one of those fights. You know it's a big one when you keep changing your mind. Shame the undercard is so poor.
Kovalev will be frustrated in this fight. There is no way Ward will fight his fight. I don't think Ward will land as many on Kovalev but I reckon he will produce a bit more of the eye catching, counter punching stuff.
If Ward can smother Kov's work and/or be just out of range often enough when Krusher unloads, Andre wins a tight UD either with solid counters from the outside and working angles to get off his shots up close, or a combination of both. If Kov can throw (and land, obviously) while planting his lead leg (Kov and GGG are renowned for this skill) then he will take away Ward's just-out-of-range comfort zone. That leaves Ward with the option of taking the fight inside and hoping he has the strength to do this, and the ref to let him use all his arsenal of 'tactics' - namely the dark art of boxing. People should not deride Ward for this, it's part of the game and maybe where he wins this by making it ugly. In his last fight, Ward was caught a few times more than usual while moving back half steps to get out of range and this might indicate the extra weight at 174 and aging reflexes are taking away his athletic advantages. So my guess is he'll go for the phone booth approach before stepping out of clinches (expect the ref to be busy) and re-setting. Ward does not have power, we all know this but he is stronger than people think. Strong enough to smother Kov and work from the inside? If he is, he wins. If he can't deploy these tactics and/or is be caught by Kov's accurate and powerful shots while trying to move out of range, he may be stopped. But getting off the fence, I'm saying Ward will outmanoeuvre Kov and win on points.
Kovalev has natural size and power -ward is superior in every other area of boxing. Apart from power Kovalev is very ordinary. Very crude. If they were the same size Ward would stroll through this. Even as it is he should still win.
Ward wins by staying close and getting in clever/scrappy work on the inside. Kovalev can outbox ward imo if he keeps it mid to long range, people seem to seriously underestimate sergeys boxing ability and think he' just a banger. Dont feel 100% confident picking either way, but will go for kovalev as the more active, stronger man