*sigh* I thought Kovalev should have gotten the nod. I could see how some people would feel like the judges got this one wrong, especially following that robbery Hooker got away with in the previous fight. Krusher was doing VERY well early on (and was rocking Ward "nearly" every time he connected), but because of that early success, I think he fell into the lull of "waiting too long" for a KO to come to him. It never materialized... and Ward, gathering his bearings, picked up some momentum and found a groove. Andre Ward proved just how tough he is in there. He showed heart and grit by pulling it together after it was blatantly clear that Kovalev's power was a huge problem for him. Instead of trying merely to survive, he put together some great bodywork, some solid jabs to the head & body, and he landed a handful of great counter left hooks during the second half of the fight. But despite this, I thought Kovalev still did enough to win a close but clear UD here, with the difference being the knockdown in the 2nd round. A rematch will surely be an interesting affair. Both guys have the potential to do better than they did tonight... but I have a feeling that Ward is actually the most likely to do even better next time. We'll see what happens then. Kovalev just tried to patiently allow the KO to come to him naturally after seeing that he could hurt Ward, but in the end a fighter like Ward was tough enough and skilled enough to adjust before such a thing happened. The rest is in the books. Looking forward to watching this fight again and re-scoring it with no commentary.
A rematch is an easy win for Ward. With belts in hand and overwhelming confidence, Ward is now unbeatable.
im looking forward to the rematch, kova did not seem like he was saving face by stating he thought the decision was wrong. ward will win just like tonight
I think you'll be waiting a long time, it took 14 months to get this fight made. It's a pity we didn't get the right decision, then we'd be done with it and on to better fights.
aw come on ward moved up to 175 took on 2 fighters (barrera was no tuneup) before fighting the champion and one of the most feared men + p4p ranked fighters. people thought hed pull out of the fight because they could not bash him any longer before he signed it. if anyone deserves hate its ****ing stevenson.
Thread/over. Ward would be lucky to see the halfway interval. He's on the slide, and Kov will just mow through him.
I'm more confident of Ward winning this one. There's no stopping Ward anymore. Kovalev had the last chance last night.
I hope there will be a rematch. Ward vs Stevenson won't be competitive. Stevenson has power, but is too slow and Ward will outbox him easily.
What were you watching? Ward was ROCKED from a JAB! Once Kovalev and his team work a strategy around lessening the amount of holding, cutting the ring off better, and bettering his conditioning - Ward is toast.
That's the best breakdown I've read yet,exactly how I seen it. I was thinking about another 50/50 fight this year when the judges favoured Framptons quality punches,even in the rounds where you could give to Ward there'd be a time where Kovelev would hit Ward with the more meaningful punches as even his jab was marking Ward up,I was surprised how Kova tired though?
I don't think that the rematch would be easy for Kovalev, although I think Kovalev was robbed, but Ward definitely fully understands what to do with Kovalev and Kovalev doesn't change a lot. And this is where big difference is between GGG and Kovalev, despite some deny it, Kovalev is a limited fighter who relies more on power and suppression, while GGG can change his plan and tactics during the fight easily.
