That stoppage was a black eye to boxing. I don't want Tony Winks to ref a big fight ever again after that BS. Kovalev should have received a standing eight. Hope winks don't ref MayMac the first time Mcgregors gets buzzed the fight will be stopped
I was neutral before the fight and still am now when I say this - That last shot from Ward wasn't even close to being borderline, it was way low and he has won with an illegal shot. You can't blame Kovalev for feeling like he's been robbed. With that being said, I think Kovalev was done. He had nothing left. Maybe some of the other borderline shots caught up with him, but, ultimately, Kovalev did exactly the same as in the 1st fight - started well and faded badly. With or without the low blow that ended it, there was only going to be one winner imo - Ward.
Putting everything aside, did anyone time how quickly they concluded the fight and winded the whole production down? It's like Weeks was waiting for a reason to stop it. And soon as he did, the HBO team and everyone involved waiting on the cue to end the program. WTF, I've never seen a fight conclude as quickly as this one. All the HBO monkeys were in on it, denying any low blow possibility. The amount of deception was off the chart and this corruption really runs high up the chain.
I thought I was the only one who noticed the collusion. Even Kovalev's reaction seemed abnormally calm. You know, as if mission accomplished attitude.
there should never have been a black ref in this particular fight, after the controversy of the first fight, and the nationalistic/racial stuff in the build ups to both fights.
Well, people don't enjoy getting insulted and Kovalev should know that in the USA such racist talk can be costly. In fact, it can provoke a cooperative effort between AA and USA Anglos in positions of decision-making authority in the boxing venue to punish a person whom they consider a foreigner for having crossed the line. USA Americans can be very efficiently vindictive when they feel provoked. In fact, maybe that's why he wasn't given the decision in the first fight. It's their way of saying "Go home with that BS!"