Is Sergey Kovalev Really As Badly Past It As People Seem To Think He Is?

Bivol isn't as much of a finisher, Beterbiev had a guy running all night trying to survive, Gvozdyk has had two off fights against middling competition. Kovalev had some iffy nights at his peak too but he was still a much better fighter than he is today. I don't see any reason to favor current Kovalev over any of those 3.

 

Idk about easy work. But if said particular fighters management makes the fight it's for a reason. Also weight draining and PED could give that fighter the edge he needed.

 

serge,i believe if you look at the fight, the ref was waving it off as the blow to the belt landed,.

So how do you give someone five minutes after the fight is stopped? You are asking an impossibility.

What makes you ask an impossibility?

 

Bivol is fundamentally brilliant. Has the bouncing in and out amateur footwork that people have said would never work in the pros.

On the flip side, people call Mikey Garcia fundamentally perfect but he's a plodder who drops his hands low with his punches. He was exposed against Spence.

 

Kovalev from cleverly fight would stop yarde in 2-3 rounds. Yes he is shot .

 

Have you thought that he is descending from a high apex, so even a moderately diminished Kovalev is still a good fighter?

 

You ever think that Eastern Europeans debut too late? The amatuer system is good for developing skills, but they take too long to build a name and reputation in the pro ranks. By the time they have carved out some respect and gotten some decent names on their resume their chronological age is ticking up.

In the grand scheme of things is 32 or 33 old? Hell no, in the general world that's a young man. But in pro boxing that's about the time where a fighters reflexes are a little slower. You start getting nailed by punches you didnt used to. You start having more difficulty putting combinations together, Kovalev actually used to throw hooks and would even double up with them. The gas tank and reserves start to deplete a little bit faster. The handspeed and timing just seem to be off a tad bit.

I honestly believe that guys like GGG and Koavlev were near the very end of their peak when they first won titles. By the time anybody besides the most hardcore even knew who they were they were already over the hill, even if only slightly.

I think Loma realized this and his mistake by going for another gold. He debuted at 26 like Kovalev and didnt want to be building his record for 5 years. He knew he didnt have time to waste. But he was a little too overeager and took on a rough and experienced veteran his 2nd fight and received a small education in the pro game.

I'm just saying why would a 28 year old fighter for example be building his name and record? That's go time. Time is now.

 

His physical decline has forced him to use his much under-utilised boxing skills. Whoever tagged him Krusher did him a disservice, because he was never just a big punch waiting to be landed. Always thought he should have been developed as a boxer/puncher, and he showed this in the first Ward fight.

Thought Buddy earned his corn vs Yarde because threatening to pull him from the fight focussed his mind to go back to his very sound fundamentals. The humiliation of being pulled out of a fight against a novice was just the right button to press, at the right time.

 

He's past it I feel, keep in mind this guy doesn't lead the most healthy lifestyle, he's not a long lasting guy.

 

He's fine. Did you see how his body looked vs. Yarde? That's the best he has ever looked physically.