We know Hopkins knew how to survive. Don’t twist it like he was easy to stop. As far as top flight opponents go, both failed. The only two were Qawi and Ward, but at least Kovalev almost beat Ward. Johnson, Mustafa, Lopez, Parlov and Conteh were more like A-/B+ guys, but Saad didn’t blow through them. Kovalev blew through a lot of B listers and wasn’t served the next level, but didn’t fail as often as Saad either.
Oh. So, now it’s fighters, who grow old and start losing more often in the late segment of their careers that are journeymen (even if they are still challenging for world titles)... ...it’s all becoming much cloudier now - thanks.
Prime Hopkins was very difficult to stop. But, the version of B-Hop that fought Kovalev was stopped by a club level fighter in his very next fight, and then never fought again. Had Kovalev fought in Saad's era, he would have been exposed for his limitations much sooner. And picked up far more losses. There is no guarantee he even picks up a belt, much less holds onto one.
There’s no guarantee that he’d lose to Wayne McGee, Mustafa, Marvin Camel, and lose most of his fights after Qawi either.
If Kovalev actually got in the ring with prime Qawi, I think it would wreck him, as well. And, your comments sound more like someone getting all his information from boxrec, than someone who actually watched Saad fight.
Just because I thoroughly enjoyed watching Bert Cooper fight doesn't mean I "overrated" him. I am well aware of Cooper's strengths and limitations. And, you have documented absolutely no evidence to the contrary. I have been closely following boxing since the late 70s. I have appreciated talent in all of those decades. But, as someone who has followed boxing so consistently, it is clear as day that the overall level of skill and competition has dramatically decreased over the last 20 years. (with a few rare exceptions) Watching some of the higher level fights from the 80s often appears to be a different sport than the garbage passed off as "title" fights today.
Maxim lost 29 of 116 fights ,8 of them when he was over 35 years old. A natural light heavy he fought 43 opponents over 190lbs. Five men he beat held world titles. Ignorance is bliss I suppose!
You’re really going round in circles now. In your last post you stated: “Glen Johnson is a journeyman too, in the last half decade of his career at least”. Now, it’s that he was already a journeyman before he won a title... This, no doubt, is why Glen Johnson spent 8 consecutive years in the Ring’s Top-10 Light Heavyweights. I can’t be bothered to keep going back and forth on this with you. You’re wrong. Go study and learn.
Kovalev's resume Gabriel Campillo: Former WBA champ and ranked #3 by both The Ring and TBRB. Campillo beat Shumenov, Cloud, Garay, and Murat. That's 4 LHW champions and he outboxed them all. Campillo was a talented boxer and one of the best LHWs (should've been a champ) when Kovalev beat him. Kovalev had no experience at world-level when he fought Campillo, yet he destroyed Campillo in 3 rounds. Nathan Cleverly: Cleverly was the WBO champion with 5 title defences. Kovalev-Cleverly was a pick 'em fight. Not an ATG fighter but he was one of the best LHWs in the world and Kovalev made him look like a bum. Bernard Hopkins: Yes, he was 49 years old but that doesn't mean Kovalev's win is meaningless. Hopkins was 48 when he won the IBF title from Cloud, 49 when he won the WBA title from Shumenov to become the unified LHW champion. Hopkins schooled both and then he got schooled by Kovalev. Hopkins wasn't old enough to unify the division but he was too old for Kovalev. Nowhere near a prime Hopkins but not a corpse either. It was the way Kovalev shut him down that was impressive imo. B-Hop was doing his usual thing laying traps around the ring but Kovalev didn't fall for it. He didn't overcommit and he stuck to the gameplan using his 1-2 and methodical pressure. Kovalev dominated Hopkins and it wasn't just because Hopkins was 49, it was also because Kovalev was a great boxer. Jean Pascal: Pascal was ranked #3 by Ring and TBRB when Kovalev beat him. Pascal beat an undefeated Chad Dawson. He beat Lucian Bute, Marcus Browne, and Diaconu (twice). 4 years after he lost to Kovalev, Pascal managed to beat a top 5 LHW in Marcus Browne. Kovalev is also the only fighter ever to stop Pascal. Andre Ward: Kovalev arguably beat Ward in their first fight. Ward was the best fighter of his era (post-Floyd/Pacman) and he had 3 fights at 175 before he fought Kovalev. This is where it comes down to a matter of opinion. How did you score the first Ward fight? Don't be a hypocrite though. Some people will call it Ward 2-0 here, and 0-2 in a Ward thread (robbery + low blows). Can't give the modern fighter credit. If you think Kovalev beat Ward in the first fight, that's a better win that most LHWs have on their resumes. Ward wasn't an ATG LHW but he was the greatest super MW of all time. This isn't much different from Sanchez beating Gomez, Gomez beating Zarate, or Hagler beating Hearns. The only difference is, Ward actually took his time to adjust at 175 before he fought Kovalev. Kovalev also holds wins over Alvarez, Chilemba, Mohammedi, and Yarde who were all top 10 LHWs when Kovalev beat them. Kovalev holds 6 wins over top 5 LHWs (Hopkins, Pascal x2, Alvarez, Cleverly, Campillo) Kovalev was a unified LHW champion (held 3/4 major titles) and the greatest LHW of his era (2013-present) Kovalev is 13-4 in world title fights Kovalev was one of the best p4p fighters in the world (top 10 for 4 years). At his peak, he was ranked #2 by both Ring and TBRB (arguably #1 the way he ****ed everyone up). I think Kovalev is a top 25 LHW if we consider resume and h2h. One thing people keep forgetting when they talk about resumes is losses (particularly underwhelming losses). Kovalev lost to Ward, Canelo, and Alvarez. Canelo was arguably the best p4p in the world. He was moving up 2 weight classes but he was still a 4-1 favourite. Because Kovalev wasn't in his prime and Canelo was (younger and better). Ward was #4 p4p and top 3 LHW. Alvarez was a top 5 LHW according to The Ring and TBRB. If it's my list, I can say that Kovalev beat everyone he faced until he was 36 (1-1 against Ward and Alvarez). You can't say that for many LHWs. People here are comparing MSM and Kovalev. Kovalev was never dominated the way MSM was against Qawi. MSM was also stopped by a guy named Eric Winbush in 3 rounds right after the Qawi rematch. 1 fight later, he was stopped by Willie Edwards. These losses came before he turned 30. If MSM's losses don't count after the Qawi rematch, we're saying that he was past his prime at 28 and his prime lasted around 5 years ('77-'82). Then the Canelo and Alvarez fights shouldn't hurt Kovalev's standing either. Kovalev was past his prime and he still avenged one of those losses in dominant fashion. MSM struggled against Murray Sutherland, Vonzell Johnson, Lottie Mwale, Yaqui Lopez, and Jerry Martin as a champion. All of them hurt Saad except Martin. That's 5 of his 8 title defences (all back to back). Kovalev was a more dominant champion than MSM and a better boxer imo. MSM has the better resume but not my a lot if we count his losses (before 30).
Yarde wasnt a top ten fighter and he isn't ranked as such now.I dont think Cleverly was top ten ranked either. Kovalev 's resume isn't very deep imo. His faults have always been the same, all his shots are long he stands too upright and he hasn't a clue about fighting inside.I've always though him a good ,"on top fighter" when things are going his way,though he did show grit against the crude Yarde. Kovalev never proved he was the best of his own era, not his fault Stevenson didn't fight him but it's a fact. I think the following175 pounders beat him; Rosenbloom Dillon Berlenbach Delaney Lewis Johnson Saad Marshall Conn Loughran Moore Galindez Conteh Tunney Charles Langford Fox Bivins Maxim Foster Qawi Spinks Moorer Jones Jnr Muhammad Spinks So he would be around 27th/30th on my list.
