Kovalev fought extremely timid the whole fight, didn’t use his advantages and the fact the fight was made at all just seemed very strange. Yeah the Ko was brutal but up to that point I kept asking myself is this a fixed fight. That’s not usually what goes through my head.
Kovalev took a dive. Smith gassed out after 3 rounds because he was not in fight shape, didn't have enough time to prepare. But he didnt take a dive, he gave it his best shot. He knew he would never get such a big fight again if he turned the fight down.
Exactly! He doesnt need to cheat but I think he's too dumb to realize he's harming his legacy by doing it not to mention his health with all the peds he's gobbling up. He'll be remembered as a good fighter that let $$$$$$ drag him into the ped's & corruption. not even his staunched supporters eg PimpC, IsaL,JM22 etc could swear on a bible they think he's clean. I'd rather support a fighter who I firmly believe is clean
I agree totally.. I mean Kovalev was throwing the most candy assed “jabs” I’ve ever seen. And Smith had no fire at all, throwing weak shots and like he had no interest in winning
I do think the cards are always fixed against Canelo, but No, I do not think Kovalev and Callum took dives. I saw Kovalev largely dominating Canelo, then Canelo got a lucky hit in for the KO. Just a lucky punch. I say that as someone who doesn't really like Kovalev and thought Ward clearly beat him both times.
I just think these last couple fights have been perfect matchups for Canelo. I believe Plant, assuming his stamina holds up, has the perfect style to give him problems.
No such thing as lucky punches in boxing. You train to land them and when you land them it's because you trained. Canelo was tagging Kovalev with that same hook the entire fight. The difference in that case was that Kovalev was getting tired, had taken a lot of punches to the head and body, and got caught with the punch when he did not expect it.
As an ex amateur fighter I can say that the OP has never been swarmed by a man who can counterpunch on the fly with thudding power and elite head movement (not to say I have either been swarmed by an elite fighter but I know the feeling of every shot I miss being greatly punished)
Canelo/Callum went exactly as expected, for anyone who've seen Smith/Ryder. It wasn't Smith throwing the fight or being undertrained, It was different levels showing in the ring. Same goes for Kovalev fight. There was nothing surprising about Krusher's performance that night for anyone who've seen him against Yarde and Alvarez(a prospect and a mediocre contender). Aside from a stiff jab, most of Kovalev's punches hadn't had the same steam on them they did before.