The short answer is no. And I personally thought highly of him during his run (even saying he was close to #1 p4p), but no. Not an ATG, not even a HOF'er
Love both guys but no, I don't think so. Kovalev's technique was too tight and his power would prevent Beterbiev from rushing inside.
Well then who is better H2H. Having a pattern starting where guys say no, but then can't put the names out there. One guy did and named Hopkins and Bivol and got dismissed because both are ridiculous.
Yeah, but Richards is a lot better than Yarde. Frankly I find Richards vs Beterbiev more compelling on a purely competitive basis. When you look at Bivol's performance vs King Arthur and then see Beterbiev vs Yarde... Yikes. But boxing fans usually prefer the knockout guy and disregard facts etc so it'll be a great way to make some money and bragging rights for the discerning fan. I have a feeling Bivol is going to turn on that left hook late. It's gonna be ugly, to put it lightly
At 175 pounds and up people usually pick the power guy and for good reason. Power matters a ton in the higher weight classes.
That point right there, what does it matter who I name (and I could) if you dismiss them so casually, this just becomes a position vs. position argument. You could say no one beats him and I disagree but if you're adamant, you're adamant. I could name 10 guys and you disagree, but if I'm adamant about my position I'm adamant. Neither of us really hold a stronger argument here. You literally just did that dismissing Hopkins and Bivol (I actually agree with you here, I've personally said Kovalev is better than Bivol and Bernard at LHW). But if that's all you're gonna do, be dismissive of everyone someone would name and it seems like that, what's the point of naming anyone? The best proof that he ain't gonna be remembered is that the test of time shows that he's already being forgotten though, I think that speaks volumes. That can't be disputed. 20 years from now he won't even be remembered by anyone except boxing zealots like us.
It's entirely dependent upon what names you mention. Bivol and Hopkins doesn't make any sense. RJJ does. You can make an argument.
I don't rate Kovalev as highly as you do his best wins are near 50 years old Hopkins, Cleverly, Pascal, which is not a great resume. His chin wasn't exactly granite either and he showed some vulnerability to body shots. Yeah he probably deserved to edge Ward in their 1st fight but he lost the 2nd fight despite people making excuses. And Ward is not a great Light Heavyweight he spent most of his career at Super Middleweight. Kovalev is a very good Light Heavyweight not great and hes certainly not as much as H2H monster at this thread is claiming. Kovalev wouldn't even be in my top 20 H2H of all time at Light Heavyweight.
Not nearly that impressed with Kovalev. I think he fools people by tricking them into thinking he's a fighter when he's just a highly offensive, creative and destructive boxer. He's not one of the greats. But he can box with a great and knock some out, for sure. He may've taken something from himself by crumbling outside the ring. Rags to riches playboy BS but I tend to think in the best of circumstances, there's only so much he can dog out of it when he can't outclass someone. He gets put against an Ezzard Charles or Archie Moore? Crumbles to the fine glass your wife is using to slowly murder you in your spaghetti. I used to think Kovalev was special before he blew up and became a titlist, and he's one of my favourite guys to watch beat someone's brakes, just as a viewer. But I also thought before he ever got stopped that Beterbiev would've been straight up poison for him too.
How in the world is Kovalev an ATG when his best wins are an ancient Hopkins, Cleverly, Pascal. He wouldn't even be rated a top 20 Light Heavyweight of all time behave. Hes not even a great let alone an ATG.
Kovalev was knocked out by Alvarez who only had 13 stoppages in 27 fights, Ward hurt Kovalev with one right hand just prior to the stoppage. I don't know why you're so confident on Kovalev's H2H ability his opposition was mostly B and C tier, with no real stand out wins apart from an ancient Hopkins. Kovalev was good infact very good but hes not a H2H monster for me.