Why Is Sergey Kovalev So Underrated?

Kovalev was a dominant LHW in his prime no question.. but not on a par with men like Tommy Loughran, Harry Greb, Archie Moore, Ezzard Charles, Billy Conn, Gene Tunney etc.. especially when you consider the context of his era versus the past.

Kovalev’s best wins came against a 49 yo Hopkins and a solid but inconsistent Pascal, with other names like Nathan Cleverly and Isaac Chilemba not exactly screaming 'all-time great' opposition.. Compare that to Billy Conn who even in the short time he was operating at LHW nearly upset ATG Joe Louis and outboxed champs like Gus Lesnevich in a division teeming with talent.

Tommy Loughran fought 171 times, schooling multiple HOFers. Gene Tunney dominated LHW before conquering HW. Ezzard Charles outclassed Archie Moore & Joey Maxim in a 121-fight career. Bob Foster knocked out Dick Tiger and defended his title 14 times .. They were H2H monsters.. & Greb.. well.. he was another level..

Some fans excuse Kovalev’s stoppage loss to Canelo pointing to his quick turnaround after fighting Yarde suggesting he wasn’t fully recovered. But that pales in comparison to the grueling schedules of past greats. Loughran and his peers fought every few week with no modern recovery methods.

They also battled in eras with fewer weight classes meaning they faced a wider deeper array of opposition.. gloves were thinner, hand wraps were basic, and medical oversight was primitive compared to Kovalev’s time. Yet these legends thrived, racking up 100+ fights..

Head-to-head debates are fun, but eras matter. Kovalev was great, but one of the best H2H ever? That’s a tough sell for me..

I do think he beat Ward 1st fight.. second one i don't get.. if Ward is employing prison rules then retaliate! Hell some of the old timers dealt out or dealt with **** like that every other fight.. you think Kovalev wouldn't encounter Wards tactics again H2H?

& before anyone chimes in with the 'fighters back then had more losses" one..
let me remind u that fighters fought so often back then that underperformances were far more common.. there's hardly a fighter in history who hasn't underperformed or taken losses along the way under those circumstances laid out above. Kovalev would be no different..

 

He got plenty of hype I used to hear about Kovalev all the time and I was only a kid when Kovalev was competiting.

If anything you're the one overrating him his resume is solid at best nothing stand out and you're suggesting he's one of the best H2H fighters at the weight of all time when fighters like these competed at the weight....

Michael Spinks
Roy Jones Jr
Dmitry Bivol
Ezzard Charles
Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Bob Foster
Archie Moore
Tommy Loughran
Gene Tunney
Billy Conn

 

He got a lot of hype

The same type that GGG got

Big broadcasters got behind him

Kovalev's problem was self pity, a bottle of spirits and lack of mental toughhess to self motivate and overcome the Ward fights.

 

I rate Kovalev at his peak very highly. I think he had the potential to sit all these former greats being mentioned on their ass, frankly. His main problem was a relatively short career and then getting KOd by the bottle. I think he significantly under trained for some fights like the Ward fights, where he was unable to keep up a strong pace against a fighter that he was clearly better than when he was fresh. He took the Canelo fight on some horrible terms which resulted in a severe underperformance. In short, he didn't do himself any favours.

 

I think Kovalev stylistically is someone I envision if I am trying to picture a "perfect" boxer. His style is definitely very aesthetic. Ultra smooth footwork, combinations and punching power.

I think his problem is that he kinda lacked roughness and inside fighting, which is not atypical from fighters of his school. Couple it with poor stamina issues and bad habits in harder bouts, unfortunately it kind of limits his ceiling in the "real world" where these types of things come into play.

 

He did seem to be a special talent for a while with his offensive ability, ring iq, and other tools you just mentioned. Unfortunately though, he doesn’t have the resume to back it up. There is no doubt in my mind that he beat Ward in their first meeting, but even with a win over Ward, the LHW division's history is just too rich and stacked with too many stellar resumes for Kovalev to be ranked high H2H. It also doesn’t help that Sergey spent a good chunk of his career an alcoholic, looking terrible, and with no conditioning. With all that being said, it is tradition for me to go back and go on a Kovalev fight marathon once in a while. He was definitely something to behold in his prime and could have been so much more if it weren’t for is issues outside the ring.

 

I actually think people just want to forget about Andre Ward who was a disgusting cheat so Kovalev is not talked about as much as he was a victim of Ward's cheating and corrupt judges. I mean Kovalev was literally finished off by a consistent attack on his ball sack it is embarrassing and I don't blame boxing fans for not wanting to talk about it. Then he gets a fight with a roided up Canelo after already going through the ringer. His career ended up being tragic.

 

Kovalev doesn't have the resume to really back his H2H ability he has plenty of dominant and impressive wins, but is lacking in a really impressive big win. had he managed to get a fight with Adonis Stevenson, and won I've no doubt he would be held in higher regard.

 

Would've been obliterated by RJJ and Beterbiev. Solid fighter in a poor era and nothing more, couldn't adapt in a fight, questionable chin at elite level, was unlucky vs Ward, but then lost badly in the rematch as well as in the fight against Canelo. Even Yarde nearly took him out. Dangerous at his peak, but even at his peak, he was a level below the ATGs at the weight.

 

I liked him for the show. I predicted he would lose to Ward and made money betting on Alvarez in their first match. He needed to dictate the fight with his jab and power; he had good legs. But after being KOed, it was clear he was flawed. I’m still shocked that Canelo knocked him out—it remains the most dramatic KO I’ve witnessed, just after Jones vs. Tarver. Results speak for themselves. I’m not overanalyzing fighters; he looked unbeatable and absolutely dangerous in his prime, but the results told the real story. He wasn’t an ATG, period. Shot by 34 years old. Very good at most, but not great.

 

Very, very good fighter with a short prime. But It takes a hell of a lot more than a couple of wins over Pascal and an unofficial decision win over Ward to be considered one of the best ever in one of historically deepest divisions.

 

Kovalev annihilated Cleverley, he even did the hip thrust...
I kinda knew he was good just by reading other peoples opinions, but when he did that it was monstrous.

In terms of pure style Kovalev is one of my favourites.

 

"Kovalev's problem was self-pity, a bottle of spirits and lack of mental toughness to self-motivate and overcome the Ward fights."

This. Pithy, brutal, and completely accurate.