Why Is Sergey Kovalev So Underrated?

A 40 year old G gave Canelo a better fight than Kova did.

Kova has a slightly better single win then G, his overall wins being better are debatable, but his stoppage losses balance that out imo.

As for being less hyped than G, G was an anomaly, slightly overhyped himself and not the standard to measure against.

That Kova wasnt as big a star as Golovkin doesnt make him generally underrated.

Most people I see rate him, so so quite accurately.

 

And my post remains entirely the same. He has a better single win, rest of his resume is meh, and his losses are bad.

Most people rate him accurately.

A very good but not great fighter.

 

He didn't turn pro until he was 26, and after uprooting from his homeland and heading to the US to forge a career for himself he had to fight for free for the first three years of his career (first 18 fights) because no major promoter would sign him, and he was already 31 when he won his first world title and obviously his lifestyle cut his prime short and getting robbed of all his world titles in one fell swoop which he had to work so hard for and make enormous sacrifices to finally get himself in that position took a huge toll on him mentally too

But he was a beast in his prime and his power alone which was borderline freakish is some of the most nasty we've ever seen at the weight. He was breaking bones and I mean like ribs bones, dropping iron-jawed fighters and scoring KOs with jabs for goodness sake.

And he had excellent boxing skills and timing

This is one of the first times he really caught my attention

That right hand sounds like a gun shot. Thompson is a really durable guy and this is the only time he was ever stopped

Look at how he closes the show shortly afterwards too

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Absolutely devastating combinations. Again, he's the only fighter who ever stopped Pascal

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I think he dropped every fighter he fought from 2010 to 2016 (20 fights in a row including all of his world title defences), right up until Ward 2

When it comes to offensive forces prime Krusher is one of the most devastating ones we've seen in a long time.

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Nathan Cleverly

''Kovalev is a massive puncher; each punch is like being hit by a sledgehammer,'' Cleverly said. ''He sparked Ismayl Sillah clean out in the second round '' he was completely gone. He didn't do that to me, he shook me up and I was in no position to continue really, I was drunk from the punches and I have got a great chin, so he does hit hard and he's probably the most dangerous Light Heavyweight out there.''

Were you surprised by how hard he hit?

I suppose I wasn't surprised because with his record it was inevitable that he was a banger and every shot he threw was a thudding shot. It was like a hammer. He wasn't rapid fast, he had good timing, good distance and his punches were just so hard... His jab, his right hand. Just when he caught you on the shoulder he would have an impact and he was just clubbing me. He just clubs you with his heavy hands and he's the type to just club you into submission. That's his aim. To club you until he puts you down. I just kept it tight early but I knew, after taking a few of his punches, I knew I couldn't afford to be caught with a shot on the chin. I knew that. I remember thinking in the first round, if he catches me clean, I'm gone. I remember thinking that.

Yeah. I did think I would be able to take it but I knew, I knew and especially from the first round '' I knew if he caught me clean it was highly likely I would go. Even the shots on the gloves and the shoulder, the impact was really heavy. It was clear to me from the first couple of punches that when this guy landed I would be in trouble.

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''Kovalev is an animal of a puncher''

-- Nathan Cleverly

Darnell Boone

'KOD: Who is the hardest puncher that you have fought?

Darnell Boone: The hardest puncher was [Sergey] Kovalev. He knows exactly how to use his height and leverage with punches. He keeps you on the outside, away from getting on the inside on him. He fights tall.

Cornelius White

''His power is unreal,'' White said of Kovalev. ''I've never felt that power before. I've fought heavyweights, cruiserweights and I've never felt that before. And they weren't bricks. It was steel.''

Interview with former Kovalev victim Lionell Thompson. Thompson has sparred against a who's who of the LHW and SMW divisions: Beterbiev, Dawson, Bute, Froch, Pascal Troy Ross, David Lemieux and numerous others too. He said every shot he throws is heavy, even the ones on the arms and gloves hurt and that no one hits like Kovalev.

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''I ain't ever been hit that hard. When he hit me it felt like somebody lifted the soul out of my body.''

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Earl Newman

0:56-1:39

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Pascal on Kovalev, Beterbiev, and Bivol

'Pascal is very familiar with all three of the Russian boxers.

He suffered two defeats at the hands of Kovalev, he used Bivol as a sparring partner, and Beterbiev was his stablemate in the gym.

While he believes Beterbiev is the best fighter of the three, he says Kovalev is the hardest puncher of the three. 2018 will be interested year to watch, if all three Russian punchers will begin to face each other in unification bouts.

"Bivol was my training partner for my second fight against Kovalev. Who has the style that was more complicated for me, it was Kovalev. The best of the three? It's Beterbiev. On the other hand, the one that hits the hardest, it is Kovalev," Pascal told The Montreal Journal.

 

And can we stop pretending that the best wins of the likes of Kovalev and GGG are not Ward and Clenelo.

Kovalev, GGG, Loma, Korobov to name but a few didn't not get their hands raised against Ward, Clenelo, Haney and Salido, Jermallo respectively because they were unlucky. They didn't get their hands raised in those fights due to sheer corruption. Isn't it amazing how all these ''close fights which could go either way'' damn near always flow in one direction?

How many times have all the fighters who 'beat' them been robbed? Ward, Clenelo, Haney, Jermallo etc. Exactly

 

Nah. Not imo.

 

Best wins are end of career Ward, end of career Hopkins, solid Yarde, Pascal, mid Alvarez and mid Cleverly.

Stopped by midget canelo, mid Alvarez and end of career Ward.

Two of his kos were to fighters that moved up.

He was a one weight champion.

This is his legacy.

Exactly how high is he supposed to be rated.

Most people have him as an excellent fighter that falls short of greatness.

Not sure how someone can view his legacy and conclude anything else.