Chances of Ward/Kovalev being a snooze fest?

High likelihood this turns out to be an ugly fight to re-watch, but the tension of Ward having to be wary of Kovalev's power the entire time should still make it interesting to watch live.

 

it'll be ugly but not a snooze.

 

kovalev isn't one dimensional. he outboxed oldHopkins for most of his fight. only dawson and I guess taylor have done that for significant strestches of a fight.

 

Oh I agree if the fight gets extremely ugly Ward will be the catalyst...no doubt. What Ward did to Froch some consider ugly I thought is was masterful it will be no different here if he still has that in his bag of tricks. SK will bring it and he will be calculated so Ward must stay focused.

When you get the opportunity check out Lee Wylie's y-tube breakdown of the fight...it will satisfy the strategic thinker in you.

 

Yeah SK isn't your typical predictable cookie cutter however he isn't the most complex fighter either....If I can point out his flaws then so can Ward. The issue here is if Ward has enough fire power to keep SK honest for long enough through out the round/s.

BTW I am leaning towards SK to win though its a 45/55 split at the moment.

 

If by "snooze fest" you mean Ward taking a nap in the middle of the ring.
But seriously, I believe clinching and spoiling will be a big part of Ward's game. At least that's what I feel he will need to do to exploit Kov's weaknesses.

 

I'm sure SK "can" fight on the inside though not at the level Ward can, we also need to understand that controlling the distance is something both me do well but Ward has a higher IQ when he's caught in unfamiliar territory. SK likes to maintain a distance that's within his damage wheelhouse when he's not in the wheelhouse he spends too much time and effort trying to get back into that comfort zone and the fighters he's fought so far don't have the combination of speed and knowledge needed to keep him uncomfortable. Having an equalizer like one punch fight changing power only adds to SK's arsenal and I'm not entirely confident Ward can do it for all 12 rounds though its very plausible. Such an intriguing match up.

 

It won't be a "snooze fest" for me, no matter how the fight plays out. If Ward wins by making Kovalev fight inside at his range and pace, it will be a great exhibition of boxing skill. If Kovalev wins by keeping Ward outside and fighting at the range and pace that he wants, it will be a great exhibition of boxing skill. It's going to be fun watching no matter the outcome.

 

It depends. Kov was boring as hell in the Chilemba fight and Ward is always on the attack. Wait for it...

 

It depends. Kov was boring as hell in the Chilemba fight and Ward is always on the attack. Wait for it...

 

It depends. Kov was boring as hell in the Chilemba fight and Ward is always on the attack. Wait for it...

 

If Ward keeps hugging on the inside Kovalev is going to do some nasty **** like hiptoss him on the canvas, and then we'll have our excitement. Really hope this isn't a snoozefest as I'm actually paying for this one and having a get-together. Here's hoping for a half decent punch-up.

 

In my scenario Kovalev wins it is just an ugly fight. Despite all those tactics Calzage was still able to beat Hopkins. This is an HBO level fight not a PPV fight. I just can't imagine paying to watch a guy spoil the fight no matter who wins. Who wins doesn't matter if one fighter uses those spoiling tactics the fans are the ones who lose. That was my point.

 

Only a really special fighter can make an interesting fight with a clinching, smothering, fouling fighter of Ward's caliber. I doubt Kovalev is up to the task. Calzaghe could do it. Tommy Hearns could do it. Just to put things in perspective.