But they clearly weren't. Both protected themselves from any further punishment, Kovalev didn't, he was basically defenseless and not throwing back. Had Ward chosen to go upstairs instead of the body when he had him on the ropes, the outcome would have been the same.
^ You have no facts. You have the opinion of a commission that wants to put a non-controversial bow on the fight to make the backlash go away. Boxing is boxing. It is tinged with subjectivity and corruption, which is why initiatives like the Ali Act exist. To help control potentially-corrupt commissions. The facts are simple - The finals shot(s) of the fight were illegal based upon visual evidence - Meeks halted the fight because of the illegal blow(s) - No one has any idea what happens if Meeks doesn't stop the fight Duva correctly predicted how the commission would rule today, despite what took place in the fight. It's a shame, but this is the sport.
The fight was not stopped before Ward landed his final low blow(s). That is, Meeks' decision was made after the landing of the low blow. That's the punch that matters. The rest of what you wrote (Ward go upstairs) is speculation. We don't know what happens if Meeks does not stop the fight. There's no way to know, and we'll never know. That's why it's unfortunate that Meeks stopped the bout, particularly given that the final punch of the fight was illegal.
Just to refresh the minds of people, the NSAC and its judges have been caught up in controversy before. This is nothing new. One of the more famous instances was the scoring of the first Pac-Bradley bout, which was roundly criticized by observers and led UFC boss Dana White to make this comment: This content is protected Any sport that uses judges is going to have these types of issues. Sometimes they get it right, sometimes they get it wrong. Unfortunately, we've seen the NSAC and its judges "get it wrong" before when a foreign fighter gets the short end of the judging stick while boxing in Nevada. This is what it is. We can accept it, but we can't pretend it doesn't exist.
So basically your an idiot then and you don't know what facts are not worth wasting any further time with somebody so butthurt and delusional with nothing to back up your opinion which you keep repeating as the facts lol. Gimps gonna gimp now carry on
It's not black or white. It's not that simple. "Oh, he was done". Terrible argument. Kov was hurt and looked bad, but I've seen fighters look worse or the same and come back and at least finish a fight if not win it. Some of the punches were just a tad low, but the last one was pretty low. Hit yourself there and tell me it's not low. Even if it's not your testicles it's in the crotch area and it hurts a lot. It's a bogus stoppage because there was no count and it was a low blow. And yes, Kov should have protested because he looked like he lost from legit shots. Still that doesn't erase the fact that the last punch was low and Weeks didnt give him a count.
Quite frankly, this ain't got nothing to do with Joshua. How many times have you seen a fighter protest a stoppage at the point of the stoppage? Kovalev didn't say squat. If he is not man enough to stand up for himself then he gets what he got. It was very acceptable to me and to Kovalev at the time, until the fight was over. There definitely is no argument from me. The only dissention is from the sore losers. At some point Kovalev is gonna have to man up and accept his short comings. You didn't hear Ward whining when he was riding his neck like he was a rodeo calf, or when he was rabbit punching him. Now, you gents is trying to get self righteous on Kovalev's behalf. Fk Kovalev and the horse he rode in here on.
No your an idiot and despite when facts are presented still repeat the same **** in numerous threads. As for you being objective or smarter or more imformed I creamed you repeatedly with basic facts that you cant handle. There a short vid been put up few minutes ago that also prove you wrong, try watching you may get smarter and learn something.
So, I mentioned the dubious Pac-Bradley 1 NSAC controversy above. Scoring seemed bad, people were outraged, etc. How did the NSAC react to the scandal? At first, they hid it/ignored it. Much like they did today on the poor decision regarding the Kov-Ward 2 ending. Then the backlash grew, so they eventually investigated the scoring. Commissions exist to promote and protect their product. They put out fires, so to speak. They only admit wrongdoing and work to revisit controversy when they have to. Sadly, Kovalev's fan base is not as large as Pacquiao's is. So this injustice likely stands, as Duva knew it would following the fight. That's boxing.
That's not a fair sport. It's a sham where the guy with the biggest fan base and biggest mouth wins. Kovalev, while doubling over in pain from the low blow that ended the fight, was yelling something out in frustration. What was he supposed to do? The guy knows he got the short end of the stick in the first fight judging, he knows he has to deal with USA Venue/USA Ref/USA Judges in the second fight, he's getting hit with low blows and the ref is letting it happen. What is he supposed to do? Start shooting people with an AK? Let's be real here. This fight should have taken place outside the USA. It didn't, and I think we all know why.