Would Kovalev have knocked Ward out if he turned that right hand over?

It's silly to speculate on something like this.

 

Maybe not out cold. But would have likely staggered Ward to the point where he would have had a real serious, serious problem making it out of the round.

 

It's silly because Kovalev threw a punch to land one, given Ward's defensive prowess. If Ward were there to get hit with flush shots, he wouldn't be Ward. It's a testament to Kovalev's power and accuracy that he was able to get him down at all.

 

Who cares, Ward actually knocked him out. And that knockdown didn’t hurt Ward as much as that right hand that stunned Kovalev in the second fight.

 

Technically, it was an illegal punch with the inside of the glove. But he was just instinctively reacting to an opening and had neither the time to land it correctly nor turn it over. I agree though, it wasn't full impact; nowhere close to...

 

Of course it was, indirectly. Fighters facing top defensive fighters frequently will throw a less powerful shot in order to land one. Kovalev threw what he thought he could land. And that was out of deference to Ward's defense.

You're not thinking about this correctly.

 

Yeah because he slipped the punch in quickly he couldn't utilize his form . If he did poster himself appropriately and had the best form to throw the punch ; Ward would have aborted his attack and defended. Defensive fighters sense these things and make adjustments. He would have never caught Ward in this exchange if he had the correct poster to turn the punch over. Like the above poster said, that would have been a different fighter. Not Ward.

 

What if? Thats not reality!! Stupid question!

 

It was also a shot that Ward likely didn't see and one he definitely walked into.
And I don't think you can call that a cuffing shot.

 

If he coulda, he woulda.

 

Exactly.. kovalev threw whatever punch that was necessary for that moment so that’s that.