The word is out, and everyone now knows (Canelo especially!) that thats his achilles heel. Just like Wlad Klitschko was exposed with a weak chin, he developed a "safety-first" style with Manny Steward, which became very successful, and Wlad became virtually unbeatable for 10 years. Can Kovalev develop a new defense with Buddy McGirt so he doesn't get hit as much to the body??
To me it looks like Kovalev is not able to defend very well when pressured once he is tired. He is confident on the attack but doesn’t know what to do when he tires. These types of situations should be replicated with his coach I think, if they want to improve. I mean he defends well for the first 5-6-7 rounds but then he gets tired and... concedes not only body shots but shots to the head too. People are saying he is weak to the body but I think it’s not that particular. He is just susceptible to being hit in the second half of the fight and it can land anywhere - body, head. That also has to do with him not throwing on the step back after his attack, leaving himself open to be countered. Again because he gets tired and doesn’t have a system. Maybe they can work on it and create a system, it would give him a chance to prolong his career.
Buddy McGirt can only do so much with what he has left of Kovalev. It's too late in the game to start being defensive now and if he did his fans would whine and cry about him not "pressing forward" and attacking like he used to do.
Probably because he used to be so dominant he was allowed to fight at his own pace, he'd pretty much shut down most of his opponent's offense game. Now when someone does something like that, he's not really expecting it and his reactions are slow.
He started doing it a little bit in the Yarde fight but I think Kovalev will start digging to the body back and even harder than his opponents do. That will be one way to deter them from going body shot crazy. His nasty jab to the body alone will be a weapon. And Wlad’s chin wasn’t as bad as many say. It was more of an anxiety thing when he did get tagged. And it started after the Sanders fight but improved over time.
Because he doesn't like to be punched in the face as well? It's boxing, you can't protect yourself from everything. The opponent tries to land a body shot on you, when you're expecting a punch in the face.
Kovalev isn't the kind of guy who improves with advice. The only thing he could perhaps improve is his stamina. If he puts in a lot of hard work into it, and lead a healthy lifestyle not just during camps but at all times until he retires. He's ok defensively for as long as he's not tired. He can't improve his defence, so his best bet is investing into his stamina.
