Ahh, two master jabbers with extremely thin résumés. One was an awesome offensive fighter, the other a great defensive one. Should be a good fight. I don't see why it's such a given that Conteh wins. If Kovalev jabbed with him, it'd cause him issues like Burnett and Bennet's did. Plus, Kovalev's offense would make those two **** their pants. Back in his non-drunk days, he had a very good base and could throw some nasty power combos, which could definitely hurt Conteh. I doubt he'll stop him, of course. It took a prime Saad vs a shot, spent and drained Conteh for Conteh to be stopped, but Conteh could well be hurt by Kova. And Kovalev's ability to control range is really underrated, he was an excellent ring general in his prime. He started to get away from that after Ward, which was one of his biggest turning points as he declined. If he can set Ward up, and outdo him in a boxing match (and that's exactly what he did), then I don't see why he can't have success vs Conteh. I do pick Conteh though, by close decision. I think his defence is too good for Kovalev, and he'd land cleaner but with weaker punches.
Conteh would be the favorite, based on skill and superior mental toughness, but 2013-2014 Kovalev has a real chance.
KOV could have the power of Foreman and the boxing skills of Pep and still LOSE. He simply has no heart and once the going gets tough he will fold. A fighter who is talented and has heart(JC) I will always pick to best Kov for that reason. Kov could win every round and in the tenth find himself shaken/rocked and quit. You either have heart or you don't.
John Conteh barring a hand injury that had plagued him during his WBC Title reign from 1974 until he was stripped of his title in May 1977 for refusing to grant mandatory challenger Miguel Angel Cuello a title bout, would have clearly out boxed Sergey Kovolov to win a 15 round unanimous decision. John was very effective with his left jab, and combinations. Conteh would have to be so careful of Kovolov's punching power. John would utilize some movement to avoid the right hand of Sergey.
