Andre Ward makes 4 major mistakes which Kovelev will capitalize - John Johnson

If Ward bends below the waist Kovalev should just nail him on the back or side of the head. Ward did that to Dawson a few times when he hunched over.

 

:yep kovalev is no defensive genius. he can be countered alot, hes a bit too agressive at times.

ward is no willie pep, hes not half as good defensively as floyd.

 

Tough fight for both guys. Ward has to deal with Kovalev's size, strength, power and technical ability. Kovalev has to deal with Ward's defensive skills, ring IQ and speed.

 

No way. Ward cant even do the catch and shoot on the inside. If he was such a great inside fighter he wouldn't hold so much. People don't seem to understand this.

 

This trainer is playing the boxing politics game very well but at the end of the day, it's just talk. Ward is known for doing the exact things he needs to do to win rounds.

 

Ward is very physically strong on the inside and he wrestles guys around to make room for his shots.

Ward is an excellent inside fighter but I'd like to see if he could pull off his typical strategy against a stronger opponent.

 

You think Ward has forgotten what he knew in 2012 or just that other, better infighters have emerged since them?

 

First mistake was signing with Roc Nation

the second mistake is moving up too fast with so little activity

Third mistake, Roc Nation contract forces Ward to do three very tough fights including Kovalev at LHW instead of taking the more comfortable risk free scenic bum tour route, like Golovkin

The fourth and likely most fatal mistake is, ignoring the contents of John D. Jackson's Mysterious Dark Blue Water bottle which he guards closely during every fight

 

I hope he is the same guy he was in 2012. That's the whole problem is we don't know. The Paul Smith fight proved nothing. It was a short notice quick payday for both guys. Ward was able to shake off some of the rust on his offense. But Smith didn't give Ward anything to make him work and adjust. I'm a bit of a skeptic I just need to see that Ward hasn't faded much since his layoff.

 

Roc Nation signing was a gift to Ward from his Freemason step father JayZ. Nobody else wanted Ward because he was considered a toxic asset by every other manager and promoter. As for the bottle mystery? That was an Energy Drink. I played the fight on my big screen TV and paused it during the corners. Its says Energy on it but couldn't read the other words. So its some type of Gatorade style drink that is allowed and can be bought in almost every retail store.

 

You and I would make a great investigative journalist team!

 

I'll bet it did. :yep

 

Every fighter has weaknesses and Ward has plenty as well. His style of fighting is very effective against smaller guys and volume punchers like most of his past opponents have been. Stylistically he has problems against fighters who have long reach and good footwork - for example Dirrell and Kovalev. Long reach and fast footwork will seriously trouble his smothering tactics and attempts to close the distance. Even if he could close the distance against Kovalev, he would get hit heavily to the body. One weakness is his stamina that could play a role against elite level fighter like Kovalev and GGG. The thing is, everybody has weaknesses, the question is are you good enough to exploit those weaknesses.

 

I'm just trying to figure out what John David Johnson sees.