Even as a fan of Bhop I think wards style is just absolutely disgusting and horrid. I do not blame him because this is a brutal sport and if you find a loophole in the rules that allows you to win without engaging in much combat, then I understand. but I blame the referees for letting him get away with his incessant holding and butting. B-hop could be pretty nasty in the ring but even his most ugly fights like the winky fight wasn't as abhorrent as the wrestling matches that ward succeeds in turning his fights into. Kovalev although a very good fighter should be scolded for his inability to stay on the gameplan and for engaging in the nonsense with ward. He was so worried about being butted he kept head locking him. If you're worried about getting fouled you're gonna lose rounds. I think his nervousness and his participation in the grappling drained him more than those purse-slap body.... I guess you can call them punches. What ward did well was the body jab, his defense and management of distance.
I think you're selling Andre short here. Even in rounds Kovalev won, Ward was making a prolonged investment in the body. Some rounds it was more apparent than others, but even during stretches of the fight Kovalev was winning, Ward was still doing some tremendous body work. If he wasn't, I think Kovalev would have had more steam down the stretch, where he seemed uncharacteristically fatigued and lethargic.
Kov actually addressed this issue to Russian media, he said he over trained in the mountains of Big Bear, spent 5 weeks there instead of 3, after 6th round he legs were shot, he was exhausted and done. Same thing in Chilemba fight but it was actually worse because he got sick in camp. He said he will be changing things up in his training camp. He's very unsatisfied with Chilemba and Ward fights.
He overtrained in two consecutive fights? This kind of sounds like an excuse. What do you think, lewis gassed? It sounds awfully like an excuse. Kovalev should rather train a little harder next time, lest he run out of gas again in the later rounds. Train harder, Kovalev. Train harder.
I don't think it's an excuse. But I still think Kovalev is, at the very least, understating the impact of Ward's effective body attack. Ward went to the body more than I was expecting, but he used the right hand less than I was expecting (and that was probably because Kovalev countered him early when he tried throwing a right over Kov's jab that got him floored). I still think attacking Kovalev's body as often as Ward did is a potential recipe for disaster, but at the same time, that investment paid dividends later on for him. I think one potential pitfall for Ward in a would-be rematch, is that he had so much success working the body the 1st time around, that he may not be as cautious when doing so a 2nd time around, where there may be a greater chance of him doing something careless. Ward is a consummate professional, so I wouldn't expect him to make that type of mistake, but I can see the potential for making a mistake like that being greater a second go around.
As I said in the post above, I think Kovalev is either understating or underestimating the impact those shots had on him. Perhaps the primary reason he appeared more lethargic than I've ever seen him did stem from mistakes made in training. But Ward's body attack undeniably had some impact on that as well. How much? That's certainly a matter for debate. But I maintain if it wasn't for Ward's effective body work (and again, he was investing in the body a little bit almost every round, including rounds he lost), I don't believe he would have seen the final bell.
In the second round, Ward tried a catch and shoot with the right hand counter -- bad idea. Kovalev is too quick on the draw, too accurate. The right hands to the body Ward was landing, though, seemed to be not so dangerous because of his positioning, but you do raise a good point. Ward has to be careful in the rematch, especially in the first 3 round when Kovalev is most dangerous.
Don't get me wrong. I think a rematch favors Ward (and I think a rematch will probably happen sooner or later). I think Ward will have learned more from their first fight, and I think he's versatile enough that he will come in with a better game plan and a better idea of what to expect. Kovalev will have no doubt learned a lot, too, but I don't think he will be as apt to make any fundamental changes in approach in a return bout (and I don't think he necessarily needs to change a lot - although ironically, one thing Kovalev could do is probably invest in the body more himself). Again, maybe I'm basing this on my faulty prefight conception that Ward wouldn't (and SHOULDN'T) get carried away with a body attack. But as you say, Ward only did so when he was in optimal position. And Ward is a master at position and distance, so it's not something he's apt to forget. But he could, perhaps, be lulled into a false sense of security, if Kovalev can somehow set a trap - but that would probably require Ward needing to throw the punch when out of position, which is something that he isn't normally apt to do. But yeah, you're right in that Kovalev was too quick for that counter. He timed that brilliantly, and his reflexes are impeccable when he shoots short straight shots.
Ward slowed Kovalev down with those early bodyshots. Kovalev looked abit shot during the last few rounds.
You must have missed all those great body punches from Briggs. It paid off too, Vitali clearly slowed down in the late rounds.
Who really did the better more clean body work? Kovalev Body Work: [url]https://gifs.com/gif/98ErNZ[/url] [url]https://gifs.com/gif/vgp2vX[/url] [url]https://gifs.com/gif/vgp2pm[/url] [url]https://gifs.com/gif/KOVrVR[/url] [url]https://gifs.com/gif/Y69E9K[/url] Ward Body Work: [url]https://gifs.com/gif/BgYBGX[/url] [url]https://gifs.com/gif/8qD2Dm[/url] [url]https://gifs.com/gif/qjkxW2[/url] [url]https://gifs.com/gif/RgV6vq[/url] [url]https://gifs.com/gif/98Ervx[/url]
You're contradicting yourself here. You see that, right? I happen to agree Kovalev needs to be more aggressive in the rematch, but it's not going to be to Ward's benefit.
