Brand may have terrible punching technique, but he still has power in those hands, and worse, his lack of technique makes them unpredictable. He also has tricky defense, where it is difficult to land more than one punch against him, and three in a row entails a lot of risk due to Brand's resiliency, positioning, and temperament. It's a better win than people are saying.
SOG wasn't trying to get cut up or get injured against this GGG caliber opponent (who would have been the best oponent on Golovkins resume sofar) Ward was getting in some rounds before he fights the robot in Nov.
Kovalev would have had a better chance to end it than Ward, but I think Kovalev would have left himself more vulnerable in an effort to end it than Ward which could end in catastrophe. Now if Kovalev can end it in single shots, than it would look like a Kovalev masterpiece, but if not, anything can happen.
When Kovalev steps is up, he is a very dangerous fighter who's tricky and seasoned. He has the mental game, even though he can be led of track by his emotions. It just depends on how disciplined Kovalev fights and how prepared Ward is to deal wit it.
