Can a fight be close and still a robbery?

Yes there can be a close robbery. Ward didn't win 7 rounds. At most 6

 

The fight was no close.......................................................................Kovalev clearly won the fight..............

 

Yes, but the rounds have to be very clear. I think Ward earned his victory fair and square, 7 rounds to 5.

 

I gave Kov 1,2,3,10,11,12. so I had it 6-6.

Ward could easily have been given the first as there was nothing in it.

 

If a fight is close but clear, then there can still be a robbery. You can entertain a thought experiment at an extreme level and imagine that each fighter wins 6 rounds by landing 20 punches to 2 in each round, never hurting the other opponent seriously, leading to 10-9 rounds, but one fighter achieves a KD in one round. There can only be one winner in such an instance and so if the fighter who didn't achieve the KD is awarded the decision it would be a robbery.

The Kovalev-Ward fight is no such example, because it was close but not clear.