Has Kovalev got a glass chin?

The guy who stopped him is a two time World Amateur Champion, an Olympic bronze medalist, and has beaten some very good fighters indeed so it's not like he was some bum. Kovalev lost a razor-tight 25-24 decision to the murderous punching Artur Beterbiev in the Russian nationals and he fought at a high level and beat a lot of good fighters and no doubt would've had to face plenty of other punchers in the amateurs too. He had over 200 fights and I'm sure there would be more information readily available if he was harbouring a glass jaw.

This is the kind of power Beterbiev yields in his fists. He hurt, dropped, stopped and KO'd an awful lot of his opponents in the amateurs.

7:41 Mark

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4:52 Mark

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Maybe Kovalev doesn't hold the best of shots (it would be downright scary if he had an iron jaw to add to his other attributes) but he's extremely formidable in many other key areas and Cleverly has really got his work cut out here. Kovalev's power is really impressive and he's a very good boxer too. His punch selection is great too and Cleverly's chin is going to get tested like never before. The only questions for me with regards to Kovalev are his chin and his stamina, if he's solid in both of them departments then Cleverly is in serious, serious trouble. He's already got major problems at hand with what Kovalev brings to the table as it is.

 

Thanks. Cleverly's certainly strongest in the departments Kovalev may be lacking in and if he makes it past the halfway point then Kovalev could be in big trouble. That said, both Kovalev and his trainer John David Jackson would have to be really stupid not to be aware of this and to not prepare accordingly, unless they're really underrating Cleverly of course, which is a distinct possibility. Cleverly has to fight a very smart fight here and make sure he doesn't get caught clean with any regularity or he's going to end up getting hurt and knocked out, which I'm not sure he can do against someone as skilled and who has the punch variety of Kovalev.

Kovalev definitely has to be very wary of being too reckless and punching himself out early doors as the last thing you want to do against someone like Cleverly is to run out of gas down the stretch. Home advantage, Kovalev's lack of rounds, and the fact that this is also Kovalev's first time on the big stage is crucial for Cleverly here. Having the crowd behind him and this being his big chance to prove himself on the world stage is going to bring out the best in Cleverly and raise his game, and in reverse it very could well detract from what Kovalev brings to the table too.

I actually really like Cleverly, even more so because of the amount of **** he gets on here, most of which is unwarranted. He obviously wants the big fights and it's not his fault they haven't happened up until now. He's very talented and underrated by many. I thought he looked great on his way up, especially circa the 2008-2010 period. I haven't seen his last fight or the Karpency one though but I thought he looked very good in stopping Shawn Hawk, who'd just gone the distance against the big punching Columbian prospect Eleider Alvarez.

I've been big fan of Kovalev for quite a while now though and I'm very impressed by what I've seen so far. It's hard not to be impressed by his blend of two-fisted power, aggression, boxing ability, and his punch variety is also superb too. He throws some lovely shots and mixes it up to head and body beautifully. His power in particular is downright nasty (you can hear how hard the shots are) and whilst I think Cleverly obviously has a good chin, I can't recall ever seeing him taking huge bombs that have made me sit up and take note that he's packing pure granite in there or anything. He's pretty good at rolling with the punches and taking the sting off them. I'm pretty sure a guy called Joey Vegas hurt him and had his legs dipping in their fight, but that was a long time ago and he was still a baby back then. :good