Kovalev has been destroying all his recent opponents with body shots. He will CERTAINLY go to the body against Hopkins, who is nearly immobile to such an attack. You can slip punches with the head, but you cannot move the body. People are seriously neglecting Kovalev's impressive body work. Hopkins launching a weak right hand/headbutt combo will not be enough to dissuade the assault. Somewhere around round 3 I predict Hopkins will fake being hit low, and get counted out a la Judah vs. Khan.
I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. At some point Hopkins is going to have to decide what is more important: winning the fight or not getting knocked out. If he chooses the latter, he could look for a way out as you described or start clinching like Bonecrusher against Tyson.
Yes, once he feels the power, there is the possibility of Hops trying to run his gloves across Kovs face and create a huge cut something like that, or taking a borderline body blow and grabbing his crotch in agony. He gets paid, he gets a loss that he can claim was controversial rather than a legit and humiliating KO, and most importantly, his company is free of the Main Event / Adonis S lawsuit. Mission Accomplished. He will fight dirty and get Kov to fight dirty back and use that to get the thing over with. Can't continue NC, or god forbid, technical draw. And even worse, if he had any moment in the brief action where Kov looked vulnerable, he will have no qualms about doing it again and making even more money for everyone involved, which is why they would give him the rematch. Cha ching. I hope it all doesn't play out this way, however, I feel like this is the escape plan if they feel they can't win and are being totally overwhelmed. If Hops is going to lose the "event" I think he will attempt to destroy it. I hope I am wrong.
Agree , definitely it is possible...........But I hope he solves Kovalevs style in a couple of round and finds a way avoiding his heavy punches, & winning by a UD
