How Would Andre Ward's Opponents In Their Prime Fare Against Sergey Kovalev At 175?

I don't think that's likely. But I didn't think it was likely for Ward to dismantle Barrera so easily, either. I still think the key for Ward in everything is footwork to neutralize his opponent's best weapon. In the case of Barrera, I believed that to be the jab. Ward did neutralize it early, made Barrera reluctant to throw it, and then Barrera almost abandoned it completely making Ward's job much easier.

In the case of Kovalev, I think Ward will be looking to shut down Kovalev's right hand. He won't shut it down, but he could find ways to effectively neutralize it. I see it becoming a battle of left hands, and that's not a battle I'm quick to write Kovalev off from winning.

But i think Ward can stop Kovalev from, in your words, "jab to the body and right cross over and over again".

I'm not convinced he will find the mark with the right nearly as frequently as your suggesting. But the flipside to that is, it doesn't take many from Kovalev, and may only take one.

And I concede to being a tad surprised that you aren't giving Ward a bit more credit today, because my opinion of Barrera still remains higher than most after yesterday. I think he's a talented fighter who's a tough fight for most guys at 175. He's not in the inner most circle of talent, but he's probably just one circle removed, if you get my meaning.

 

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:smoke

 

Not sure, but certainly wouldn't mind seeing it.

 

I still favor Kovalev, don't get me wrong. But I don't think it's likely that things will be easy for him.

Ultimately I like Ward's chances much, much better than you appear to see things. I also thought Barrera would be a better challenge, but I did mention the possibility that things could be easy for Ward if he neutralized the jab early, which I think he clearly did.