That’s because people will be only thinking about how Kov got his ass whooped in the rematch. And I had the first fight a draw.
How could the first fight have been a draw? Did you give Ward a 10-8 round for showboating while getting smacked in the face? It's impossible to give Kovalev less than 6 rounds, with the knockdown that's a certain win.
Sorry, no sarcasm intended. Just hoping that the HOF organisers stick to boxing achievements and entertainment value, being the criteria for entries otherwise they could find people digging up vast numbers of skeletons in their HOF members cupboards.
Low level maybe. I just made a thread down in Classic asking to update the top 100 list there since it hasn't been changed in 7 years. Guys on the absolute lowest end have maybe four defenses of a title, maybe one or two good opponents. Kovalev has nine or something over his three reigns and has faced Hopkins and Ward. I don't see why he shouldn't squeak into the bottom of the list.
elite but HOF or ATG is bit of joke, chaps. HoF means you do something that goes down in history, and ATG means you are one of the greatest of all time, a berth that fair few should own, or else everyone becomes one of the greatest and the meaning is lot. Sure he beat an ATG in Hopkins...but the man was in his 40s. Noone in their right mind claims that as some great win. Camacho doesnt pretend his win over SRL makes him an ATG, anymore than the guy who beat Duran last whom noone remembers.
You can't compare SRL to Hopkins at those times of their careers. SRL fizzled out young, Hopkins was still beat ing legit, top fighters into his 40's. That was a great win for anyone at the time, let alone Sergei.
Kovalev has rebounded well since the Ward and Alvarez defeats. He's shown character. I thought he beat Andre first fight and avenged the Alvarez loss. He's HOF worthy, but I'd hesitate to call him a true ATG. If he were to unify the division, sure.
He's no Juan Francisco Estrada and I don't think he is an ATG yet. We will see in time if Kovalev ends up being one of the literal very best of his contemporaries.