Just re-scored Kovalev vs Ward. 2nd scorecard comparison with 1st card

Ok, I just re-watched the Ward-Kovalev 1 fight. Not surprisingly, I got a different result in scoring it the second time as compared with the first.

I'm going to put both cards up now. 1st card presented is the initial scoring I did, and then the 2nd the second. Highlighted rounds in the second card are rounds I changed.

After both cards are put up, I will then discuss what I saw the second time, the 10th round, and the 12th round.

As with my live viewing of the fight, I watched the second fight with no sound and no outside manipulation (seeing Harold Lederman's card on the screen, etc).


LIVE SCORECARD (Scorecard 1)
R01 ===> 10-9 SK
R02 ===> 10-8 SK
R03 ===> 10-9 SK
R04 ===> 10-9 SK
R05 ===> 10-9 AW
R06 ===> 10-9 SK
R07 ===> 10-9 AW

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R09 ===> 10-9 SK
R10 ===> 10-9 SK
R11 ===> 10-9 AW
R12 ===> 10-9 SK

117-110 Kovalev
This card above is exactly Lederman's card except I gave Kovalev the 8th and he didn't


SECOND-VIEWING SCORECARD (Scorecard 2)
R01 ===> 10-9 SK
R02 ===> 10-8 SK

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R04 ===> 10-9 SK
R05 ===> 10-9 AW
R06 ===> 10-9 SK
R07 ===> 10-9 AW

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R10 ===> 10-9 SK
R11 ===> 10-9 AW
R12 ===> 10-9 SK

114-113 Kovalev
Gave Ward 3 more rounds on second viewing than I initially gave him


I think what happened to me when watching the fight live was that, after Ward was knocked down (and because of his lesser power), I was not giving him "ring generalship"/"aggressor" points because, honestly, he did not seem like much of a threat to Kovalev and he seemed like the smaller, less-strong fighter. Basically, after the knockdown, I think I was seeing Ward as someone who was trying to survive and not get overrun rather than someone who was mounting an effective counter-attack as the fight wore on.

In the second viewing, I took that perspective ("Ward only surviving") out of my lens for the fight.

Also, after watching the fight a second time I can see how the judges could have been swayed in Rounds 10 and Rounds 12 (rounds I gave Kovalev) and I'll discuss that now.

Round 10 ------> Statistically (CompuBox), I think Round 10 was one of Kovalev's best rounds. And he was shoe-shining Ward with the jab the entire round. It was definitely Kovalev's round, but Ward landed a "balance shot" I think midway through the round that slightly moved Kovalev and got the crowd up and may have affected the judges in the round.

Round 12 -------> Once again, Kovalev won this round from a CompuBox perspective. However, what I noticed in this round was that Ward came out much more aggressive to start the round and that forward motion could have swayed the judges and led them to give Ward the round based upon his coming forward moreso than he had done earlier in the right. People have said that Hunter told Ward he needed a knockout to win, and Ward seemed to come out in that kind of a mode. Very aggressive. Kovalev took control about midway through the round, but that early Ward surge could have gotten him the round on the judges' cards.

Without knowing it, my 2nd Scorecard exactly matched the CompuBox round-by-round results. That's probably because I was very focused on landed punches while watching this time around and didn't have to worry about what was going to happen in the fight because I already knew what happened.

In summary, Ward did better than I thought he did once I looked at the fight as more of an even contest rather than as an encounter between a bully and a victim. I still feel Kovalev won the bout, but Ward did more than I thought he did. And, given what I said about Round 10 and Round 12, there is a potential way to award Ward the decision. Even if I think Kovalev won and I think the crowd may have affected the judges.

So, rematch. Do it right, and do it fair. Kovalev deserves to have non-American judges, a non-American ref and a non-American crowd.

I hope that happens, and hopefully they will fight again.

 

Thanks.

I'm a fan, but I try to be as objective as possible when scoring fights. No matter who I was rooting for.

 

Thanks bro.

You and I have pretty much always seen things eye-to-eye. I respect your opinion quite a bit, so your comments mean even more to me because they are coming from you.

Cheers.

 

Good points, for sure.

There's a reason why Lederman and myself scored the fight as we did, and I think it was that "confirmation bias" of believing Ward was kind of "in retreat" after the knockdown. As you said.

But once you come to the fight without that perspective then you can see things in a different way. Watching the fight again helped me to see things in a way I didn't see them when watching live.