No, not at any time in that fight was he in the least bit of trouble. In fact he could probably have ended it in any round.
Agreed. Ive always felt Tarver was ovverated. During the post fight press conference Hopkins did nothing but laud praise on Kovalev. I think Hopkins thought Kovalev was just another Pavlik but very quickly discovered in that first round Sergey is a whole lot more when he countered Hopkins counter right hand with one of his own and knocked him down. There and then Hopkins was basically oh ****.... what have i got myself in for. Kovalev is the real deal and id say hes unfairly overshadowed by GGG
I think Kovalev's durability is still up for debate, he's certainly hittable. He has good fundamentals, a pretty sturdy pair of whiskers, yet it isn't ridiculous to propose he relys on his power a little bit. I like that people are making bold predictions of how he fairs against some greats, I'm a little more cautious and don't feel comfortable picking him against fighters with vast experience in 12/15 rounders, that have shown greater adaptability. it's harsh to use that assumption and it's through no fault of his own, but I can't help feel the way I feel. Right now we can assume he gives most Light Heavyweights more than they can chew and his punching power speaks for itself. Hopefully the Stevenson fight gets made and maybe we'll talk in 5 fights time how he stacks up against the greats. Tarver however doesn't quite fit that script, there's Not much to add on what's already been said. Speed may be Tarver's equaliser, but Kovalev is hard as nails isn't a slouch in the hand speed department and it's likely Tarver will exert more energy keeping Kovalev off him rather than vice versa. If Tarver could get through the middle rounds and save some energy for a big finish he may be able to take Kovalev out, but that's the question mark in this one. I think Kovalev would win a close decision
No. absolutely not. Kovalev is the guy who stops opponent as early as he can do it. Kovalev tried his best to KO Hopkins in the 12th round, but failed. Hopkins has much better chin than Pascal even at 50, that's a fact.
Kovalev was a bit leery of the old master. The dude had beaten the odds many times before (Tarver, Pavlik, Shumenov, Cloud, Pascal etc) when he should have been too old to be competitive. So he gave him way more respect than was actually necessary. Bernard knew from the first round on that Kovalev had power he hadn't seen previously. After a round or two, it also became apparent that Kov was too skilled at managing the distance to be out boxed. The rest of the match was mostly a drawn out, make-it-to-the-end affair for Bernard, and a steady learning process for Kov, who learned by round 12 that he had nothing to fear from the older man. Were they to fight again, I'm quite certain Bernard would not last as long as Pascal did. Just too much difference at this stage in their careers.
I don't agree with this at all. Against Pascal he was extremely patient. The fighter himself remarked upon it.
Are you taking about when Kovalev stepped on Hopkins foot and rolled his ankle which made it look like his knees buckled during live action? Check the replay they show right after the fight ends. Getting dropped by Boone isn't much of an indictment either he did the same to Ward and sparked Arapist.
Sparked once in 200+ amateur fighters. Yeh terrible chin. Fleaman is probably a hater. I bet he thinks stevenson has a good chin.