Kovalev vs Ward I is 5 years old today

I watched it again recently, what a great fight

I scored it for kovalev 114-113 but ward did very well for moving up and having the lay off. I thought kovalev was going to ko ward and in round 2 it looked possible

In the rematch i know people like to talk about low blows but kovalev was rocked hard by a right hand and the pace was faster in the rematch and i think that broke him down, ward came on strong in the second half of fight one and came out faster in fight two

In all honesty kovalev never truly looked comfortable inside

 

I thought he was doing well in the second fight. The way he wilted surprised me.
If only Kovalev had Golovkinesque toughness...

 

Very balanced post on this subject.

 

Bad night for boxing in what should of been a great night. Crystal clear robbery. You had two fighters vying to be the number 1 p4p fighter. Both put it all on the line that night. I give credit to Ward for showing tons of heart, grit and chin to make the fight competitive in the second half but he lost that fight 8-4 or 7-5 plus knockdown in Kovalev’s favor.
Ward was dominated for the first six rounds. By end of fight he was busted up, Kovalev was not. When the scores were announced Ward’s face clearly indicated he felt he had lost. The surprise could not be hidden. He got a gift.
Sad thing is - it totally derailed Kovalev’s career and on top of it - I think he would of been a much more exciting fighter to have had as the p4p guy in the sport.

 

I meant in the close range fighting and clinching

He did well but was forced to fight at a higher pace. The one right hand from ward seemed to take a lot out of his legs

 

He was tired by then. The punch Kovalev threw that got countered hard by Ward was very sloppy.

 

He is not mentally weak, but he isnt super tough and actually pretty whiny. He blamed russian amateur association for his not very impressive amateur carreer. When he came to USA he didnt like be trained by Don Turner, cuz he was "too strict". He left Big Bear because he wanted whole gym and trainers for himself and not train with GGG and other fighters. And so on...

 

Why would you consider his career to be "not impressive"?

Old amateurs like Kovalev learn little from trainers, they need excellent cornermen.
Kovalev probably dodge a bullet by not staying with Don Turner.

 

He didnt become a member of olympic team. Kovalev said its because he was robbed against Beterbiev. He won some amateur titles but nothing in EU or worldwide. His amateur career wasnt bad, but i wont call it impressive

 

Kovalev-Beterbiev fight has been mentioned elsewhere on the web. Apparently it was quite close.

 

The head coach of russian national boxing team back then, Dmitry Khromov said that Kovalev looked better early, but Beterbiev got more busy and won later rounds, especially last round and won rightfully, but with minimal advantage.

 

In a pro fight prime for prime Beterbiev would have mangled Kovalev in the later rounds with Kovalev winning the early rounds.

 

I would give Kovalev 60% to win. Both are chinny and huge punchers, but prime Kova had more versatile offense.