It's more of a defining fight for Ward than Kovalev. If Kovalev wins he will get recognition but there will be an asterisk by it. If Ward wins then it will be a great win and boost his legacy but Kovalev isn't that great of a light heavyweight. Lacks a resume as most guys today do.
I'm actually surprised some people seem down on this fight. I actually think it's the best fight I can remember coming together in recent years. Anyway, here's my worthless 2 cents for what it's worth, if anyone is interested. This content is protected
I favour Ward by split decision as he is more skilled. I am hoping though Kovalev wins. The fight has historical significance and it may well be the career defining fight for both guys.
Agree with Rumsfeld. This could be the best fight of the year, between two genuinely skilled guys at the top of their games. It will swill the bad taste of all the clownery (Klitschko Fury) duckery (GGG Canelo/ Eubank), PEDery (Fury/ (sort of) Povetkin etc) and suchlike from my mouth. This is what boxing should be about.
We have two top pound for pound fighters, in their primes, and undefeated scheduled to meet. This is a very rare occasion in boxing history and one we have not seen often in modern times. And it's in a division most care about. How does it play out? Much depends on how physically and mentally tough Ward is. He will need to be both. And if he can't take away Kovalev's jab, he's in trouble. Ward has great skills, but Kovalev's timing and power to be are rare, and Ward's defense alone won't be enough to offset it. Kovalev has caught fast fighters before and his pressure style alone needs to be meet with return punches that matter. Otherwise, he'll dominate you. Hopkins for whatever defense he had was dead in the water vs Kovalev and not all of it was due to age. Kovalev via TKO, round 9 in a close fight on the cards prior to the stoppage. If it goes to the cards, please give us competent judges meaning whoever lands 50 more punches should win, barring knockdowns.
Oh, forgot to say how I think the fight will play out. Ward by decision. Wouldn't be schocked if Kovalev won by KO, though. He could also make Ward gunshy like he did B-hop and win by decision. But I think Ward's speed and skill will give him the win.
I think it'll have greater historical significance if Ward wins, with him coming up from super middle, it'll enhance his legacy as one of the best at that weight, some might even say the best. It's just great to see two of today's elite fighters actually getting in a ring together. I'm like most, finding it too close to call, but there's another part of me thinking Ward might actually box his head off.
Most think either Ward will win a decision or Kovalev will beat him down and score a TKO. There are some that pick Kovalev via UD if Ward plays it too safe and doesn't throw enough punches and the smallest minority who pick Ward via stoppage. But what about this?! Can Kovalev if he's being outboxed by Ward turn it into a street fight like Golovkin can and win?
i'm giving a slight edge to ward, he's dealt with lesser versions of kovalev and has had a couple fights to shake off any rust from his hiatus. i don't think kovalev wants a 'streetfight', or if he does it's a bad move. ward is at his best on the inside, but i can see kovalev's reach and power limiting wards offence and winning him rounds from range. or that could all be bollox, it's tough fight to call imo.
It has a notable historical significance. The winner of this gets a straight ticket to HOF because they've both shown enough evidence that they're ATG level fighters in terms of H2H.