Kov, better offensive skills, better at setting up shots with the jab and Saad was too easy to hit to be in a bout with a sharp power puncher.
Depends on how much damage Saad gets early in the fight...and if we are talking late 1970's ref stoppages, or 2018 ref stoppages. As McVey said.....Saad and "huevos' are one and the same.
Kovalev has a depth of amateur pedigree that allows him to beat him to the punch but if he ends up in a slugout there is even odds on the winner
All Kovalev's punches are long and he doesn't have a clue how to fight inside,his chin is up like a lamp post and Saad was a banger.Kova is an, "on top fighter,"when things don't go his way he isn't so keen,Saad has a heart as big as a building, real power ,and can box when required.
This, really. Kovalev might never have thrown a left hook in his life. In any case, the best fighter he ever fought beat him, albeit controversially. Besides Ward he has Nathan Cleverly. Not a great resume.