Oleksandr Gvozdyk's game plan

FastSmith7 · Dec 5, 2018

travolt said: ↑

Gvozdyk's gameplan was too negative, and he left it way too close for comfort as he would have lost a decision had he not managed the KO.

Stevenson was dictating the tempo and initiating the action, not him.
This sometimes reminded me of Dirrell vs Froch.

Contrast it to what Badou did, where he brought the fight to the old man and hurt him multiple times, but was tactically too naive in the later rds to capitalize.

So, i'm happy for Gvozdyk, but he was kind of lucky in my view.
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I dont know man, I was convinced the KO was gonna happen from rd 9 onwards, Stevenson got hurt plenty of times and could have been finished earlier but Gvozdyk didnt want to commit and wanted to sap Stevenson’s energy first

travolt · Dec 5, 2018

FastSmith7 said: ↑

I dont know man, I was convinced the KO was gonna happen from rd 9 onwards, Stevenson got hurt plenty of times and could have been finished earlier but Gvozdyk didnt want to commit and wanted to sap Stevenson’s energy first
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Beside the third rd KD, the only one visibly hurt was Gvozdyk in the tenth.

I actually saw it as a positive because it meant Stevenson would try to finish it and hopefully wake up Gvozdyk wha had been sleeping up to then.

Gvozdyk has done it in other previous fights where his adversary troubles him, tries to end it and gets KOd in return with a few surprise shots.

I knew he had it in him, but i also knew he was probably going to lose the decision if things were going like the previous rds.

3rdegree · Dec 5, 2018

Gvozdyk is one of those rare physical specimens that gets stronger as the fight goes on and retains his power until the end. Throw in above average speed and determination and he becomes a dangerous proposition for any challenger.

Mendoza · Dec 5, 2018

Rafaman said: ↑

I'm more surprised HOW Gvozdyk beat Stevenson.

I saw a tale of 2 fights, first 6 rounds Gvozdyk seemed hesitant to commit but lots of movement (constant in/out and changing position). But from round 7 he really committed to his offense with lead right hand, throwing it over and over. He covered up well and never spent an extended period in front of Stevenson's power. Adonis was head hunting and never made an adjustment to the long lead right hand of Gvozdyk. Gvozdyk was in great condition, his movement takes so much energy and in the late 9, 10, 11 rounds he effortlessly upped his workrate. No real body punches or inside work to speak of. I always thought the person to beat Adonis would walk him down and be more relaxed. But in this case it was a counterpuncher with a solid chin who could take Adonis's left hand, with an upright European style with no real dominating jab (flick jab, right hand, left hook, all from mid distance that was all). It just shows you what a tight guard with footwork and a belief in your game plan can do. I don't want to undersell Gvozdyk, he's a bronze medallist so of course he's a beast coming in but he had only 16 pro fights.
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Excellent post. You know your stuff. Yes-- a tight guard and good footwork, good counterpunching ( which is semi rare in the upper weights ) complemented by good out skills, energy level for the later rounds and a good chin is tough to beat.

Mendoza · Dec 5, 2018

The light heavyweight division is really good. Even better than the Cruiser weight division

A World Boxing Super Series crowing the winner with the Ali trophy would really give the winner a legacy, and the runner up with have plenty of credit too

Alvarez
Bivol
Gvozdky
Kovalev
Beterbiev
Brown

The top six seeds, just add two more and you'd really have something.

Serge · Dec 5, 2018

Rafaman said: ↑

Thank you. Clear robbery. It was good to see the commentators thought so and weren't afraid to express that.

If I had seen this fight before the Stevenson matchup I would have said, awesome amateur style, but more importantly can he maintain that footwork and pressure over the pro 12 round distance? and can he handle Stevenson's power? The answer now is a clear YES to both of those questions. So impressive what he did.

He has added some more tools but essentially much of his amateur style remains. His footwork is relentless, the in/out positioning, reminds me on a young Manny who would do that and flurry but for Gvozdyk this is how he operates for the whole 3 minutes, even off a single jab. Even if he misses the small in/out spring footwork to reset and confuse the opponent as to his real distance. Most big guys above 147 can't maintain that traction without tiring out their calves. I also see one small element of Carl Froch who would at times charge forward upright throwing straight punches (its dangerous to do as you are right in the pocket to be hit coming in, but unlike Froch, Gvozdyk has the hand speed and wont finish in the clinch or falling in, he springs back out on his toes. I can't think of any similar pro styles except Usyk and Loma.

Adonis did clock him in the 10th but he came back very strong. And just like in that Olympic fight, no real authoritarian jab, body punches aren't utilised much, although very busy with flash lead hands, distractive punches to close the distance, or block the opponents view but it's the real damage is from that straight right.
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Yeah that was a terrible robbery and Niyazymbetov is an excellent fighter and still is one of the very best LHWs in the world: 2 x Olympic silver medalist (albeit he should only have 1) and a 2 x world amateur championships silver medalist too.

Gvozdyk has only gone the full 12 round distance once but he has a great gas tank and he proved he can maintain the pace in that one in addition to doing so again the other night.

As you can see in that film study I posted Gvozdyk handled Stevenson's considerable power very well and even when he ate that thunderous left counter in the 10th that sent him crashing into the ropes his legs were totally fine and he recovered almost immediately.

He boxed on a leash on Saturday night but I knew as soon as he landed that initial right hand that hurt Stevenson in round 11 that he was going to get him out of there because he started letting his hands go much more freely and putting weight into all of his shots when he did so and when he does that he's capable of getting anyone out of there if he's catching them clean with his shots, which he usually does because he's very accurate, has power in both hands, and he's a great finisher who can put his shots together seamlessly and beautifully.

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Oleksandr Gvozdyk's game plan

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