Post Chilemba, who you do pick, Kovalev or Ward?

I need the 50/50 option:rasta:verysad

 

Lepikhin was expected to beat Chilemba. Duva bought this Russian kid thinking with a nickname like "The Professor" and thought he was going to be as good as Kovalev. What he got was a schooling.

It was that fight where I suspected Chilemba to be better than people give him credit for. He's not truly elite, but he'll trouble the elite.

 

Kovalev by a late KO. I will be taking cash bets closer to the time, none of that v cash bs.

 

Think about it, Kovalev would have easily knocked out Abraham, Kessler, Bika, Froch, those are the best fighters SOB Ward has ever fought.................Who is Brand?

 

CHimleba is stronger man overall than Ward. Can take more. If Ward was a bit faster and hit a little harder I pick him.

 

Brand is a 40 year old semi-retired fighter. He has been about as active as Ward has been.

 

I'll take a gamble and bet on Ward by SD.:deal

 

There needs to be a 50/50 option. Fights like this need to get made more often and I am just here for the show.

 

I picked Kovalev and am sticking with him. Chilemba is a good fighter and he won at best 4 rounds. That isn't enough for me to take Ward who isn't as big.

 

I picked Ward Pre Chilemba and I still pick Ward post-Chilemba, the results of this fight would of made no difference to me

 

haha nice, lets do it. :good

 

How much are you looking to bet? And how would we do it? Middleman?

 

Wow, 38 for Kova and 17 for Ward at this point on the forum. I guess the opinion is not going Wards way at all, if anything it seems to be going strongly in Kov's favor. I'd prefer Kov coming in as the underdog and seen as the inferior fighter personally since I think it takes a little pressure off him in terms of "he should win" and he can be motivated in a positive way to do his best. And also this way if he wins, he gets proper credit.

If you read what Kovalev has to say about Ward, it's clear Kovalev has a lot of respect for him and also knows a lot about him and his career. Kovalev has shown no fear with speaking his mind about fighters he will/has faced and its not always pretty. But his comments about Ward have always indicated that he considers him to be an extremely skilled boxer - seemingly one of the best period. It transcends humility and borders on fandom. See his comments after the Chilemba fight for an example of what he has to say about Ward.

To me this indicates Kovalev is taking the Ward fight very seriously and as a result I think you will see a cautious, focused, determined and tricky Kovalev in there with Ward. I don't think he will be sloppy or all about coming forward all the time and jumping on him since he knows he is fighting a very good fighter who will make him pay for mistakes, impulsivity and lack of creativity and attention. I think Kovalev is going to surprise people. In any case, it should be an exciting fight and respect to both fighters for making the match and all respect to whoever wins.

 

I still favour Kovalev. Chilemba was the best sparring in preparation for Ward he could have. Sounds like Kovalev learnt his lesson too...