I think there are two ways to look at this fight, in my opinion. 1- Kova keeps him at bay long enough with his jab and right hand in the early rounds, causing Beterbiev considerable damage to slow him down, and then scores a TKO at the end. 2- Beterbiev weathers the early storm and destroys Kova on the inside from the middle onward. There's no way this will go the distance.
I’m leaning towards Beterbiev. But Kovalev for a brief period between 2013-2015 would have a chance. I think he was one of these fighters who went downhill fast, deceiving fans into thinking that he wasn’t that good to begin with. He was definitely a force to be reckoned with
Two very realistic scenarios, I go with the second one because Beterbiev in his career has shown more solidity but it would have been a really great match. Sometimes I have the impression that people do not remember how strong Kovalev was in his prime. It's a shame not to have seen him against Stevenson, I would have bet on Kovalev but it would have been a really interesting fight.
Beterbiev and it’s a styles thing, Kovalev can’t shorten up his punches and fight on the inside nor does he have the footwork to stay away and to top it off he can’t take body shots. He uses an offensive jab to get Kovalev to duck to his right to set up left hooks to Kovalev’s head and body then following up with chopping rights over the top. Kovalev only had one gear technically, he couldn’t make those minor adjustments.
Kovalev was a beast in his prime. People forget so fast. That long, long jab and his timing coupled with those crunching punches ... damn. I think the gym discipline is the difference that made Beterbiev the greater fighter, but anybody writing Kovalev off doesn't know what they are talking about.
