The fix might have been in. Kovalev vs Ward

Of course the fix was in.
But only moderately.

 

Kovalev fans need to get over it.

Kovalev blew his load in the first few rounds, he then spent round 3-9 chasing Ward around the ring, doing nothing while Ward was picking him off.

And ill tell you why Kovalev was hesitant because of a) Wards body shots took their toll and b) Kovalev was worried about Wards counters of which he was eating all night.

Rounds 10-12 were a bit more heated and that's because Kovalev knew he was losing. I.e signs of urgency.

His post fight interview says it all.

'I had some personal problems, my head wasn't right, Andre Ward isn't that good'.

Signs of a sore loser.

The body language of the two as soon as the decision was announced was also self explanatory.

And the scorecards were close it wasn't like Ward won by 'a country mile'.

The judges gave it to the right man.

Now lets look forward to the rematch.

 

No, I'm not being sarcastic.
I think it's absolutely no coincidence that all 3 American judges happened to score all the closest rounds for Ward every time, and arguably went beyond that in the 2nd half of the fight.

This wasn't anything unusual though.
This is normal and to be expected.

 

I don't know how anyone can be outraged by the decision.
I had Kovalev the winner by one round and he was obviously unlucky to be on the wrong side of the verdict, but virtually every round was close and scrappy which made them harder to call.
Having said that we all know boxing's corrupt so it wouldn't be a surprise that the home fighter got the decision anyway.

 

So you gave the last 10 rounds to Ward ?

 

Exactly. It's to be expected.

 

I

Asides from the thunderous jab Kovalev landed in the first id say 90% of the first round was Ward. So that was a 50/50 round.

Second round was all Kovalev plus the kd.

Third round, Ward showed great heart by giving Kovalev a thrashing.

4-9 were mainly Ward.

10 was Kovalevs,

11-12 could have gone either way I tended to favour Ward.

Looking back now, it was a brilliant display by a guy with little punch power vs a much bigger puncher who was naturally bigger than him and stronger than him.

On paper, it was a fight Ward should not have even survived let alone win.

 

K

The rounds Kovalev won were scrappy, apart from round two.

The rounds Ward won were clear cut.

Round 3-9 Ward put on a boxing lesson.

10-12, Kovalev and his team knew they were losing so he came out aggressive and took it to Ward.

It wasn't the best we've seen of Ward, but he was in the ring with a guy who could stop guys with great chins, with a single punch.

Id say Kovalev is one, if not the hardest hitting lhws of all time.

The key thing is, Kovalevs power simply wasn't enough to beat Ward, Ward tool it up another notch whereas Kovalev couldnt/didnt. Most, if not all of the rounds Ward won were because Kovalev simply couldn't cut off the ring.

By round 7 it was Kovalev who seemed tired.

After the KD, Ward fought the whole fight with much mote confidence.

It was a simple case of Ward standing up to the bullys power and the bully didn't like it and had no other answer.

Had Ward been a bigger puncher, that fight would not have been anywhere near as competitive.

 

Not sure about that. It was regarded as a fairly even match up going in, opinions were very much divided, and it proved to be an even fight.

I can't see many people claiming Ward won many rounds CLEARLY.
Most people admit this was a fight full of many unclear rounds.
I'd call it a draw to save arguments.

 

i think the result was fair but it's boxing and ward was the promoters fighter.

 

Bunch of crybabies

 

Id say they were clearer to me because a) Kovalev seemed unable or willing to cut off the ring and b) after the KD it was Ward who was full of confidence and it was Ward who seemed to be in charge up until round 10 where Kovalevs corner probably told him he was losing and to up the tempo.