The Madrigal Of The Krusher: His Fistic Syncopated Polyphonic Symphony Of Destruction.

lepinthehood · Aug 7, 2016

Kovalev KOs him late.

Although if we see Ko4clev it's gonna be an early night.

velagod · Aug 7, 2016

Great thread.

Gneus7 · Aug 7, 2016

Caper said: ↑

CST man that Florida sun is going to be the death of you, that's one heck of a long post. If that's what it takes to convince yourself you are certain Kova wins then so be it. I think a post can be created describing all the ways Ward can out perform kovalev unfortunately most cerebal folks have jobs and yes families that take up most of their time. I read through some of it and from a reinforcement standpoint you did well though skill set vs skill set I can't ward losing to kovalev however fights are fought in the ring and not hashed out on paper.
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I was thinking the same thing but I guess we'll have to wait until after the fight to find out.

Bustajay · Aug 7, 2016

CST80 said: ↑

I'm clearly very biased towards Sergey Kovalev in regards to his upcoming match against Andre Ward, but instead of the usual bellicosity I spew, I'm going to attempt to actually explain why I think Kovalev not only KO's Ward, but possibly outboxes him in route to said KO. Many parallels can be made with Music and Boxing, both are heavily reliant on a rhythm, and without the rhythm, they will not flow as smoothly as they should. We are all hardwired to have an internalized pattern of movement that we rely upon, think about it, you never think about how to walk... you just do, and usually the same amount of space between steps with little variation, however if an obstacle presents itself to you, you can usually make a quick adjustment, and make a stutter step or a small leap to avoid it. Even though we may make that adjustment it tends to throw us off kilter for a second or two, and then we resume our regular rhythm after we've averted whatever was in our way. But if presented with a larger obstacle, like a hole or an unexpected drop off, sometimes we're incapable of finding our rhythm again and go completely off balance and fall on our ass.

Most but not all Musicians and Boxers function in a similar manner, they have the same rhythm throughout a song or match, which is their styles, most pop artists get stuck in a rut and do the same thing over and over and over, which is usually why they end up being one hit wonders, they never change their rhythm, never attempting anything complex, maybe because they just aren't adept or intelligent enough to figure out how, in essence... they're limited. Boxers function in a similar manner, they have a style that suits them and they are usually incapable of varying their set style all that much because its become a crutch, a habit, their rhythm, their beat... jab, jab, straight right never changes. Sometimes they can tweak something here and there and make subtle improvements, but it usually takes a colossal failure for them to realize what they did wrong the first time to correct it the second go around. These fighters are almost incapable of on the fly improvisation, and they can't wrap their heads around why the repetitive pattern that always worked for them in the past has failed them. It's usually because they've come face to face with a.... dun... dun... dun... Rhythm Breaker.:yikes

Andre Ward is a master Rhythm Breaker, while in the ring he studies his opponents timing, their punch selection, their footwork, their head movement, their twitch reflexes, their microexpressions or facial tells, their overall rhythm... and breaks it. He does this with a variety of techniques, obviously he's a counter puncher, so he catches them when they're coming in and yes he headbutts and clinches a lot which greatly contributes to his spoilerific style, but he also times his opponents to perfection, and completely offsets their rhythm usually by simply beating them to the punch, aided immeasurably by his natural speed advatage. He catches them midway through their combination or right before an attempt to set up their combinations, which are usually somewhat predictable, either with a straight right or his left hook catching them totally off guard, therefore momentarily discombobulating them and they have to reset, and the same pattern happens repeatedly. He sometimes follows up his punches by holding, and while in hold he works their body and head with fast little hooks, all the while usually holding their lead arm down, and keeping his head on the side he's holding down. Add to that his immaculate ability to slip, block and parry shots with his excellent head movement, and at times dipping his whole body to the left or right to avoid an incoming shot, and excellent control of range. His opponents are never able to get into a rhythm from the gets go because he's so adept at offsetting it. Therefore their entire gameplan goes out the windows, because most of the time they only have one style to rely upon to begin with.

I'll preface this with... I'm a huge fan of Mikkel Kessler and Carl Froch, not a big Arthur Abraham guy, and not that fond of Chad Dawson. While they all seem like big wins, and they are, they were not altogether hard for Ward to dismantle, because they have a set rhythm that Ward could get the beat of and ruin with the ease.

I'll start with The Cobra, Carl is fairly simplistic in terms of skillset, it's relatively easy to process his tempo, he shoots out 2 or 3 left jabs and swings wildly with his right sometimes its a hook, sometimes its a cross, sometimes its looping, and if that fails, he barrels through your punches and pounds you like a drum to the body causing you to drop your hands which opens up your head for him to finish you. All Ward had to do it neutralize his jab, slip the incoming rights and tie him up when he attempts his bumrushes. Easy as pie. Yet Ward was still gassing in the 12th and Froch had his best round when he realized the only way to beat Ward was to throw out the rule book and swing for the fences, of course it was too little too late to have success with that strategy.

Kessler who he faced before Froch, you would think he'd have a harder time with than anyone else, since Mikkel is technically superior to AA and Carl, yet he made fairly easy work of him as well... but Why? Kessler is brilliant at cutting off the ring, he rarely just follows his opponents around in a circle, but he usually starts slow, and is at times overly cautious, looking for the right moment to let his punches go. And when he finally does the punches he lets fly are fairly predictable, like Froch he jabs 2 or 3 times and then attempts to land the right cross, Ward took full advantage of this early, Kessler who did a great job at walking Ward down, but was as usual somewhat apprehensive early on, was tagged incessantly by Ward's straight right, left hook, jab, upjab and jabs to the body. He never let poor Mikkel establish his rhythm, so it was broken from the get go. He beat him to the punch from start to finish, completely taking Kessler play away, add in the holding and headbutting, Kessler never had a chance.

As far as Abraham goes, he had a little more difficulty figuring Arthur out, because with his high guard up as usual, Arthur's jab was intermittent, and he followed Ward around for the first 3 or 4 rounds, with no distinct patterns to pick up on, a jab here and there and an occasional leaping wild right hook. Ward found his range and figured him out by round 4, beat him to the punch repeatedly, jabbed him to the body, while Abraham followed. Abraham isn't very difficult outbox, Froch put on a masterclass against him. He doesn't have the hardest style to decode.

Dawson while a good fighter, I never considered him extraordinary, he's pretty basic, he sets up everything with his quick jab and follows it up with a straight left, his speed and southpaw stance gave many more basic fighters issues, but he doesn't have a unique rhythm, so add in the fact that he was drained, through no fault of Ward, Dawson agreed to the terms, so if he was weakened, it was his fault, but it clearly affected his performance. He was slow sluggish and his reflexes were off, and everytime he unfurled his jab it opened him up for a left hook from Ward. He didn't even need to break his rhythm, he was too slow and lethargic and was dominated from start to stoppage.

All of these great opponents have one thing in common, they have an identifiable rhythm, and if you can identify a rhythm you can break it. They are exceptional talents, but their skillsets offer little in the way of innovation and while they can make subtle adjustments here and there, nothing so great that could serve to shift the momentum of the fight in the least.

However of all the amazing opponents Andre Ward faced, his hardest fight to date didn't come at the hands of any of the stellar talents I just mentioned, it was against........yes...wild caveman Sako Bika.:blood

I had Ward winning the Bika match 115-113 it was the closest to a draw he's ever had, some even scored it a draw. Surely Bika has none of the class and skill and fundamentals of those gifted fighters, so why it that this Neanderthal performed far more impressively than those 4 against the SOG? It's because as great as they are, they all perform like top notch rhythm guitarists, while they are amazing at what they do, its predictable. Whereas Bika performs in the ring like a freestyle improvisational jazz musician, he never follows a linear path, he makes it up as he goes along, busting out syncopated notes and swing notes left and right, he is utter chaos personified. Because he wings it, he has no identifiable rhythm to break. Therefore Ward had an incredibly hard time getting his timing down, what to anticipate and how to deflect it, or what to counter with, occasionally he'd find the rhythm, and Bika would play a sour note that Ward wasn't expecting and catch him off guard again. Ward is damn lucky he made the few adjustments he made otherwise there'd still be a lot of people saying Bika was his Castillo, he'd have never lived it down, it would be seen as a robbery, because Ward would have never lost since the scorecards for that match were clearly filled out ahead of time.
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CST I like the summary on both
Yes, Ward can't KO a JWW😁 But his ability to adapt is under rated and overlooked in your review
I understand Krusher could just attempt to walk through Ward but as he is walking forward Ward can and will still score for throwing and landing. At the same Token Krusher could walk through the scoring jabs and just keep going for the harder KO shots and perhaps floor Ward but who really knows as this is going to be epic either way

I would not bet a dollar on this
Fight as it is way tooooo unpredictable

Bustajay · Aug 7, 2016

Jeff M said: ↑

Your love for sucking Russian **** has blinded you once again.
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Dude....Go R...a..PE YA MAW IN THE AZE AND THEN KILL YOURSELF

rayhogan · Aug 7, 2016

Cst lololol your reasons is way wrong and laughable to say the least. Here's the thing you forgot to mention the resumes factors I mean think about it the two best wins Kovalev have is against Pascal and a 49 years old Hopkins. Before fighting Kovalev, Hopkins last nest win was against Pascal 4 years before Kovalev fight. Hopkins easily beating cloud is nothing to brag about cause cloud never was a real good fighter. And Hopkins beating who again murat? LMFAO. Ward has beaten Kessler, froch, miranda, abraham, Dawson. Ward that means didn't beat fighters close to 49 years old smh. Kovalev style actually favors ward because Kovalev is straight forward that jabs and throws straight punches with power but Kovalev is not good moving his head which that favors ward. Kessler style is not the same level as Kovalev but it's almost up there cause Kessler have a jab and throws straight punches with pop. Who has Kovalev beat that close to ward style? I'll wait.

Jeff M · Aug 7, 2016

You just can't think clearly when it comes to Russians. The Russians are a blight on humanity. Even their entire Paralympic team was banned today. :rofl

FrankieinTexas · Aug 7, 2016

I predict a Pac-Floyd sleep inducing bummer of a fight. Yes...you read correctly. Both guys are aware of the other guys ability and will be very cautious. Just look at the Chilimba and Brand fights for a preview. I see lots of feinting, holding and missed punches. The twelfth round will, however be great.

Ward UD 12.

slash · Aug 7, 2016

poor little ward. he must want out in the worst way.

maybe he'll get lucky and get an injury before the fight.

don owens · Aug 7, 2016

As always, very good stuff and fun to read. I'll add my two cents. Krusher is going to stomp the living **** out of Ward. Not as technical, not beautiful prose, but true.

PBC is great · Aug 7, 2016

There's something wrong with Ward's right hand, guess after his shoulder surgery it's not the same.
He doesn't really use it and then he switched to southpaw, wtf?

Angler Andrew · Aug 7, 2016

Wards gonna try and do what Wlad did to Povetkin,it's gonna be a 12 round clinchathon,I'd of thought Kovalev will land at some point and could hurt Ward?

Bustajay · Aug 7, 2016

PBC is great said: ↑

There's something wrong with Ward's right hand, guess after his shoulder surgery it's not the same.
He doesn't really use it and then he switched to southpaw, wtf?
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That was weird
I don't think he is YET fully 100% but with strength training and time he will be come come November

I am still amazed at how quickly folks are chopping him up so easily as an early KO victim in Novemberatsch:roll:

alspacka · Aug 7, 2016

PBC is great said: ↑

There's something wrong with Ward's right hand, guess after his shoulder surgery it's not the same.
He doesn't really use it and then he switched to southpaw, wtf?
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Weird thing is he actually threw a ton of right hands vs Smith iirc

Maybe he just doesn't want to risk any complications unnecessarily now he has Kova in his crosshairs?

Nopporn · Aug 8, 2016

After I watched Ward's last fight, I think that Ward will use his boxing skills to beat Kovalev. Ward is so slick and fast and he is not easily caught.

Kovalev will need to be a busy man in this fight. If he can KD Ward in early rounds then he will have a chance.

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The Madrigal Of The Krusher: His Fistic Syncopated Polyphonic Symphony Of Destruction.

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