The official Kovalev vs Ward prediction thread....

Ward UD.

 

Ward W12.

 

Kovalev by TKO or KO..................however, Ward will have his personal referee, judges and boxing commission, not to mention the commentators................Ward's judges have already filled out their cards. It's the referee's job to keep Ward from getting knocked out. There is a double standard in boxing. Take a look at Povetkin, WBC called the fight off, even though Povetkin was cleared...........Stiverne was positive, not cleared, yet the WBC allows his fight to go on...............boxing is crooked.............

 

I'll pick Ward by decision. I only give him a slight edge, and I'm not betting on him. I do think whoever wins will have the other figured out by the late rounds and win clearly, probably an 8-4 type fight.

Has anyone mentioned that there are three American judges and an American referee in a fight involving an American vs a Russian? Should be completely unacceptable. If Ward wins a close decision it'll be the deserved excuse.

 

Ward UD Kova (ward knocks kova down once)

 

Andre Ward has achieved a lot in his career. He proved he was no bum quite a while ago. But let's face it...

-The Super Six tournament was a very long time ago.

-Beating a weight drained Chad Dawson was a long time ago.

^Since those days, Ward has "acquired" a bad right shoulder (following surgery) and has been sporadically active since then as well -- he was out of the ring for a few years cumulatively prior to 2015-16. Plus, on top of all this, he's moving up in weight to face an active, full-fledged LHW who is a bonafide "Top 2" guy in the division (and maybe "Top 2" P4P) in Kovalev.

A lot of people are still underrating Sergey Kovalev's boxing skills just because he's a dynamite puncher who devastates everyone he hits flush. Yeah, the power stands out at the masses first, but make no mistake about it -- Kovalev can actually box.

At the end of the day, I expect a Krusher victory... and I believe HBO does too. It's too obvious who that network is backing. Regardless of who we all pick, the better man will win on fight night... and I can't wait to finally see how it all unfolds.

 

Scores?

I do think Ward will win but..?

 

Ward close UD. Ugly fight.

 

Kovalev TKO 9

 

I'm very happy this fight is going ahead. it's possibly the best fight in boxing and it has been made for once.

You can't compare Kovalev and Froch as Froch can't box. Froch got his ears boxed off by Ward and I don't think Ward can do this easily against Kovalev. Kovalev will seek to be in his ideal range while Ward will attempt to move in and out whilst avoiding staying in Kovalev's sweet spot. Ward is going to need to be fit or Kovalev will catch up with him. Ward will probably stay up close and well within Kovalev's power zone to neutralise the big right.

If Kovalev has aged as per the Chilemba fight and Ward is still the elite boxer everyone believes he is, Kovalev will get outboxed. Kovalev will always have the neutraliser shot from round 1 to 12 that could end the fight.

If Kovalev brings his A-game I doubt Ward can survive without getting on his bike. In that case we will have a close decision. If Ward stays in the pocket then Kovalev will accumulate enough damage to get Ward into a position to be KOed.

A great fight. Very hard to pick. Hoping Kovalev can win but if Ward boxes well and wins all credit to him.

 

116-112 is always a score id rest on. even though the fight will be scored a tad wider by most here. iv always felt kova is hiding a fragile chin.. i think hed knock out stevenson with superior ability but could easily see him getting knocked down to accomplish it. if anyones going to expose a bad chin itl be wards precise punching

 

Much respect to both guys for making this fight. This is the way boxing should be, not that play it safe Mayweather nonsense. I did think Ward might delay it or find a way to postpone and I'm glad I was wrong and I respect him for taking on the Krusher. He's a badass. I'm going with Kovalev but both are very good in their way and I hope it's a great fight and whoever wins has all my respect.