The rise of Sergey Kovalev & his inevitable showdown with Andre Ward (VIDEO)

I agree with this, too - and when I said that I'd favor Hopkins against almost anyone else in that weight range, I totally meant it. But all the same, I also understand exactly what Hammer Hands means, and again I reference the bouts Hopkins and Ward each had with Dawson as a loose illustration of this.

I'm not taking away any credit from Hopkins for outclassing Cloud, Murat, and Shumenov - but with regards to Kovalev....well, as Mickey said to Rocky in ROCKY III:

Rocky: He's just another fighter.
Mickey: No, he ain't just another fighter. This guy is a wreckin' machine, and he's hungry! Hell, you ain't been hungry since you won that belt!
Rocky: What are you talkin' about? I've had 10 title defenses.
Mickey: That was easy!
Rocky: What do you mean easy?
Mickey: They was hand-picked!
Rocky: Setups?
Mickey: No, they weren't setups. They was good fighters, but they wasn't killers like this guy. He'll knock ya into tomorrow, Rock!

:smoke

 

I wonder if there's any chance Bute can wind up being Ward's summer tune-up.

:smoke