I'm glad to see Ward back in the game. He made Barrera look slow and stiff. Cracked Barrera and scored the KD. Looked like Ward buzzed Barrera a number of times. The Kovalev fight will be the best. A super close fight but I have to give Ward the edge. He's so good defensively and so quick on the inside.
Ward looked like his usual self which I'm happy about. Totally in control and totally dominant, too quick off the mark, too elusive. Was a little worried when Barrera caught him with the big right hand in the 2nd round but he took it well and didn't seem fazed at all. Kovalev will be a much tougher test though, can he be as elusive against such an accurate puncher like Kova.
Seems like he is finally all the way back. I still pick Kovalev but if he is back he certainly has a good chance of shutting up his critics and cementing his ATG status.
Ward is very good at that. I love how he used his shoulders at mid range to block shots. He did get caught with one right hand that he didn't seem to roll with or block and took it like he hadn't even been hit. I think Ward's chin gets underrated, I think he can take a good shot when he needs to. Though of course Kovalev can crack even the toughest of chins. Ward will need to be at his defensive best against Sergey.
