by David P. Greisman
Super middleweight titleholder Badou Jack will be ringside in Las Vegas on Nov. 19 to watch one of the biggest fights of the year, when Sergey Kovalev defends his three light heavyweight title belts against former super middleweight champion Andre Ward.
“I can see Ward being too smart for him and just picking him apart. I can see Kovalev being powerful, but what happens if Kovalev can’t land anything clean — it’s going to be hard,” Jack told BoxingScene.com. “For me it’s a 50-50 fight. I favor it a little bit Andre Ward, but I think it can go either way.”
Jack believes there are elements of both fighters that are often overlooked when describing them: “People think that Kovaelv is just a big puncher. He can box, too,” Jack said “But also Andre Ward is strong. He might not punch like Kovalev, but physically he’s going to be very strong.”
That jibes with the way Ward described himself and his opponent while speaking with the media in September.
“He [Kovalev] comes from the Eastern Bloc system. He comes from a good boxing background. He’s technically sound,” Ward said. “He can box. He can do multiple things in the ring. We’re not ignorant of that. But ultimately that’s [relying on his power is] who he is. I’ll put it like this: If he had to pick whether he was going to depend on power in this fight or his boxing ability, I guarantee you he’s going to pick power. That’s what’s in his mind.”
Meanwhile, Ward said he is more than just a skilled boxer.
“It’s always more than that, but sometimes the naked eye can’t see what’s going on,” Ward said. “Obviously the opponents, they know what’s going on, by the time they figure out what’s going on the fight is over. They get in there and it’s like damn, he’s a little stronger than I thought he was. Damn, that punch, he wasn’t supposed to hit hard, but that hurt. Damn, he’s not getting tired. He’s getting stronger.”
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