By Edward Chaykovsky
John David Jackson, trainer for WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (30-0, 26KOs), is confident that his fighter's power will break down Olympic gold medal winner Andre Ward (30-0, 15KOs) on November 19th, likely at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Ward, who dominated the action at super middleweight for several years, is looking to become the unified champion at 175-pounds in only his third fight at the weight. Kovalev is one of the most feared punchers in the sport.
Both boxers are among the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. The fight will be carried by HBO Pay-Per-View.
Jackson does not believe Ward will be capable of avoiding Kovalev's power and taking big shots for twelve rounds. He expects Kovalev to eventually break him down and knock him out.
"The fact that his chin has been tested and he’s been dropped. This fight is going to be a test of will, can he withstand Sergey’s power for twelve hard rounds? Can he be evasive for twelve rounds to nullify the power of Sergey Kovalev? That’s going to be a hard road to take. Can he do it, we’ll see," Jackson told On The Ropes Boxing Radio.
When the fight was first announced, a lot of fans and experts were picking Kovalev to win the contest. After their recent performances, a lot of those same people have crossed the street and now feel Ward will walk away with the win.
Jackson cautions that nobody should really predict November's outcome by watching their recent performances, where Kovalev won a tough decision over Isaac Chilemba and Ward dominated overmatched Alexander Brand.
"I really can’t gauge on both performances by either fighter because those were kind of like tune up fights. People should not gauge how they’re going to fight each other based on both performances because they were sub par performances against guys that they were supposed to beat and they did beat. You really can’t measure how they’re going to fight each other off of those fights," Jackson said.
