Kovalev, the Trinidad of light heavyweight

There's a lot of big men with a lot of power at 175. Stevenson, Beterbiev to start. A lot of up-and-comers too. But I believe only the total package (Andre Ward) beats him. ward is going to have some major rust. hed need at least a couple tune up fights before getting in there with a beast like kovalev. If ward is the same fighter I think he would give big problems to kovalev. not sure id favor him to win tho

style comparison is off plus kovalev is better thats debatable. trinidad was a beast at welter

style comparison is off plus kovalev is better

With questionable glove manipulation just like Tito. Last I remember Tito is in the IBHOF

I think Kovalev is more skilled. For one thing, Kovalev is better at cutting off the ring. Trinidad failed to cut off the ring effectively against DLH. Also, Trinidad struggled against boxers/movers. Kovalev can box or punch. Just compare their performances against Hopkins. trinidad was usually pretty good at cutting off the ring imo. dlh was just a little too quick for him and had to run for dear life in the last couple rounds. hops was just too big and strong for trinidad. I dont think it was really a styles problem. trinidad was a natural welterweight and hops a a big middleweight

They are both great fighters who hit incredibly hard for their weight class. They can be knocked down but they are up at the count of one, unhurt and back on the attack. Trinidad was left handed and his amazing punch was a left hook that he could double or triple up on or use as an uppercut. Trinidad also was a master of straight punches and he had a hard accurate left jab and a wicked straight right. Trinidad was a great body puncher and so is Kovalev. Kovalev has a very powerful left jab that he works behind. He throws that jab often and his Sunday punch seems to be the right either thrown straight or as a hook. Their styles were a bit different but they both went for the KO especially Kovalev. They might not have been as effective backing up but trying to back them up was a good way to get knocked out. Trinidad never lost as a welterweight and was a welterweight champion at age 20. He won the title on a KO and had 15 successful defenses, 12 by KO with only guys who were never stopped going the distance. Many thought Oscar beat him but Oscar was a great fighter himself at that time. Kovalev gets the KO every time. Both of them are wonderful fighters.

I think Kovalev is more skilled. For one thing, Kovalev is better at cutting off the ring. Trinidad failed to cut off the ring effectively against DLH. Also, Trinidad struggled against boxers/movers. Kovalev can box or punch. Just compare their performances against Hopkins.

He is built so much like Felix Trinidad. He's a knockout artist at his best and any one would be foolish to exchange with him. His chin has shown vulnerability but it hasn't been a major problem yet. One thing for certain............is he able to fight effectively on the backfoot? From what I saw in Kovalev vs Pascal he spent the entire fight needing to shift forward to throw a punch. Is this Kovalevs weakness? Backing him up? used to love watching tito fight. that guy could crack and was exciting. hes quite different a fighter than kovalev but they were both offense oriented without great defensive skills. I think kovalev's chin is a bit better but tito was a better two fisted combination puncher

I like Kovalev. I think the impressive thing about him is he doesn't have the look of a puncher so much as many don't. A very lanky, loose muscled fighter whose very deceiving in where the power comes from. Pascal looked like a tank in there with all his muscles and shredded up completely contrary to Kovalev and Kovalev beat him around like a boss. Goes to show, muscles don't mean jack shieeeeet in a fight.

Which is why none of them have the power Kovalev has. Kovalev uses the weight of his body moving forward and a straight arm to generate a lot of power (other than his natural god given power). So yes, he uses forward kinetic motion to punch but generates much more power than guys like Lara, Khan, Hopkins. Kovalev fights how HE should to be most effective as a fighter. read: http://zinelibrary.info/files/Championship%20Fighting%20by%20Jack%20Dempsey%20(1950).pdf Kovalev is technically proficient in every aspect of his style to maximize his size speed legth and power. I have never seen a style like his. Tito was very predictable he would always rise up on his front foot before he was ready to throw, that was his tell. As soon as people saw that eg Hopkins, never let his setup to throw. Kovalev has no tell, he works behind a long and very accurate jab, with a withering right hand and Left hook that are based more on leverage that loaded wraps.

He is built so much like Felix Trinidad. He's a knockout artist at his best and any one would be foolish to exchange with him. His chin has shown vulnerability but it hasn't been a major problem yet. One thing for certain............is he able to fight effectively on the backfoot? From what I saw in Kovalev vs Pascal he spent the entire fight needing to shift forward to throw a punch. Is this Kovalevs weakness? Backing him up? Sorry bro, Trinidad was busted for using loaded hand wraps. After Benard hopkins trainer Richardson caught him wrapping his hands wrong in their fight. Ever since then Tito has no power before then he was ruining dudes, illegally. Kovalev is legit, there will always be an asterix on Tito's career pre Hopkins.

Fights more like Pacquiao than Trinidad. Those lunging lefts he was snapping Pascal with were very Pacquiao-like.

Fights more like Pacquiao than Trinidad.

What did kovalev supposedly do to his gloves? google turned up no accusations I think he hits them against the wall, but Hopkins complained and he didn't do it. Still dropped B-Hop in the first round.

With questionable glove manipulation just like Tito. What did kovalev supposedly do to his gloves? google turned up no accusations

...is he able to fight effectively on the backfoot? From what I saw in Kovalev vs Pascal he spent the entire fight needing to shift forward to throw a punch. Is this Kovalevs weakness? Backing him up? Who is going to back a guy up that hits that hard? Beterbiev maybe and that's about it.

I didn't mean their two styles being the same. I was just referring to where they generate their power. Kovalev and Tito gyrate their whole body into their punch. Kovalev throws while in a forward motion. Even when he is stationary he throws a punch with his body in a forward kinetic motion. Guys like Hopkins, Lara, Khan, etc don't rely solely on forward motion to mount an offense. Sure they do it, but can throw assorted punches from different trajectories. Which is why none of them have the power Kovalev has. Kovalev uses the weight of his body moving forward and a straight arm to generate a lot of power (other than his natural god given power). So yes, he uses forward kinetic motion to punch but generates much more power than guys like Lara, Khan, Hopkins. Kovalev fights how HE should to be most effective as a fighter. read: http://zinelibrary.info/files/Championship%20Fighting%20by%20Jack%20Dempsey%20(1950).pdf

I didn't mean their two styles being the same. I was just referring to where they generate their power. Kovalev and Tito gyrate their whole body into their punch. Kovalev throws while in a forward motion. Even when he is stationary he throws a punch with his body in a forward kinetic motion. Guys like Hopkins, Lara, Khan, etc don't rely solely on forward motion to mount an offense. Sure they do it, but can throw assorted punches from different trajectories. I see what you mean. But as you said what makes kovalev more dangerous is he can crack you while he's chasing you down. He's one of the best in the game at chasing a guy down with straight punches as they are moving back. Tito as I said is more stationary where he would sit on his punches more and create so much torque when he throws his hooks.

With questionable glove manipulation just like Tito.

Their styles aren't similar. Kovalev throws straight punches right down the middle while Trinidad was more of " hooker ". No disrespect to Tito because I was still a kid when he was in his prime but from the fights I've seen of him, kovalev is more versatile and skilled. Kovalev's footwork is great and he can punch while moving which is one of his greatest asset IMO. Trinidad was more stationary and needed a guy to stand in front of him to look like a beast. With Kovalev even if you are moving he will track you down and beat you down. I didn't mean their two styles being the same. I was just referring to where they generate their power. Kovalev and Tito gyrate their whole body into their punch. Kovalev throws while in a forward motion. Even when he is stationary he throws a punch with his body in a forward kinetic motion. Guys like Hopkins, Lara, Khan, etc don't rely solely on forward motion to mount an offense. Sure they do it, but can throw assorted punches from different trajectories.