I agree with Kovalev being the more dangerous fight, he is a much bigger man than GGG, but I absolutely disagree with your analysis.
1) Technically, GGG is much more fluid than Kovalev, he throws better combos, mixes it up very well, while Kovalev mostly relies on straight punches.GGG is also better at cutting off the ring.
2) Assuming Ward is the same fighter as a couple of years ago, there is no way Kovalev wins by jabbing, countering and stepping back. Ward would keep the pace low, beat Kovalev to the punch due to superior hand and foot speed , making it a "boring" UD. Kovalev needs to be the aggressor, he is big, powerful and capable of clever aggression. Stepping back to contol range and to avoid walking into counters, as he did with Bhop , is one thing, trying to win a fight against Ward on his backfoot is an entirely different matter.
why not? arthur abraham was jabbing ward's head off the first 3 rounds and then he inexplicably stopped and just stood there with gloves up for the rest of the fight. pretty sure kovalev brings more to the fight than arthur abraham and you forget that ward's fought nothing but slow figthers his entire career. ward would be clinching for dear life nonstop in this snoozer of a fight. slick boxing
I don't think Ward beats Kovalev. I actually think Kovalev has a stylistic matchup advantage with Ward. GGG has a nice jab but Kovalev's jab is a spear. I think Ward has enough speed and size to be able to jump in and grab GGG (not saying thats a good idea but thats another story) Kovalev has great foot movement going back and he doesn't just move meaninglessly. He'll step back and time you with a jab in the same motion, or take a halfstep back and try to counter...it doesnt have to land because he'll try to spin you too. The diff between GGG and Kov is that GGG is machine like and you feel like maybe just maybe you can out box him. Kovalev is a savage but you also have to find him... So while I think Ward has a style disadvantage to GGG as well, he does have good size on him. I've heard GGG does grappling training and is extremely strong so maybe Ward's size (clinching especially...we all know that will be the most integral part of his strat) might matter less..especially if he's dry at the weight. I believe you need an equalizer with Kov (Stevensons sheer explosive power is really the only one to worry about) and that he's too mean, skilled, subtle and devastatingly powerful with every punch in his arsenal to be outboxed at 175. I dont think Ward can outbox or outfight him. Kov's jab to the body would be extremely effective at keeping Ward from lunging in and clinching to stifle the offense. He'd take punishment to try and get any offense
I agree with Kovalev being the more dangerous fight, he is a much bigger man than GGG, but I absolutely disagree with your analysis.
1) Technically, GGG is much more fluid than Kovalev, he throws better combos, mixes it up very well, while Kovalev mostly relies on straight punches.GGG is also better at cutting off the ring.
2) Assuming Ward is the same fighter as a couple of years ago, there is no way Kovalev wins by jabbing, countering and stepping back. Ward would keep the pace low, beat Kovalev to the punch due to superior hand and foot speed , making it a "boring" UD. Kovalev needs to be the aggressor, he is big, powerful and capable of clever aggression. Stepping back to contol range and to avoid walking into counters, as he did with Bhop , is one thing, trying to win a fight against Ward on his backfoot is an entirely different matter.
Not only did he beat Hopkins but he put him down and looked good against him, I think the only thing golovkin has over kov is maybe p4p a better chin and a bit more skilled but stylistcly he's a beast with a jab to the body that can put u down. Defntly kovalev
Kov for sure. His smart enough to take a step back so he doesn't allow his opponent to smother or tie him up. That would be Wards downfall plus Kov has nasty brutal game changing power. Ruthless vato
Definitely Kovalev. Ward's clinching style won't apply with a huge and skillful guy like Kovalev. As big as Kovalev is, he's not the careless face-first brawler. He's an in and out fighter at blazing speed.
Have thought about this and I have changed my tune and I thought Kov is the more competitive fight.
Ward is better off pursuing Golovkin.
I don't think Ward beats Kovalev. I actually think Kovalev has a stylistic matchup advantage with Ward. GGG has a nice jab but Kovalev's jab is a spear. I think Ward has enough speed and size to be able to jump in and grab GGG (not saying thats a good idea but thats another story) Kovalev has great foot movement going back and he doesn't just move meaninglessly. He'll step back and time you with a jab in the same motion, or take a halfstep back and try to counter...it doesnt have to land because he'll try to spin you too. The diff between GGG and Kov is that GGG is machine like and you feel like maybe just maybe you can out box him. Kovalev is a savage but you also have to find him... So while I think Ward has a style disadvantage to GGG as well, he does have good size on him. I've heard GGG does grappling training and is extremely strong so maybe Ward's size (clinching especially...we all know that will be the most integral part of his strat) might matter less..especially if he's dry at the weight. I believe you need an equalizer with Kov (Stevensons sheer explosive power is really the only one to worry about) and that he's too mean, skilled, subtle and devastatingly powerful with every punch in his arsenal to be outboxed at 175. I dont think Ward can outbox or outfight him. Kov's jab to the body would be extremely effective at keeping Ward from lunging in and clinching to stifle the offense. He'd take punishment to try and get any offense
The biggest edge Kovalev has is footwork. It's the main reason he trashed Hopkins so badly. He can also box very well whereas GGG is a strict come-forward swarmer with great combinations, which is what Kovalev can do as well. The only edge I give to GGG is chin but that can just be because his weaker competition hasn't been able to test it yet.
You missed the fight last Saturday? GGG did anything but fight as a come forward swarmer.
Not which one you would rather see but which one is tougher for Ward himself. He's the link to all of these superfights. Vote and explain.
Both VERY EASY fights for Ward, but Little G is too much of an unskilled coward to even get in the ring, so Kovalev is a tougher test. Also Kovalev resume is 20 times better than Bumlovkins.
I guess I'll be one of the few who says dropping in weight for Golovkin.
There's no question that Kovalev has a better resume than GGG, but from what I see and from what we know, I believe Golovkin is a better boxer. He's older, has much more impressive amateur resume and is a silver olympic medalist. When I watch them fight, Golovkin is more methodical in my eyes. In order to beat Ward, you need to be methodical. In a way, Kov is a better version of Froch, but his style may not take Ward's well. Although he took care of Hopkins via UD, Ward is 20 years younger and boxes in the same style.
Also, your choices state drop weight vs GGG or come up vs. Kov. Needing to shed weight to 164 would drain Ward a bit, which will definitely work against him. Against Kovalev, he's just gonna bulk up, which actually evens the field between them.
Thus I think that due to Golovkin being a better boxer and Ward needing to be drained to 164, that's a tougher fight. If the choice was GGG at 168 or Kov at 175, that's more of a 50-50 in my eyes.
Kovalev is clearly the harder fight and is a better fighter than Golovkin in my opinion.
But you say "dropping weight" with regards to the Golovkin fight. Ward isn't going below 168lbs.
Kovalev because of size and tested skills. Kovalev is capable boxer-puncher with heavy fists.
Has lateral movement, can throw power punches moving back, and great power in both hands.
Not which one you would rather see but which one is tougher for Ward himself. He's the link to all of these superfights. Vote and explain.
Kovalev is the tougher fight, for the simple fact that he's likely to walk into the fight the significantly bigger man.
People disregard the point, but Kovalev likely walked into the ring for the Hopkins fight at 200lbs (weighing in just a pounds short of the IBF weigh-in limit made it pretty clear to me that he still had the need to hydrate a handful more pounds).
Unless Andre Ward just hits the gym super hard, I'd be shocked if he walks into the fight at even 182lbs. Ward's ability level is on another level, but size is still size.
The biggest edge Kovalev has is footwork. It's the main reason he trashed Hopkins so badly. He can also box very well whereas GGG is a strict come-forward swarmer with great combinations, which is what Kovalev can do as well. The only edge I give to GGG is chin but that can just be because his weaker competition hasn't been able to test it yet.
I agree Kovalev showed some great attributes in the BHOP fight but I think you're selling GGG a little short..
He's pretty damn good at counter punching, using his jab to control distance as we saw last week, and I thought he showed excellent footwork as well. How many times did he have to clinch in that fight? He moved out of range pretty good.
They're both good fighters, neither has been really tested although Kov has fought the better comp for sure.
What makes you think that?
The biggest edge Kovalev has is footwork. It's the main reason he trashed Hopkins so badly. He can also box very well whereas GGG is a strict come-forward swarmer with great combinations, which is what Kovalev can do as well. The only edge I give to GGG is chin but that can just be because his weaker competition hasn't been able to test it yet.
Not sure how anyone can say GGG. Kovalev is more well rounded and skilled, but he especially has the better resume.
For Ward I think it would be tough to be at his best if he had to cut that much weight against GGG, that's why I think this is a good comparison of tough matchups for him.
What makes you think that?