Kovalev vs. Ward: A Retrospective

Ward vs. Kovalev 2: "The Rematch" is only 15 days away and I'm excited to see it so I decided to take this time to look back at the first fight and score it. In the beginning of the fight I was very impressed with Kovalev's power and the pressure he put on when using his jab, backing Ward up and not allowing him to throw more than one punch at a time and scoring a knockdown early. Ward showed a lot of heart coming back from the knockdown and weathering the storm in the early rounds and I liked Ward's intelligent bodywork disrupting Kovalev's rhythm and pressure, slowing him down, controlling the distance and establishing a great, stiff jab. In the middle rounds I felt the momentum shift and Kovalev becoming frustrated, his pace slowing down, his jab not as effective and able to set up his right hand, also unable to land cleanly or with as much power as in the earlier rounds. Ward's shots to the body were adding up and the fight was slipping from Kovalev as Ward became more confident from landing big, clean shots. At the end of the fight and in the championship rounds I think Kovalev came back and was able to cut off the ring, reapply pressure and land punches the way he did in the beginning of the fight, triggering the response from Ward not backing down, knowing that if he did he would definitely lose, which led to a strong and exciting finish to this fight. This was a close fight, but in the end I give it to Kovalev. Round 1: 10-9, Kovalev Round 2: 10-8, Kovalev (20-17, Kovalev) Round 3: 10-9, Kovalev (30-26, Kovalev) Round 4: 10-9, Kovalev (40-35, Kovalev) Round 5: 10-9, Kovalev (50-44, Kovalev) Round 6: 10-9, Ward (59-54, Kovalev) Round 7: 10-9, Ward (68-64, Kovalev) Round 8: 10-9, Ward (77-74, Kovalev) Round 9: 10-9, Ward (86-84, Kovalev) Round 10: 10-9, Kovalev (96-93, Kovalev) Round 11: 10-9, Ward (105-103, Kovalev) Round 12: 10-9, Kovalev (115-112, Kovalev) Final Score: 115-112, Kovalev