At 4:13 of this video is what Kovalev should have done instead of slumping defencelessly against the ropes. Also the ref in this fight got it wrong too lool.
This is what Kovalev should have done to Ward in those instances, fight fire with fire, had he got a DQ, it would have been better than getting a bull**** stoppage from Ward.
Kovalev had that round lost 100%. Therefore, what he should had done was taken a knee. But taking a knee means he would have to get back to fighting which was something he HE DID NOT wanna do. So, subconsciously he did as his mind told him to, become defenseless and have the ref save him.
And no, Im not trolling.
Taking a hit in the balls, let alone multiple, takes the wind out of you and is not something you build a resilience to or train for in boxing.
Kovalev was obviously in that slumped state because he took some hard low blows and hadn't recovered. It's natural to slump like that and it's also hard to stand when you get hit in the junk. He yelled to alert Weeks and sat back when he came in as he figured he was penalising Ward and giving him time to recover. He didn't realise until afterward that Weeks actually stopped the fight.
I think he should have retaliated, if you're the krusher aiming to end someone's career then you don't milk or overreact to belt shots and borderline low blows..... Kov's body language was wrong from the get go.
Taking a hit in the balls, let alone multiple, takes the wind out of you and is not something you build a resilience to or train for in boxing.
Kovalev was obviously in that slumped state because he took some hard low blows and hadn't recovered. It's natural to slump like that and it's also hard to stand when you get hit in the junk. He yelled to alert Weeks and sat back when he came in as he figured he was penalising Ward and giving him time to recover. He didn't realise until afterward that Weeks actually stopped the fight.
If he thought he was being fouled the first thing he should have done is not to eat a right hand on his chin and get wobbled and stunned and finally stopped.
That's what they teach.
But I think in Kovalev's case he was trying to get the ref involved to discourage Ward's body attack. That's why you saw him complain about the legitimate body shots too
He was already hurt and tired before the low blows, dont think he had it in him to gather up strength for strong enough low blows vs ward who was very strong at that moment. Kovalev isnt very durable. He was actually stunned by ward early in the fight, doubt many caught it. Unlike the first fight where ward didnt hurt him at all, he came in more powerful in the rematch.