You see the way how Ward got his hands on top, pushed Kovalev's arms apart and continued about his business.
Props to Ward. He didn't just outbox Kovalev, he bullied and beat him into submission.
Yeah I was thinking that Kovalev should have tried applying more pressure to his neck, but I guess that would leave his body open. Ward is a real handful in the clinch. Kovalev actually handled it quite well in the middle rounds of the first fight but he didn't have the stamina to keep it up. This time he actually seemed less prepared for that part of the battle
I noticed that. Kovalev clinched a lot in the first fight and Ward developed a really good strategy for those headlocks and rough tactics. I would never advise someone to get their gloves above their head but Ward was good enough to make it work w/o getting hit on the way out.