Last night showed again why versatility is so important at the very top

Kovalev is a great fighter, past his best, but even at his best, just not versatile enough. That's why he never was as good as Andre Ward even if you consider the first fight a W for him...hes never been able to change in a fight or over his career. He does the things he does very well...but if you go through a gauntlet of elite competition and you dont tick enough boxes, you'll come undone more than say a fighter who is on a similar talent plane but does tick those boxes and has the ability to fight in different ways. If you're a bulldozer like Beterbiev, who everyone is high on at the moment, eventually hes going to come across a guy who cant be bulldozed or can touch him and get out of the way (or a combination of things) At some point Inoue is going to come across someone who can take his power well and fire back, can he box for 12, tough out a decision when hes tired and hurt? That is why for me Crawford and Loma for the past few years are the standout boxers...they have everything in their locker, speed, skillful, tough, stamina, smart, and they are comfortable all over the ring and at all ranges...it has allowed them to go through weight divisions and keep winning. There are question marks over TC's competition, but I do think he will cement his status if he gets the fights. Canelo - I would just put a notch below, as his stamina is not on par with most elite fighters, but you cant deny hes great, and again a lot of that is because of his ability to fight in different ways. But the overall point is, these types of guys because of their overall skillset, versatility, and ability are always going to be able to exploit things in an opponent, and their lack of weaknesses makes them less exploit-able. Fans get too enamoured with punchers or phenoms. It's ok to enjoy them but dont get carried away, try to look at the weaknesses as well, they are often visible even against lower level competition.