If Yarde and Canelo reversed the order they fought Kovalev.. different results?

Fx5y ago

Yarde fought Kovalev after Kovalev had a good 6 months rest and recovery time from the Eleider Alvarez win. It was a fresh and fully prepared Kovalev. Yarde landed more punches on Kovalev than any elite fighter previously did - including more than Andre Ward in both fights! In an interview Kovalev did a few days after the fight on his Instagram answering fans questions (in Russian), Kovalev was grunting in pain whenever he moved. He was hurt in that Yarde fight and under any normal circumstances he should have had at least 3 months recovery time before starting a camp for his next fight. But he had already agreed dates to face Canelo before the Yarde fight and if he postponed, he may never have had the opportunity again. Canelo fought Kovalev only 10 weeks after the tough fight he had with Yarde (one of the toughest fights of Kovalev's career) and we saw what happened. It wasn't the same fighter that Yarde faced. He just didnt have anywhere near enough time to recover properly. So what happens if the order was reversed? If Canelo had fought the same fresh Kovalev that Yarde faced, he does a lot of damage like Yarde did, but does he still win the fight or does Kovalev stop him? And likewise, if Yarde faced the Kovalev that had been damaged by Canelo only 10 weeks earlier, does Yarde beat him the same way Canelo did or even quicker? Personally I think Canelo still probably beats Kovalev although it would be a much closer fight and would go to scorecards. And Yarde definitely beats Kovalev, probably stopping him quicker than Canelo did.

Comments (3)

moochi

Opposite results, but a silly question as Kovalev was chosen for that exact reason.

5y ago

j0zef

I don't think Canelo specifically targeted Kovalev after a short layoff. Hell, nobody expected Kovalev to take such a beating at the hands of Yarde. It should have been a tuneup, and Kov would have been fresh. Canelo's not guilty of anything there. Additionally, if I remember correctly, the deadline was imposed by DAZN who needed the event to take in a specific quarter. Anywho, I don't think much would have changed if Kovalev fought Canelo first. Fans love to talk out of their ass and insult fighters they don't like, but Kovalev at that/this point of his career is a textbook definition of a shot fighter. He lost his motivation and his head after the 1st Ward fight, drank a lot, trained horribly, and got beat around the ring in the rematch. Then he got KOd by Storm, who is a very good, but not a great fighter. He has legal problems, and apparently is still drinking a ton. If he fought Canelo first, he'd still get KOd.

5y ago

Cell rejuvenation that’s not the head/brain has traditional recovery. If Kovalev had any torso bones broken (like a rib) the fight would’ve been postponed. Brain damage is a different thing since neural connectors and brain cells can suffer irreversible damage. That’s why shots to the head is a different category. From what I recall Kovalev took mean shots to the body whereas Yarde took a beating to the head. But if you want the realities perspective. GBP and Main Events would agree on particular steroids for Kovalev’s fast recovery which would be monitored and reported. Team Canelo would acknowledge it too as long as there’s consulting and supervision for the exemption. It’s all money and the dark side of boxing ;) Interesting post. Brain damage, probably not. But body damage, definitely. I don't think there were any such exemptions permitted though. Kovalev made it clear after the fight that he was backed into a corner to fight Canelo, now or never. He admitted that he wasn't physically ready. I'm sure he tried to postpone the fight, behind the scenes, in order to recover from Yarde but that must have been met with a resounding no. So he had no choice but to go through with it, regardless of his deteriorated physical condition. It could be seen a strategic move by Canelo in order to specifically face a much lesser version of Kovalev. I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't have stopped a fully prepared Kovalev although he may have still beaten him on points. But Canelo was prodding at fresh wounds on an injured man, if Yarde had been in that same position, he also stops Kovalev imo.

5y ago