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Again like you, I'm a big fan of both fighters, FWIW I do see GGG as the more cerebral fighter, and over the rounds has shown the ability to control the ring quite completely. With Kovalev we simply don't get to see that much of his boxing ability since he finishes so early, but we can talk about his footwork and mobility, accuracy, volume and combinations.
What I tend to think is that Golovkin is more methodical, probably takes fewer risks and also uses less energy - though Kovalevs stamina is so far yet to be tested.
There is confirmation from Kovalev that GGG made him take a knee form a bodyshot during sparring but the tales of Kovalev being tentative may simply represent either Kovalev experimenting with a more defensive style or simply not wanting to put anything too heavy on his friend (the two were quite close at the Summit and have spent time with each others families).
The punch stats from compubox do show that Kovalev throws more (during the briefer time he's in action) though as is mentioned elsewhere GGG is currently only a fraction of a percent behind FMJ as the second most accurate puncher in the sport though throwing at massively higher volume.
(actually I'm assuming your stats are prior to GGG - Stevens, where Golovkin threw and landed a lot, as well as getting in 8 of his 21 rounds as these Stats show GGG thowing more).
Curiously, the Compubox stats actually underestimate Kovalevs average #punches / rnd quite significantly due to the number of partial rounds he has relative to full ones (in the last 6 fights for instance Boxrec would average the number of punches he woulda thrown over 17 rnds - 51mins when he's only actually fought for 39.3 mins - 13 rnds. Over these 6 fights you could multiply by about 1.3)Last edited by Citizen Koba; 12-02-2013, 03:00 PM.Comment
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Thank you for the scholarly analysis. Where did you hear Kovalev took a knee in sparring, can you cite this allegation?Again like you, I'm a big fan of both fighters, FWIW I do see GGG as the more cerebral fighter, and over the rounds has shown the ability to control the ring quite completely. With Kovalev we simply don't get to see that much of his boxing ability since he finishes so early, but we can talk about his footwork and mobility, accuracy, volume and combinations.
What I tend to think is that Golovkin is more methodical, probably takes fewer risks and also uses less energy - though Kovalevs stamina is so far yet to be tested.
There is confirmation from Kovalev that GGG made him take a knee form a bodyshot during sparring but the tales of Kovalev being tentative may simply represent either Kovalev experimenting with a more defensive style or simply not wanting to put anything too heavy on his friend (the two were quite close at the Summit and have spent time with each others families).
The punch stats from compubox do show that Kovalev throws more (during the briefer time he's in action) though as is mentioned elsewhere GGG is currently only a fraction of a percent behind FMJ as the second most accurate puncher in the sport though throwing at massively higher volume.
(actually I'm assuming your stats are prior to GGG - Stevens, where Golovkin threw and landed a lot, as well as getting in 8 of his 21 rounds as these Stats show GGG thowing more).
Curiously, the Compubox stats actually underestimate Kovalevs average #punches / rnd quite significantly due to the number of partial rounds he has relative to full ones (in the last 6 fights for instance Boxrec would average the number of punches he woulda thrown over 17 rnds - 51mins when he's only actually fought for 39.3 mins - 13 rnds. Over these 6 fights you could multiply by about 1.3)Comment
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Kovalboxer.com website. There's a lot of good biographical information on his life and career. Though you'll have to trawl through quite a lot of interviews some in Russian (I have to google translate) some in English. I'll try to dig it out for you.
Some nice anecdotes from his early life as well. When he was 11 or so was robbed at knifepoint by a group of older teenagers. He waited 3 years (whilst he learned to box) then took revenge on them (though he's no more specific).
More recently he got his car stuck in a snowdrift then had to fight off a gang of about 8-10 guys when he went to a nearby Kiosk for a drink and they got aggressive asking him for money. He says he only figured out afterwards he shoulda just given them the money to help him outta the drift...
Also mentioned that he used to have friends who worked in big hotels parking cars and used to let him take the guests' fast cars out.
Anyways he did confirm the sparring event, though kinda seems a bit annoyed being asked about it, like - what the hell does it matter, sparring is sparring and says that they gave each other good workouts. The fact that it came out seems to be part of the fallout from some Kazakh fans (who also read Russian interviews) after he criticised Shumenov, also accusing him of racism etc.
Hold up....Comment
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Apparently Golovkin has had the better of Kovalev in sparring. That, to me, means more than a couple of years, a 2 inch reach advantage and 15 lbs.Comment
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This is a nice one, in English.
http://kovalboxer.com/en/interview/text/82--l-r-.html
I'm still looking for the GGG spar one cos' I'm having to translate as well but I think I remember reading it around the same time as this so it's probably somewhere nearby.Comment
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Ah there she goes. Bout 3 quarters down.
http://kovalboxer.com/en/interview/text/182--l-r.html
Like I say, means nothing... but anyway.
FWIW Kovalev says he was just starting camp after a holiday in Russia and GGG was fight ready.Last edited by Citizen Koba; 12-02-2013, 05:46 PM.Comment
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