Kovalev's defense.

[LA_2_Vegas]

idk i thought he looked a little open on his left side against agnew. i attributed it to getting a little lazy in his focus since agnew wasn't offering much back after a while. but early on, i felt like agnew was getting too close with some of his right hooks. kovalev also was falling straight back more than I've seen him in other fights. Maybe thats what bhop sees, i dont know. i think he's shown himself to be better than that so that's why i'm nitpicking.

[#1Assassin]

his defense seems alright considering his style. not bad or good, i think the talk of his defense comes from his fans acting as if him beating stevenson if and when they fight is a foregone conclusion. in response to which people point out kovalev has been KO'd as an amateur, knocked silly as a pro, stevenson can really punch and like mentioned kovalevs defense is a bit suspect. especially considering it hasnt been tested against a top 175lber.

[Beercules]

Like the next fighter of the decade, the next floyd, adrian brooooooooonerrrrrrr!

[MDPopescu]

Solid defense.

There's a sparring with Guillermo Jones... It shows Kovalev on his back foot...

[MDPopescu]

idk i thought he looked a little open on his left side against agnew. i attributed it to getting a little lazy in his focus since agnew wasn't offering much back after a while. but early on, i felt like agnew was getting too close with some of his right hooks. kovalev also was falling straight back more than I've seen him in other fights. Maybe thats what bhop sees, i dont know. i think he's shown himself to be better than that so that's why i'm nitpicking.

It's difficult to judge Kovalev's defense. The guy doesn't have enough rounds into the ring. In the Agnew fight, Kovalev seemed he wanted to stay in the ring a while.

[boliodogs]

I don't agree with them but if they say he has a poor defense they probably believe he has a poor defense Some fans just don't like the new wave of outstanding fighters from Russia and nearby countries. I think they are great. They come to fight and they don't talk much trash but let their fists do the talking.

[King_]

his defense seems alright considering his style. not bad or good, i think the talk of his defense comes from his fans acting as if him beating stevenson if and when they fight is a foregone conclusion. in response to which people point out kovalev has been KO'd as an amateur, knocked silly as a pro, stevenson can really punch and like mentioned kovalevs defense is a bit suspect. especially considering it hasnt been tested against a top 175lber.

Knocked silly as a pro? Hmm.. Interesting. That's a bold statement considering all you're talking about is a supposed knockdown in a fight he won against Boone. One in which there's no video, and doesn't even show as a knockdown on boxrec


I guess Andre Ward was knocked silly as a pro too? (And does this mean his defense is suspect as well?)


Oh and by the way. How come you took Ismail Sillakh off your favorite fighters list?

[bojangles1987]

It's difficult to judge Kovalev's defense. The guy doesn't have enough rounds into the ring. In the Agnew fight, Kovalev seemed he wanted to stay in the ring a while.

That's a really good point. Kovalev's fights don't last long enough to judge his defense too well. Even the 3 or 4 rounds he is in the ring are spent chasing down someone trying desperately to survive.

[jas]

kovalev has good foot movement

but is sometimes off balance when he attacks

[Citizen Koba]

That's a really good point. Kovalev's fights don't last long enough to judge his defense too well. Even the 3 or 4 rounds he is in the ring are spent chasing down someone trying desperately to survive.

This ^. The saying his offense is his defense applies to Kovalev - to date most of his opponents' punch output has dropped to almost nothing once he starts letting his fists go.

He does get tagged occasionally coming in - Sillakh caught him with a hook in the first which momentarily made him stumble, but didn't really seem to buzz him and I think there was something similar in the White fight.

On the whole though he gets hit a lot less than many more defensively minded fighters simply because his opponents tend to be more concerned with what's coming at them than launching any offense of their own.

I have noticed - specially in the Agnew fight that he is quick to get out of trouble using his good mobility when a foe does open up a bit - and he is a proficient boxer so I don't have any reason to suspect his defense is leaky, but as pointed out - we've never really seen him under any kind of sustained assault and his average fight lasts only something like 3 rounds which isn't much time to make a good assessment.