Comments Thread For: Photos: Kovalev, Pascal Go Face To Face at Presser

[sako5]

Boucherville?! Damn this is going to be a boucherie!

[kafkod]

... OK, they said that they will "outbox" Hopkins... Which looked like "an invitation" or a warning ("in case you make it ugly, i'll go for the kill")... Is this possible?

You're implying with this gentleman agreement stuff that it was fixed to a certain extent and/or that Hopkins knew he would lose?

Hopkins and Jackson, Kovalev's trainer, go back a long way so it's an intriguing idea.

But it could only have worked if one guy truly believed that the other would not even be trying to win, and that would have meant that the fight was fixed.

Otherwise the possibilities for betrayal would be too great. EG, if BHop had kept it clean and then started to outbox Kovalev, could he have trusted Krusher to keep the bargain and not start looking for a KO, with his dream slipping away?

And Kovalev did seem to be going for the kill after he dropped BHop, and again in the final round, though he had the fight won by then.

My interpretation of what happened is that Kovalev turned it into a boxing match because he didn't want to risk getting cut by BHops head and elbows up close. JDJ said before the fight that they had a strategy to keep it clean, and I think that's what it was.

[FrenchDeLaHoya]

kathy duval be lookin like kovalevs moms

who should stevenson fight next? bc thats who kovalev will take care of next

hopkins, pascal.. who got next?

[Tobi.G]

... Well: Kovalev floored Hopkins as fast as he usually does with all his opponents, but further didn't go for the "kill"... Instead, Kovalev chose to fight B-Hop with deference (i.e. the way of behaving that shows respect for someone)... OK, Kovalev was in control and chose to play it safe, from the distance, because he knew he was able to... Hopkins (who is, of course, very experienced and intelligent) chose not to fight dirty or look for a DQ decision (which would have been a possible approach)
... This fight was "business-oriented" and looked like a peaceful "PASSING THE TORCH" between gentlemen, as I suspected in the first place.

I dont agree with that theory.

[Khabash]

Pascal is going to surprise a lot of people, he's a lot quicker than Kovalev.

This isn't a 50yr old Hopkins in there.

[Weltschmerz]

Hopkins and Jackson, Kovalev's trainer, go back a long way so it's an intriguing idea.

But it could only have worked if one guy truly believed that the other would not even be trying to win, and that would have meant that the fight was fixed.

Otherwise the possibilities for betrayal would be too great. EG, if BHop had kept it clean and then started to outbox Kovalev, could he have trusted Krusher to keep the bargain and not start looking for a KO, with his dream slipping away?

And Kovalev did seem to be going for the kill after he dropped BHop, and again in the final round, though he had the fight won by then.

My interpretation of what happened is that Kovalev turned it into a boxing match because he didn't want to risk getting cut by BHops head and elbows up close. JDJ said before the fight that they had a strategy to keep it clean, and I think that's what it was.

In my opinion, Kovalev executed a perfect game plan that even surprised Hopkins a bit, in terms of how successful Kovalev was in the process. Kovalev proved to be a versatile fighter against a master class opponent, however ageing Hopkins is. Hopkins himself said, don't blame my age for anything. Kovalev fought with patience and ring intelligence.

[Ravens Fan]

Just maybe I am missing something. With that said. There are a few posters that keep mentioning Pascal's power and I have to ask what power? The fact is unless you count a 44 year old Silvio Branco, who stopped in and had a cup of coffee as a light heavyweight champ more then ten years ago, Pascal has never stopped anyone resembling an elite fighter. He also seems to have major stamina problems. But as I said maybe I am missing something and if so please enlighten me.

[Real Talk85]

Who wants to take bets? Pascal wins by KO in the 4th. Who wants to take it?

[Real Talk85]

In my opinion, Kovalev executed a perfect game plan that even surprised Hopkins a bit, in terms of how successful Kovalev was in the process. Kovalev proved to be a versatile fighter against a master class opponent, however ageing Hopkins is. Hopkins himself said, don't blame my age for anything. Kovalev fought with patience and ring intelligence.

Versitile? He didn't have to do anything. Hopkins threw 16 punches a round. I think the most he threw in a round that fight was 21 punches.

[sako5]

Who wants to take bets? Pascal wins by KO in the 4th. Who wants to take it?

Someone take this bet