Would a Ward-Kovalev outcome determine the P4P #1?

[King_]

How many people feel the winner of Ward-Kovalev would be the #1 P4P fighter?

This is the absolute best possible fight in boxing at the moment and the winner of this fight is without a doubt the P4P king until they retire.

I've said for years that it would take an absolute MASTERCLASS of a boxing performance for someone with anything less than great power to be able to withstand Kovalev for 12 rounds, outbox him- score points and WIN. If Ward were to beat Kovalev he would be the GOAT LHW (IMO) even with only one 175lb win.

With that said, I am sticking to my gut from day one and I just know in my heart, Sergey Kovalev will never lose a professional boxing match. He is going to retire undefeated and the GOAT LHW and one of the absolute ATG's in boxing history (if he gets Ward, the chance to unify with Adonis, etc)

Sergey Kovalev is the perfect modern day boxer and he is absolutely unstoppable, the only way to even simply have the slightest chance to beat him is to have A++ power and an A++ chin to be able to do more than merely survive the onslaught Kovalev brings, and obviously we know this is real life and not a Sci-Fi movie, and that probably won't be happening anytime soon.


Is the winner of Ward-Kovalev the P4P #1? If not, what other fights out there could/would determine the P4P #1?


This fight WILL happen. Both of these men want to be great. Ward cannot be content with the Super Six, he's a real fighter who fights for legacy, unlike some others. He'll move up and take the fight. No doubt in my mind.

[The Big Dunn]

Depends on where you have Ward ranked.

Many outlets have GGG higher than Kov and do not have Ward ranked because of inactivity. using NSB as a gauge, most fans have GGG ranked ahead of Kov p4p. So if ward beats Kov I doubt he will leapfrog GGG in voting polls or in the minds of fans.

If you think Ward is the best in the world then yes a win over Kov solidifies his spot and a Kov win gives him the best win IMO so he should occupy the top spot.

[King_]

Depends on where you have Ward ranked.

Many outlets have GGG higher than Kov and do not have Ward ranked because of inactivity. using NSB as a gauge, most fans have GGG ranked ahead of Kov p4p. So if ward beats Kov I doubt he will leapfrog GGG in voting polls or in the minds of fans.

If you think Ward is the best in the world then yes a win over Kov solidifies his spot and a Kov win gives him the best win IMO so he should occupy the top spot.

I do not have Ward ranked at the moment because of inactivity combined with his last few fights, while being inactive, were against really low-ranked, or unranked opponents.

But obviously the skill and body of work never left and the inactivity and (lack of current P4P status) is temporary. Most people had him P4P #2 a few years ago behind Floyd, so a fight with Kovalev would give him "P4P status back" even before the fight goes down. Just the contracts getting signed and the fight becoming official would put Ward back in the P4P discussion, IMO.

[The Big Dunn]

I do not have Ward ranked at the moment because of inactivity combined with his last few fights, while being inactive, were against really low-ranked, or unranked opponents.

But obviously the skill and body of work never left and the inactivity and (lack of current P4P status) is temporary. Most people had him P4P #2 a few years ago behind Floyd, so a fight with Kovalev would give him "P4P status back" even before the fight goes down. Just the contracts getting signed and the fight becoming official would put Ward back in the P4P discussion, IMO.

Discussion-yes. Top spot- Not sure.

Respectfully- Ward v GGG and Stevenson v Kov are better fights than Ward v Kov right now given Ward has only fought Smith at 172.

[King_]

Discussion-yes. Top spot- Not sure.

Respectfully- Ward v GGG and Stevenson v Kov are better fights than Ward v Kov right now given Ward has only fought Smith at 172.

Stevenson-Kovalev may be a better fight because it's long overdue and it has a "lineal title" on the line and the winner would be the undisputed, OFFICIAL king of 175.


BUT, c'mon. We both know (or think we know) what will happen there, Adonis will not be able to keep Kovalev off him. He's one-dimensional, flat-footed and a one-trick pony, with a shaky chin. Kovalev would box circles around him and even his stiff-jabs would put Adonis' in survival mode, IMO.

Ward is clearly the better fighter and far more accomplished. I do agree that I would have liked to see Adonis-Kovalev first and foremost and since the first fight fell through, I've been saying that has to happen first, with the ultimate goal (for the winner) after that being Ward. But a Ward-Kovalev fight is definitely the "better fight" and has more P4P implications even with Ward never fighting at 175, in my opinion.

Granted, Adonis-Kovalev would still have P4P implications, obviously.


As for GGG-Ward, I don't understand your reasoning behind saying that's a better fight than Kovalev-Ward because Ward never fought at 175. That's contradictory because Golovkin has never fought at 168 before, has he? Him saying he "would fight" at 168 or him signing to fight JCC Jr at 168 is still not officially fighting at 168 and if that was your reasoning- Ward said he "would move up" to 175 too, and he even fought at a catchweight halfway between his old division and the new one- whereas GGG hasn't.

So, I disagree about that one.

[bojangles1987]

Clearly. Both are top 5 p4p fighters right now. Whoever won would definitely receive wide and well earned recognition as the best fighter in the world.

Same with Ward/Golovkin.

[The Big Dunn]

Stevenson-Kovalev may be a better fight because it's long overdue and it has a "lineal title" on the line and the winner would be the undisputed, OFFICIAL king of 175.


BUT, c'mon. We both know (or think we know) what will happen there, Adonis will not be able to keep Kovalev off him. He's one-dimensional, flat-footed and a one-trick pony, with a shaky chin. Kovalev would box circles around him and even his stiff-jabs would put Adonis' in survival mode, IMO.

Ward is clearly the better fighter and far more accomplished. I do agree that I would have liked to see Adonis-Kovalev first and foremost and since the first fight fell through, I've been saying that has to happen first, with the ultimate goal (for the winner) after that being Ward. But a Ward-Kovalev fight is definitely the "better fight" and has more P4P implications even with Ward never fighting at 175, in my opinion.

Granted, Adonis-Kovalev would still have P4P implications, obviously.


As for GGG-Ward, I don't understand your reasoning behind saying that's a better fight than Kovalev-Ward because Ward never fought at 175. That's contradictory because Golovkin has never fought at 168 before, has he? Him saying he "would fight" at 168 or him signing to fight JCC Jr at 168 is still not officially fighting at 168 and if that was your reasoning- Ward said he "would move up" to 175 too, and he even fought at a catchweight halfway between his old division and the new one- whereas GGG hasn't.

So, I disagree about that one.

didn't you guys learn anything from Postol-Matts this weekend? NSB's majority opinion on who wins is often flawed, biased, bigoted and/or just plain ******. not that yours is.

You think Kov wins, I think Adonis wins. That's for another debate.

OK those are fair points. Ward GGG and Ward Kov are equal fights. The difference is Kov has a better fight to take (Adonis) and GGG does not. Both kov and GGG have more lucrative fights than ward.

HBO is pushing Ward v Kov because they didn't want to match the money Haymon would offer in the purse bid.

[FrankieClutch]

If that fight does get made, that winner would be my P4P #1 for sure

[King_]

didn't you guys learn anything from Postol-Matts this weekend? NSB's majority opinion on who wins is often flawed, biased, bigoted and/or just plain ******. not that yours is.

You think Kov wins, I think Adonis wins. That's for another debate.

OK those are fair points. Ward GGG and Ward Kov are equal fights. The difference is Kov has a better fight to take (Adonis) and GGG does not. Both kov and GGG have more lucrative fights than ward.

HBO is pushing Ward v Kov because they didn't want to match the money Haymon would offer in the purse bid.

To be fair, I said Postol would KO him in the 9th round. Just sayin'.

Not to get too far into this and off topic.... but since when are you picking Adonis to win? I could of swore you've always had Kovalev beating Adonis, but maybe I'm thinking of somebody else.

Kovalev has a better fight to take than Ward should be taken with a grain of salt. It's only relevant and necessary (legacy wise) because of Adonis' titles and "lineal" status.... But Ward is a FAR better fight for Kovalev, IMO. If there were no such thing as titles, or divisional rankings- Ward-Kovalev trumps Kovalev-Adonis by miles.

But yes, obviously I would have loved to see Adonis-Kovalev first- and still hope we see that after a potential Ward fight (see my response to you in the other thread).

[The Big Dunn]

To be fair, I said Postol would KO him in the 9th round. Just sayin'.

Not to get too far into this and off topic.... but since when are you picking Adonis to win? I could of swore you've always had Kovalev beating Adonis, but maybe I'm thinking of somebody else.

Kovalev has a better fight to take than Ward should be taken with a grain of salt. It's only relevant and necessary (legacy wise) because of Adonis' titles and "lineal" status.... But Ward is a FAR better fight for Kovalev, IMO. If there were no such thing as titles, or divisional rankings- Ward-Kovalev trumps Kovalev-Adonis by miles.

But yes, obviously I would have loved to see Adonis-Kovalev first- and still hope we see that after a potential Ward fight (see my response to you in the other thread).

I agree kov Stevenson first and the winner fights Ward.