Comments Thread For: Kovalev's Coach: Ward's Prime is Gone, Now He's Facing a Killer!

[therealpugilist]

Why does it seem like Dirty Sanchez and JDJ HOPE Ward has lost a step, when clearly he hasnt


does he throw a bunch of combos? No but he is more accurate now

does he move around the ring as fast? No, he is 32 and at 175....in his 20s he fought many fights at 160-165 o and filled out at 168. What he does do is control the ring, and doesnt waste as much movement, or telegraph certain techniques

has he taken a lot of punishment? No

Did he not look sharper vs Brand than Barrera? IMO yes, he threw his right hand more often, he was switching southpaw like he used to, and the way he was either too far or too close for Brand to land shows he can be elusive even vs unorthodox guys as well as more basic guys like Barrera.

is he at his physical peak? probably not, you start to slow down at 30

he has evolved as a fighter

A fighters "prime" is when your physicality and natural gifts become on par with you techniques and skill

he isnt quite as fast, flashy, or explosive as say 2011, but he seems to be better at making people miss with subtle short moves, he gives different looks on defense, and his catch and shoot and ability to counter jabs is better


Some fighters dont become the best fighter they've ever been until their late 20s/early 30s

look at jersey joe walcott, archie moore, Hopkins(his prime was in his early 30s)


prime isnt about age, its about it all coming together

[FeFist]

Classless comment in consideration of his Kov's history.

[bronx7]

Disgrace Jackson bragging Kovalev killed a boxer before and can and will do it again. Wards still rusty still needs timing sharpened. If he never stopped fighting he would be the sharpest of his career the prime would start slipping after this fight slowly over next few years. He would have gotten up for Kovalev and developed a plan to negate right hand. Shame he wasted those years.

[SteveM]

Why does it seem like Dirty Sanchez and JDJ HOPE Ward has lost a step, when clearly he hasnt


does he throw a bunch of combos? No but he is more accurate now

does he move around the ring as fast? No, he is 32 and at 175....in his 20s he fought many fights at 160-165 o and filled out at 168. What he does do is control the ring, and doesnt waste as much movement, or telegraph certain techniques

has he taken a lot of punishment? No

Did he not look sharper vs Brand than Barrera? IMO yes, he threw his right hand more often, he was switching southpaw like he used to, and the way he was either too far or too close for Brand to land shows he can be elusive even vs unorthodox guys as well as more basic guys like Barrera.

is he at his physical peak? probably not, you start to slow down at 30

he has evolved as a fighter

A fighters "prime" is when your physicality and natural gifts become on par with you techniques and skill

he isnt quite as fast, flashy, or explosive as say 2011, but he seems to be better at making people miss with subtle short moves, he gives different looks on defense, and his catch and shoot and ability to counter jabs is better


Some fighters dont become the best fighter they've ever been until their late 20s/early 30s

look at jersey joe walcott, archie moore, Hopkins(his prime was in his early 30s)

prime isnt about age, its about it all coming together

Looking classy against Brand, even Barrera, is not the same as looking great against Froch, Kessler and Dawson. We will see. Also if there is little incoming, as with Brand, that allows your own output to improve in terms of quantity and quality.

[Madison Boxing]

was ward even that great in his prime? Just fought in a dog**** division

[therealpugilist]

Looking classy against Brand, even Barrera, is not the same as looking great against Froch, Kessler and Dawson. We will see. Also if there is little incoming, as with Brand, that allows your own output to improve in terms of quantity and quality.

im not really judging him based off his opponent but based off how he is reacting, moving, reflexes and technique

I see probably the most well balanced fighter in boxing. Not the best fighter per say but he can do more in the ring now and he does subtle things. Can fight any style and anywhere in the ring

his reflexes look fine, his technique and punches are crisper than when he fought smith last year

its good he got the rounds in

Brand and Barrera were a good contrast...one was a larger orthodox guys, the other a shorter, herky jerky, awkward guy

He looks very sharp to me

He didnt spend his time outside the ring partying, doing drugs, etc.

I dont see a washed up fighter when I watch him fight, in some ways he does some technical things better.

[SteveM]

im not really judging him based off his opponent but based off how he is reacting, moving, reflexes and technique

I see probably the most well balanced fighter in boxing. Not the best fighter per say but he can do more in the ring now and he does subtle things. Can fight any style and anywhere in the ring

his reflexes look fine, his technique and punches are crisper than when he fought smith last year

its good he got the rounds in

Brand and Barrera were a good contrast...one was a larger orthodox guys, the other a shorter, herky jerky, awkward guy

He looks very sharp to me

He didnt spend his time outside the ring partying, doing drugs, etc.

I dont see a washed up fighter when I watch him fight, in some ways he does some technical things better.

Ward is a fantastic boxer. There's no doubt. The question is .. is he out of his prime and if so by how much? Nobody is suggesting that he is washed up. That would be ludicrous. I would suggest that Ward, Golovkin, Kovalev, Rigo and many top cruiserweights are past their absolute prime physically regards reflexes. What they have is more experience. But when it comes to reflexes and muscle twitch they are past their prime. This doesn't matter when you are fighting guys levels below you but when you are evenly matched it comes into play. Of course some boxers are so good that even 25% below their prime they are still world beaters -Rigo- and others have the ability to withstand Father Time - Hopkins-Foreman.

[Metho_4u]

I'd say that was because Brand is 2 levels below Barrera so Ward could do what he wanted when he wanted. Brand was very brave and moved backwards a lot and swung wildly and has a great chin - what more can you take from that fight?

Brand was certainly not the top choice for them as has been mentioned, but a tune up is just that. My point is not the other guy, but Ward overall looked sluggish vs barrera..I'm looking at the shaking off of rust

[Mr. Luthor]

If Ward is past his prime then that would suggest that an older Kovalev is also past his prime too.

John David should show more respect to the boxer's family that gave his life for the sport.

[SteveM]

Brand was certainly not the top choice for them as has been mentioned, but a tune up is just that. My point is not the other guy, but Ward overall looked sluggish vs barrera..I'm looking at the shaking off of rust

Should be rust free by now.