Comments Thread For: Kovalev's Trainer: Hopkins Was a Bigger Fight Than Andre Ward

[Motofan]

Stop it....just stop it.

Just saying what anyone with eyes can tell you. Once he knew the fight was in the bag and Hopkins basically stopped fighting back Kovalev didn't force the issue. He has spoke himself about not wanting to hurt Hopkins unnecessarily and how much he respects him (I'm not gonna show you how google works, knock yourself out there.) Then he felt disrespected by Hopkins sticking his tongue out at him and basically robbed him of the last few years of his life in the 12th. Also, feel free to refute the rest of that post. I'd love to actually hear how I'm wrong.

[HAY-B]

JDJ is right. Hopkins was by far the better known fighter around the world. However Ward will be the toughest fight Kovalev has ever been in to date. IMO Ward, for Kovalev would be like fighting a prime Hopkins, but much faster. I'm picking Ward by UD, but should Kovalev win I must tip my hat to him and give him all the credit he deserves.
I know a lot of you all are expecting a rock'em sock'em performance from Kovalev, but I think you need to prepare yourself to see a May vs. Pac type of fight, meaning a technical fight where neither guy wants to make a mistake.

[Kigali]

Just saying what anyone with eyes can tell you. Once he knew the fight was in the bag and Hopkins basically stopped fighting back Kovalev didn't force the issue. He has spoke himself about not wanting to hurt Hopkins unnecessarily and how much he respects him (I'm not gonna show you how google works, knock yourself out there.) Then he felt disrespected by Hopkins sticking his tongue out at him and basically robbed him of the last few years of his life in the 12th. Also, feel free to refute the rest of that post. I'd love to actually hear how I'm wrong.

Kov didn't let his hands go until he saw the finish line.
He didn't carry Hopkins he just has a limited fuel tank.

There are moments in every round in every fight,that Kovalev wants to be left alone...he throws his punches and hops back to recover and get his wind.

[HAY-B]

Reading past the headline (actually reading the article) he is right on a few things. Sure Hopkins was old, well past his best, but he was still winning against good fighters and many on here who can't see past skin color were predicting Hopkins v Pavlik all over again. Shouting it from the rooftops. Many youtube channels and boxing experts were picking Hopkins to do it again. Hopkins was and is a much bigger name than Ward is or probably will ever be. That fight showed that Kovalev wasn't just a simple puncher. He had skills. He had to or Hopkins would have humiliated him. Now Ward is the bigger test, in that he is closer to his prime (still past it) and undefeated, but let's not act like everyone thought Kovalev was just going to ruin Hopkins the way he did. Don't play revisionist history.

I can't speak for everybody else. I can only speak for myself. I picked Hopkins over Kovalev strictly because of Hopkins ring IQ. What their fight showed me is that Kovalev is very trainable and follows his instructions/game plan to the letter. However, I can't give all the credit for his victory to him. You have to give a lot of credit to JDJ. Here's why. Not only did JDJ fight Hopkins, he also was and assistant trainer for Hopkins for a few fights. So, he knows what Hopkins is capable of and How Hopkins thinks. He knows what traps Hopkins likes to set and when he's trying to set them. Just having that information on your opponent is half the battle. Having a fighter that can carry out those instructions is the other half of the battle. I don't think Kovalev would have been able to control distance and negate Hopkins offense without the knowledge JDJ was able to pass onto him in training camp. It's just my opinion. Ok, out of all the fights Hopkins has had, name one fighter that shut Hopkins down the way Kovalev did? Not even RJJ and all of his greatness was able shut Hopkins down like Sergey did. To me it was that deep insider knowledge that allowed Kovalev to look as good as he did that night.

[M Bison]

John David Jackson is getting under the Ward fanboy's skin and he is getting to Ward.

[rrayvez]

I know, a 50 year old Hopkins would not go UD 12 rounds with bums like Brand and Barrera. He would of finished them KO in 6 or less.

Ward should be thanking Kovalev for opportunity to earn a payday.

oh yeah? When was the last time Hopkins ko'd somebody??? I'll wait. Ko'ing people isn't a measure of how good you are or how ward will fare vs Kovalev.

[aboutfkntime]

as soon as ward feels that first right hand from kovalev he will go into retreat mode. the guys not been hit back in 5 years. he wont know how to handle it. hes talked about how he is concerned about impact of boxing on his health, trust me he doesnt have the stomach for a war. kovalevs got that real mean streak about him, if ward starts headbutting, clinching and fouling, kovalev will take his head clean off. you can run but you cant hide in that ring ward, best wear your best track shoes to the fight

you sound like a broken-heart, looking for a place to happen

[aboutfkntime]

Ward has fought punchers before....more than Kovalev has.

He's felt power before...unlike Kovalev.

Chillemba was jabbing the melodium out of Kova and Ward is far and away better than Isaac.

Why didn't he take Chilemba's head off?

Or old ass B-Pops??

exactly !

[BrometheusBob.]

Ward > Hopkins at 50

Unless he meant in terms of how significant the fight is in which case he's still wrong.

[mathed]

"Ward's just trying to get back into the game and Sergey's trying to put that stamp of approval on it." - John David Jackson

That's the truth right thur!