Comments Thread For: Boone: Ward No Longer Looks Complete, I'm Rolling With Kovalev!

[Eastcoast]

I'm still picking Ward to win however it'll be a very close fight. Had Kov not fought Chilemba he would have been schooled against Ward. However this will be Ward's third fight in a row so he should be sharp for this one. I think if Kov was his 4th fight he would have been razor sharp. At any rate both men know what they're up against and will be prepared.

Nah, Kovalev has a great deal of respect for Ward and will approach this fight with greater focus than he did even for Hopkins. The Chilemba fight was a valuable experience for Kovalev though. He took the guy lightly and though he'd just blast him out for his home crowd. Chilemba's toughness forced Kovalev to dig down and bring out more of himself.

Ward's a bit of an enigma. He has a history of wanting things easy as possible, but every time in the past when he's been backed into a corner, he's come through.

Kovalev may box Ward like he did Hopkins, or he might try to make things rough and dirty like Bika did, when Ward had his most difficult fight.

[r1onnie2]

So: Boone is GGG's sparring partner to date and he is rooting for Kovalev (i.e. GGG's buddy).

LMMFAO, Exactly!

[JimmyD729]

Ahaaa! Boone called it. Irish Andre ward finna get blasted out.

[r1onnie2]

These boxers don't know boxing sometimes I swear!

How is Ward supposed to look the exact same as before? He fights at 175 now. Before, he fought at 168. For a recent example, did Connor Mcgregor look the same at 170 as 145 in UFC? No. You're carrying more weight which means less stamina, less movement, less speed. That's why to a casual Kovalev might look average except for his power, but they don't understand that the speed/power/combinations/stamina combination, while average looking compared to Pacquiao or someone at the lower weights, is actually special at light heavyweight. Plus fighting Barrera and Brand, Ward didn't need to move that much, so judging based off those easy fights is ****** too.

I saw the same Ward as always, just at light heavyweight, which means he was a little more judicious with his punches, a little less mobile and LIGHT on his feet, but also stronger, with a better chin because he wasn't cutting as much weight.

That's what I saw. Same Ward as always. It was actually Kovalev who had the big drop off in his last performance, but it's hard to say if that's the signs of decline or just one fight he overlooked. All of this overanalyzing gets us nowhere. I think if Ward wins, he should get full credit for beating the best Kovalev. If Kovalev wins, he should get full credit for beating the best Ward.

I agree 100% sometimes people don't realize and understand all the in's and outs of boxing! Your right Ward didn't have to do more than he needed to win those fights. But to the average boxing fan he isn't the same or doesn't look that good because he did just enough to win based on the competition. Win the competition rises like Kovalev, Ward game rises as well. Let everyone tell it Kovalev is going to be to strong and powerfull and run through Ward. All I'm going to say is looks can be deceiving and it's easy to sit on the outside and say what might happen.

[Mate_Parlov]

Ward Kovalev is a 50:50 fight. That subtle thing that might be deciding is that Ward does not want to fight anymore, and Kovalev desire is so strong. Hopeful of a GREAT show no matter who wins.

[Madison Boxing]

The easy D level opponents helped you see the ward of old. I see right through all that garbage. Ward picked easy opponents cause he wasnt sure of himself.
Im still not convinced he wont pull out with a fake injury. If he does go through with fighting keusher, I have no doubt kovalev and JDJ are ready .
All the while ward was talking a big game to GGG ,JdJ an f2f kovalev were thinkin "I got something for that azz boy"

Kovalev is a smart fighter who is very subtle.
Mark my words, andre is gonna get torn out the frame

good post, pretty much my thoughts on the fight.

[-PBP-]

These boxers don't know boxing sometimes I swear!

How is Ward supposed to look the exact same as before? He fights at 175 now. Before, he fought at 168. For a recent example, did Connor Mcgregor look the same at 170 as 145 in UFC? No. You're carrying more weight which means less stamina, less movement, less speed. That's why to a casual Kovalev might look average except for his power, but they don't understand that the speed/power/combinations/stamina combination, while average looking compared to Pacquiao or someone at the lower weights, is actually special at light heavyweight. Plus fighting Barrera and Brand, Ward didn't need to move that much, so judging based off those easy fights is ****** too.

I saw the same Ward as always, just at light heavyweight, which means he was a little more judicious with his punches, a little less mobile and LIGHT on his feet, but also stronger, with a better chin because he wasn't cutting as much weight.

That's what I saw. Same Ward as always. It was actually Kovalev who had the big drop off in his last performance, but it's hard to say if that's the signs of decline or just one fight he overlooked. All of this overanalyzing gets us nowhere. I think if Ward wins, he should get full credit for beating the best Kovalev. If Kovalev wins, he should get full credit for beating the best Ward.

Great post. Especially at the bold.

[The Big Dunn]

This is starting to feel like an excuse from Ward fans who are worried Ward will lose. "Well he wasn't the same prime Ward as before." He honestly looks the same to me. While he was retired I was picking Kovalev all the way, but since he's come back his reflexes and defense have been good enough to make me wonder just a little. That means he's looking damn good. To carry that much speed to 175 is very high level. People just expect him to carry 100% but that's not how it works. He's carried like 99% of his speed up that's very good. He looks the same except he hasn't had to move much against easy opponents, that's all. Everything else you are just splitting hairs or remembering him as better than he was.

There are fans on both sides that specialize in preemptive excuse making. It seems the Kov guys do that moreso than the Ward guys because Kov is the prohibitive favorite.

[OctoberRed]

Ward has not looked complete, but neither has Kovalev and thats what make this fight so interesting. I have no idea who is taking it.

[j0zef]

Shrug, he's got a right to pick whoever he wants. I don't think either guy has looked complete, and I definitely don't think they showed their best yet.

It may be silly, but one of the major reasons I'm going with Kovalev is because Ward looked like crap after the Barrera fight. Sullivan landed something like only 15% of his shots, majority of which were jabs. But here's how Ward looked.



If he takes that much damage from Barrera's jabs, I don't think he'll be able to handle Kovalev. My 2 cents.