My call on Kovalev vs Ward

[i got the keys]

I don't want to take anything away from Kovalev by saying it but Ward is not the same fighter he was all those years back at SMW. He just isn't his offense these days is almost non existent. He has no right hand.

I don't think he 'Krushes' him I am picking Kovalev and I think by decision.

He will rise to the level of his competition. It happens in anything....

Sometimes you get in with people who aren't on your level and you box/play at their level...

You will see an elite level Andre Ward come fight night....

[Jayallday9]

He will rise to the level of his competition. It happens in anything....

Sometimes you get in with people who aren't on your level and you box/play at their level...

You will see an elite level Andre Ward come fight night....

100%

[BEEHOP]

I respect Kovalev for what he did to B Hop, even though Bernard was like 100 (he'd still give lots of lhw fighters a tough fight) it was still one of the best performances I've seen, almost every other Bernard loss was at least competitive. As a Bernard fan it was hard to watch, but I becamea Kovalev fan that night. I still think Ward will pull it out in an ugly fight, but Kovalev is without a doubt the best fighter he's faced and vice versa.

[Nay_Sayer]

What? That makes no sense, I'm not the one who made this thread. I just felt like the OP made the thread just for the sake of getting reassurance for his hunch that Kovalev will "break Ward down". Then he ends with "Don't get mad at me, go watch their fights". Watch what exactly? What are we looking for when we watch their last 5 fights?

The OP has no clue...

[Nay_Sayer]

IMHO, Ward will have to be perfect for the majority of the fight. I think Ward is the underdog but something about his champion mindset and approach to the sport makes me think he can pull it off.....

Bovada currently has Ward as a -130 favorite.

https://sports.bovada.lv/boxing

[Nay_Sayer]

It depends on what version of Ward and Kovalev show up.

I'm not betting on it, but Kovalev has the advantage.

Kovalev has the advantage in punching power. Every other stat that matters is even or advantage for Ward...

[Beercules]

That's how I see it going OP.


I want to see how Ward reacts when he gets cracked, which he will.

[firstborn]

Bovada currently has Ward as a -130 favorite.

I've heard that Ward is considered the favorite by some, I just don't agree. How the Champion of the division comes in as an underdog is beyond me. I think Kov's activity (no layoff) and power give him two huge benefits that can't be overlooked.

Ward's has looked good but not great in his return so it's not a forgone conclusion that he'll be able to pull off the perfect game plan. The good thing is that I don't believe Ward is buying the hype of being a favorite. I think he realizes his weaknesses and will plan accordingly.

[Mikhnienko]

Although Kov has power, he's not really a one punch KO artist. I think his underrated timing and jab will cause Ward more trouble than sheer power. I don't think Kov will be able to catch Ward with anything big but if he is accurate with is jab, Ward will be in for a long night and likely a loss.

Ward also has a great jab but I think stamina will be his key to victory. He'll have to make Kov second guess himself by using his opponent's aggressive nature against him to set traps. Ward must utilize his superior footwork to angle himself in and out of danger when transition from defense to offense. He'll also need to use feints, stutter steps and lots of quick lateral movement to make Kov hesitate on throwing. Also, Ward has the advantage in hand speed but his timing/accuracy looks to slightly off therefore he needs to keep his offense simple in order to remain responsible on defense.

IMHO, Ward will have to be perfect for the majority of the fight. I think Ward is the underdog but something about his champion mindset and approach to the sport makes me think he can pull it off.....

All very good points but using those things to lower an opponents output is also dependent on a real threat being present behind it and Ward doesn't truly have one. Kovalev himself is excellent and very busy with feints which was a huge key in his victory over Hopkins. The reason it's so effective is because if you guess wrong and open up you know you can get hurt, Ward's feints don't offer the same threat.

I can see ward causing him some frustration but i could also see Kovalev saying who cares and being willing to still let his hands go knowing that punch for punch he'll be the one doing damage and Ward won't. He'll eat a counter to land a power shot or two.

I don't want to take anything away from Kovalev by saying it but Ward is not the same fighter he was all those years back at SMW. He just isn't his offense these days is almost non existent. He has no right hand.

I don't think he 'Krushes' him I am picking Kovalev and I think by decision.

I found it quite shocking watching the Berrera fight how infrequently Ward threw his right. He literally would go entire rounds without letting it go. His jab is excellent and he's effective at landing the left hook but people talk about how great his left hook is they never mention how more than 50% of the time it's a slap. Outright slap landing with the inside of the palm. It's a scoring blow not a hurtful one.

I gotta disagree with you. While Kovalev is quicker on his feet, it comes at the expense of balance. He lunges a lot, which will leave him open to counters from someone like Ward.

The other thing that will really hurt him is that when he's not lunging, he NEEDS to set up in order to throw. Someone like Ward will force him to reset up very often, which will result in limited amount of punches thrown, and will frustrate him.

I do give Sergey the edge, but this is gonna be a very, very frustrating fight for him.

That is true but so is what the OP said. To expand on his observation the thing that makes Kovalev a very unique puncher (but does also cause him to lose balance on occasion) is that he is light on his feet and can get reset very quickly to throw power shots.

He doesn't have to sit down to let loose with power shots even in combination. Look at the Hopkins or Agnew knockdowns. He was stepping back with Hopkins as he charged in not set at all when he landed that counter. When Cedric was pulling away circling out Kovalev followed him out and was up on his toes throwing a combination stepping with him to maintain the gap. He doesn't need to plant his feet he can punch on the move while being on the balls of his feet. That's a rare thing for a power puncher.