For those who said he'd headbutt and clinch Did Ward earn your respect

[therealpugilist]

well, to me he didn't come back because i saw kovalev winning comfortably. i've posted my card in larry's thread, i had it 115-112 for sergey. it doesn't matter because he (kovalev) lost. but he (ward) did the exact same thing all night long, kovalev did abandom the cutting of the ring and started to follow him instead in the second half but no way ward won 7 rounds, especially how the judges had it with kovalev winning just one round after the first four, so 1 out of 8, that didn't happen. ward was most of the time backing down, jabbing, wrestling trying to work kovalev's body and fighting with one hand, the left. and why do you need us to respect the guy? seriously.

what rounds did you give kovalev after round 6?

there were a swing round or two in the first 5...Ward dominated the last 3rd of the fight and adjusted mid way

we can agree to disagree

he didnt fight like you guys whined and complained about....kovalev initiated most of the clinching to offset the inside work by ward....ward adjusted, found his range and broke him down

it was high level boxing going on...kov started strong, ward finished stronger

fight was close...no robbery. scored round by round...i scored it 114-113 ward...a draw...and 115-113 ward.

[therealpugilist]

man, that shit was impressive on saturday night. paulie described it best in his interview.

both fighters whoed they are top 5 p4p....violent chess match....i loved this fight

[Deevel916]

leading up to the fight all you heard was...he gona run doe....head butt doe...clinch doe

he boxing the man and moved counter clockwise, away from the right hand....kovalev initiated many of the clinches, especially early on, grabbingg around the neck and shoulders

is it too hard to give the man credit

he fought nothing like you guys were whining about

was there even one head butt?

the ref was hardly involved and let them fight it out

if he did the same thing all night he wouldnt have been able to comeback from a rough start...its called making adjustments

did you even watch the fight?

Well to be honest, he did rush in with his head at times and when he did Kov put him in a headlock.

[Lords]

I guess that was there plan to nullify the inside work

by mid rounds, he found his range and adjusted...those body shots round 6 on, did the krusher in, he had no 3rd, 4th gear,

Ward's work on the body is something that most have forgot about. Body work is so underrated and your typical fan just focus' on head shots.

[bojangles1987]

Kovalev actually initiated quite a few clinches. Nothing wrong with that. It wasn't excessive and was a smart way to lessen Ward's advantage inside.

Both guys were truly excellent, and I can't imagine how anyone walks away without respecting them both. Your bias is far too strong if you don't respect both guys immensely for this fight.

[Deevel916]

what rounds did you give kovalev after round 6?

there were a swing round or two in the first 5...Ward dominated the last 3rd of the fight and adjusted mid way

we can agree to disagree

he didnt fight like you guys whined and complained about....kovalev initiated most of the clinching to offset the inside work by ward....ward adjusted, found his range and broke him down

it was high level boxing going on...kov started strong, ward finished stronger

fight was close...no robbery. scored round by round...i scored it 114-113 ward...a draw...and 115-113 ward.

Cant speak for him but I personally gave Kov round 10. Round 12 could have gone either way as well.

[Xi_]

Ward adjusted well without excessive clinching.....kovalev fought dirty head lights and holding more than Bret the hitman Hart.

[Thraxox]

"If It wasn't for the knock down." If my uncle has a vagina he would be my aunt!

You always muttered "Adjust" What did he adjust? Did he defend himself from Kov's jab and right hand? He got tagged all night long. Kovalev Whitewashed Ward in R.1 R.2 R.3 (close round but Kov has the better punches and combos) Round 4, and round 6, he white washed him with hard jabs and a hard right hand, and you keep on saying adjustments? The moment Kovalev landed something on Ward, ward would duck and sprint towards Kovalev to tackle him and in result Kovalev counters by leaning on him to defuse Ward's inside game.

You don't know what the heck are you talking about! Ward lost round 10 and 12 big when the Kovalev jab kept landing on that round. You keep on saying adjustments without any clear explanation and just keep on saying adjustments to act like you know something about boxing.

What happened to the "Ward gonna nullify that Kovalev jab!" "Ward will use his left to nullify Kova's right hand!" And what did the result say? Outlanded Ward, out boxed ward, out muscled Ward, keeps him on the ropes, was the agressor, the ring general, was easily cutting off the ring and lands hard punches, and you there just keep on saying "Adjustments" or that "Ward took over" When he clearly didn't in 10 and 12.

[Citizen Koba]

leading up to the fight all you heard was...he gona run doe....head butt doe...clinch doe

he boxing the man and moved counter clockwise, away from the right hand....kovalev initiated many of the clinches, especially early on, grabbingg around the neck and shoulders

is it too hard to give the man credit

he fought nothing like you guys were whining about

was there even one head butt?

the ref was hardly involved and let them fight it out

if he did the same thing all night he wouldnt have been able to comeback from a rough start...its called making adjustments

did you even watch the fight?

I heard plenty of 'he gonna give Kovalev a boxing lesson', ' Ward gonna take him to school' too. In the event, he didn't, no matter how you try to spin it. Ward already had my respect and he showed he has the heart and skills of a champion, as did Kovalev. Both fought brilliantly and there's clearly very little to split them. Can't wait for the rematch.

[Dean_Razorback]

what rounds did you give kovalev after round 6?

there were a swing round or two in the first 5...Ward dominated the last 3rd of the fight and adjusted mid way

we can agree to disagree

he didnt fight like you guys whined and complained about....kovalev initiated most of the clinching to offset the inside work by ward....ward adjusted, found his range and broke him down

it was high level boxing going on...kov started strong, ward finished stronger

fight was close...no robbery. scored round by round...i scored it 114-113 ward...a draw...and 115-113 ward.

what's your concept of breaking someone down? honest question because i didn't see that at all, i mean, kovalev wasn't broken down. i had the first half of the fight 5-1 for kova with ward winning only the 5th. i had the second half 4-2 for ward with kovalev winning the 9th and the 10th, ward close a little better than kovalev but it wasn't enough. the 7th was the first round in the entire fight that i saw ward winning with authority. that plus the KD makes a avery comfortable desicion for sergey in my view.