"Virgil said, 'Keep him mad!'"

[.!WAR MIKEY!.]

I dont think ward getting up and kept fighting had any affect of kovalev.

[IronDanHamza]

Kovalev was probably frustrated that he didn't get the KO and that Ward was such a difficult opponent. In my opinion with the knock down and throwing 137 more punches than Ward and landing 17 more power punches Kovalev clearly won a close fight. He took the fight to Ward and landed the harder punches through out the fight. If you only score the last 6 rounds then Ward won. If you score the entire fight including the two point knockdown then Kovalev clearly won with room to spare in my opinion. Three American judges thought otherwise and gave the fight to the gold medal winning, undefeated American.

If you score rounds 1-12 you could score Ward 7 of them which the 3 judges kid, a quarter of press row did and plenty of fans did.

That's just simply the truth, it was a close either way fight it doesn't matter how many times you guys repeat that it wasn't.

Even the press row that scored it for Kovalev most scored it for him by 1 point which further shows how close the fight was.

[Redd Foxx]

This is what I meant yesterday when I said it's impossible to have a decent debate about this fight or any other "robbery" cause this is all you're gonna get. Just b*tching and whining.

Yea, it's the equivalent to a protest. People aren't reading beyond thread titles and are just shouting the same rhetoric in every thread.
Good points in your other post BTW. I have to wonder what was going on in Kovalev's corner.

Yes. I think the knockdown was a gift and a curse. It made Ward become more aggressive to get inside and score to the body while it made Kovalev a bit discouraged and forced to regroup. I think the wrestling, body work and missed punches ultimately turned the fight in Ward's favor as he was able to outlast him and win the second half of the fight.

The fact that Kovalev is looking for the KO in the rematch is good news for Ward because it will create more counter punching opportunities for him.

The KD certainly woke him up, almost literally. I remember saying "I don't know what's wrong with Ward" before the first round was over. His eyes were red before the fight started. Looked drowsy. Fought lazy. After the KD, it's like he decided it was time to fight.

I think Kovalev was in control of the fight and wasn't too concerned. Maybe that caused him to be a bit lax and unfortunately was his undoing. You won't see the same Kovalev in the next fight. Krusher will become a killer.

Agreed.
I think, no matter what the gameplan is in the 2nd, Kovalev will try to finish him. He's not a lazy fighter or a ****** one. He'll fight to keep it from slipping away from him again.

[LoadedWraps]

It's hard for me to believe that he really thought he was doing enough to win and if that's the case then his corner is **** for not pressing him and putting some sense of urgency in him. The fight was a close fight and when you have the "deck stacked against you" then you need to go a step and beyond, fight with urgency and not let the judges "rob" you.

Like in Pacquiao-Marquez 3. Marquez lost/ got robbed (whichever way you wanna call it) because Nacho kept telling him he was winning and Marquez just started jerking off letting Pacquiao into the fight.

Like I said in another thread, in a fight this important you don't just "let off the gas" or try to "prove" that you can outbox someone. There's no time for experimenting.

I agree with this personally but that doesn't mean Kovalev or his team do so we can't really say with certainty.

I believe it, and Kovalev said it after the fight, and I am the kind of man that will believe a man's word unless I have a reason not to, and I don't, so I will.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

I believe this may have been posted, but I want to discuss the emotional factor.
No right or wrong answers.

Do you think Kovalev got frustrated after he dropped Ward, only to see him come back stronger and faster as the rounds went by?
Or, was Sergey not affected in that way, and maybe neglected to press the fight because he didn't feel (or recognize) that Ward was in it and turning it around?

Personally, I feel it's a combination. Kovalev seemed to be confident after dropping him and got a little too lax. I don't think Kovalev was ever 'mad' or emotional, but I think he was discouraged that he couldn't slow Ward down or break him mentally.

The Krusher never seemed mad to me. Honestly, I think maybe he should have gotten mad, because he's a fighter who fights better when he is mad, like Duran and Trinidad. However, I don't think he got mad at all. I think he won the fight, but had he gotten mad, he would have thrown more leather and it would have been more interesting.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

If you score rounds 1-12 you could score Ward 7 of them which the 3 judges kid, a quarter of press row did and plenty of fans did.

That's just simply the truth, it was a close either way fight it doesn't matter how many times you guys repeat that it wasn't.

Even the press row that scored it for Kovalev most scored it for him by 1 point which further shows how close the fight was.

That goes both ways...

[Kagami Taiga]

All in going to say is that if Kovalev was ****** enough to think he was going to coast through the most important fight if his career, then honestly hr shouldn't be surprised at the result. There's no way you can tell me that is what he was thinking though. Because that would be dumb. Kind of like that Winky Wright vs. Jermain Taylor fight. In though Winky won that fight, it was scored a draw. And Winky had no one to blame buy himself for taking some of the last few rounds off. You don't take rounds off in fights like this. You press your advantage til you put your opponent away, either by KO or by much wider cards than this fight had. So if, like sine of you were saying, Kovalev was comfortable, then that's very unfortunate on his part. And it was the wrong gameplay.

[Dean_Razorback]

That goes both ways...

no, close rounds go for ward only

[Redd Foxx]

All in going to say is that if Kovalev was ****** enough to think he was going to coast through the most important fight if his career, then honestly hr shouldn't be surprised at the result. There's no way you can tell me that is what he was thinking though. Because that would be dumb. Kind of like that Winky Wright vs. Jermain Taylor fight. In though Winky won that fight, it was scored a draw. And Winky had no one to blame buy himself for taking some of the last few rounds off. You don't take rounds off in fights like this. You press your advantage til you put your opponent away, either by KO or by much wider cards than this fight had. So if, like sine of you were saying, Kovalev was comfortable, then that's very unfortunate on his part. And it was the wrong gameplay.

Yea, essentially, whatever was going on behind those stone cold eyes, it was the wrong play. If he was discouraged, it didn't help him. If he was comfortable being in the lead, bad look too since you're not the favorite and this guy isn't going away.

If nothing else, a learning experience, hopefully.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

no, close rounds go for ward only

LOL. So true...especially on this forum...