Time For Some Reality

[Robbie Barrett]

10 rounds to 2 for kovalev is a more accurate score than 7-5 ward yet thats what the judges had. go rewatch the rounds. kov lands more, kov landds the cleaner punches, the punches that effect ward. yet he still lost. that can't be right. they got it wrong.

If Daggum says Ward lost, Ward definitely won. He's by far the worst judge on the site.

[GOD-FR33]

Excellent analysis!!!!!!!

[boliodogs]

I agree that the fight was reasonable close. I think Kovalev was clearly the winner. He won at least half of the rounds and scored a solid knockdown and beat Ward up after the knock down costing Ward 2 points for sure. According to punch counters Kovalev threw 140 more total punches and landed 20 more total power punches. Add to that the fact that Kovalev was the attacker through out the fight and landed the harder punches and I think only bias Ward fans could call Ward the correct winner. Putting up a good fight isn't winning.

[boliodogs]

For some unknown reason judges are no longer allowed to score a round even. Some rounds are even. In the past judges would often score 1 or 2 or even 4 rounds of a fight even because they thought those rounds were indeed even. The even round was a good scoring tool and shouldn't be eliminated. In today's system judges who would have called a round even will just give that round to the boxer they like the best and you end up with some really bad score cards.

[jmrf4435]

Having it close was generous for ward. It was a robbery, ward did not sweep 7 rounds, it's clear.

These fake adjustments ward made re laughable. Boxing is a joke

[jmrf4435]

"And more importantly, the judges had it close - which means those of you who have Kovalev winning by a wide margin need to watch the fight again"

That statement alone discredits your entire post. The judges that night had previously robbed Perez in a clear victory over that felon. How could you possibly use this logic?????Those were some of the worst scores I have ever seen, from some of the worst judges I have seen.

[koolkc107]

Excellent analysis!!!!!!!

Appreciate it, man!

[Shape up]

Let's look at why it was scored so close by the judges, EVERY close round was awarded to ward, the 10th which wasn't that close was awarded to ward, when you have a fight staged in America, with American judges and those same judges award the rounds as I've described previously then I see that as favoratism which in reality is corruption, simple explaination

[koolkc107]

Let's look at why it was scored so close by the judges, EVERY close round was awarded to ward, the 10th which wasn't that close was awarded to ward, when you have a fight staged in America, with American judges and those same judges award the rounds as I've described previously then I see that as favoratism which in reality is corruption, simple explaination

There was only one round in the fight that wasn't close- the second.

Every other round was pretty tight and Ward certainly didn't get all of them.

And really, I find the contention by Kovalev that he couldn't get a fair shake in America kinda hilarious since it is clear that he enjoys at least as much celebrity and likeabilty here as Ward does...more, if you judge reactions on boxing websites.

Kovalev lost because he was the second best guy in the ring that night. And he was second best because he allowed Ward to take the fight to him and all he could do is either hold using a reverse headlock or follow Ward around trying (and sometimes actually succeeding) to land big shots.

Meanwhile, Ward was boxing and scoring upstairs and down. Andre made Sergei fight his fight and I don't think anyone can deny that.

[mathed]

Some of you are just plain blinded...by what, I don't really want to get into right now.

Plenty of credible observers say the fight was close. And more importantly, the judges had it close - which means those of you who have Kovalev winning by a wide margin need to watch the fight again, hopefully seeing it for the first time the way it actually happened instead of thru whatever rose-colored glasses you happened to be wearing before.

Do you realize how incredible the odds are for judges to arrive at the exact same score by completely different routes, yet all 3 score eight of the twelve rounds exactly the same? That only happens in two ways: the outcome is fixed or the judges are actually doing their jobs and scoring correctly, albeit subjectively.

I am going to go out on a limb and contend that it was no fix. Too many observers saw it the same way the judges did. And even many who thought Kovalev won had the fight very close.

So, instead of crying robbery let's allow that the judges got it right and talk about what went wrong and what each guy needs to do in the rematch.

What went wrong

I think both men grossly underestimated the skill level of the other. I think it is why Ward got tattooed and dropped in the early rounds and why Kovalev got bossed and worked in the middle and late ones. Ward probably never figured Kovalev was schooled enough to set up that perfect right hand with him, and couldn't possibly be technically sound enough to compromise one of the best defenses boxing has ever seen. But early on, Sergei put the lie to that. He used his jab often and accurately, which in turn set up great power shots. He stayed at his range and it made things simple for him in the early going.

Getting dropped was Ward's wake-up call. It took him a round or three to fully implement the adjustment, but the KD was a turning point. I believe it was then that Ward knew he had to do two things to win: 1) maintain a distance of either "all the way in" or "all the way out", and 2) use an intelligent body attack to take something off of Sergei's power and accuracy. As early as the 3rd round he was getting some of these things done. And by the end of the 7th, he was in full control.

Kovalev never made any adjustment to Ward's adjustment. There was no plan B for him. But, he is going to need that and more perhaps to win a rematch.

What each man must do in a rematch

For Ward, it has to be more of the same. Much more. With 12 rounds under his belt and the knowledge he can get up from a good shot from Kovalev, it should be easier for him the second time around, but he has to know a second close fight might very well go to Sergei the next time. He must go to the body even more relentlessly and start it from the opening bell. He must not just seek to block Kovalev's jab- which still leaves open the possibility of Sergei splitting his guard with a crushing right- he must time it well enough to slip and counter. If he is able to do these things, he will likely turn in a dominating performance with even a stoppage not out of the question.

Kovalev's job can be summed up in one word: Busy. He must throw punches in bunches. He must cut off the ring and keep things at a distance that favors him. He must be ready for Ward's tactic of darting in, ready with well timed counters, particularly straight right leads and uppercuts. And, perhaps most importantly, he has got to figure out what to do about Ward's inside game if and when Andre gets inside. And, whatever that strategy turns out to be, it has to be more than using a reverse headlock (personally, I think holding in that way was something that worked very negatively against Sergei with the judges. If I see a guy using a reverse headlock almost every time his opponent gets close, sooner or later I might start to wonder what it is he is so desperate to avoid so often). He has got to learn to work inside, even if it is a little, because he cannot leave the impression that he is gun-shy in that area. If he keeps things outside for the most part, and keeps the inside exchanges honest, he can do enough damage to win a clear UD or even stop Ward in the late middle to last rounds.

Here's is to hoping they make the rematch sooner rather than later. How rare is it that the top two go at it AND we actually get a good fight out of it? It was great to see the best in the game go at it and I am glad we are likely going to see it again.

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