Kovalev held 54 times..where is the uproar?

[Larry the boss]

He didn't hold? So Ward wrapped Kovalevs arm around his own neck and refused to let go until the ref broke it?

lol..exactly....

[Graz]

Ward initiated virtually every one by rushing in with his head and trying to hold and hit. Kovalev merely neutralised him

Exactly. Ward came in like a billy goat and initiated the clinches. Kovalev was wise to Ward's tactics and put him in a head lock.

[Robbie Barrett]

Exactly. Ward came in like a billy goat and initiated the clinches. Kovalev was wise to Ward's tactics and put him in a head lock.

So Ward came in and Kovalev held.

[Graz]

So Ward came in and Kovalev held.

Ward came in head first and given Ward's history Kovalev rightly negated that head butt tactic by head locking him. It's all semantics now. Ward won and I'm looking forward to the rematch.

[asgarth]

You have to put the number into context. How many clinches did Ward initiate?
Also, as one poster already mentioned, unless you have exceptional footwork, its pretty difficult to fight
someone who rushes in like porter and Ward in this fight.

One rule of boxing is not to let your opponent dictate the pace and the distance. Kovalev was at a disadvantage fighting upclose, so he had to resort to clinching, but nevertheless Ward did his fair share of clinching too.

Also 54 clinches are less than 5 clinches per round and is a very small number compared to some of klitschkos fights.

[Canelo and GGG]

Larry is one of the worst posters easy......

[bug0092]

Ward's held plenty in the past. That's a huge part of his inside game. He has a long history of this. Kovalev doesn't. Ward was the one initiating the vast majority of the holds. Please explain to me how a fighter can initiate a headlock on an opponent. All Kovalev was doing was protecting himself from the top of Ward's head busting up his face like Kessler's. Ward jabs, comes in low with the top of his head and raises up under his opponents chin looking to inflict damage. Kovalev asked the ref to pay attention to this before the fight happened.

[Larry the boss]

Exactly. Ward came in like a billy goat and initiated the clinches. Kovalev was wise to Ward's tactics and put him in a head lock.

ok

So Ward came in and Kovalev held.

yep

Ward came in head first and given Ward's history Kovalev rightly negated that head butt tactic by head locking him. It's all semantics now. Ward won and I'm looking forward to the rematch.

really?

[Robbie Barrett]

Ward came in head first and given Ward's history Kovalev rightly negated that head butt tactic by head locking him. It's all semantics now. Ward won and I'm looking forward to the rematch.

You can't judge Ward for something that didn't happen. Kovalev held and refused to let go because Ward was clearly better on the inside. It was great tactics by Kovalev.

[Larry the boss]

Larry is one of the worst posters easy......