Now that the Hype's Died Down...Honest Reflections on Ward/Kovy?

[*TonyMontana*]

Kov handled the loss like a girl
Close fight or not
The man was emancipated by ward
Fxck kovalev
The rematch will be worse
Kov is a girl

[*TonyMontana*]

I scored it wide for Kovalev but with repeat views I'm willing to make it a closer fight.

Sergey won regardless.

And there's a contractual rematch.

No ward won regardless
Here's a pic

[siablo14]

No ward won regardless
Here's a pic

Poor guy. He never seems to get that point.

[Earl-Hickey]

My thoughts.

#1 kovalev started too slow and gave ward too much respect in the early going. Ward never hurt him all night long and particularly in the early rounds there were times kovalev had him hurt but just content to sit back and try pick ward off behind a jab. I think he thought ward would fall apart so he had no urgency.

#2 Kovalev poorly conditioned again. Dude has always had this problem, he looks like a lazy trainer to me and I don't think he stepped it up at all for this fight. He is quite lazy and just thinks his power is all he needs. Incorrect attitude, I would like to see him step it up in training so he can fight with a fraction more intensity and pace. Cover all the bases.

As for the fight itself, kovalev won. He was beating the crap out of ward for the first third of the fight. Then he started to slow down in the middle to late rounds which for me were all pretty even rounds. Kovalev was obviously the aggressor but ward did land some jabs on the counter and evaded well.

Ward was in survival mode all night, kovalev looked like a pack a day smoker late on but ward was still running and potshotting. A disappointing performance from kovalev and a good performance by ward but kovalev still won.

They took it off kovalev just like they took it off JLC against Floyd but what do you expect in Vegas.

In a rematch I want to see kovalev train hard and come in with that sadistic streak. He can ko ward and ward can't hurt him. Take him to the street and knock him out.

[siablo14]

Ward can hurt him to the body.

[Graz]

I had Kovalev winning but it obviously wasn't convincing enough for the venue and judges. He better step it up if there's a rematch.

[therealpugilist]

First fight was an excellent match between arguably #1 and #2 PFP guys.

All 3 official judges had it 114-113 for Ward (UD)

My personal card:
1 = Kovy
2 = Kovy *Plus a KD
3 = Swing round (depends what you like)
4 = Swing round (depends what you like)
5 = Ward
6 = Kovy
7 = Ward
8 = Ward
9 = Ward
10 = Swing round (depends what you like)
11 = Ward
12 = Swing round (depends what you like)

Without including the four swing rounds I had it 76-75 for Ward (including Kovy's KD) which is 5-3 for Ward in rounds. However, the fight could have gone either way depending on what you liked. More on the swing rounds (3, 4, 10, 12) using the HBO broadcast

Harold Lederman gave Kovalev all of the swing rounds and produced a pretty decisive card at 116-111.

Max Kellerman and RJJ both disagreed with Harold Lederman about rounds 4 and 10, suggesting Ward won them. Making those changes would even the swing rounds out at 2-2.

Side comments to note: RJJ and Kellerman pointed out about ~1:00 into Round 6 that Kovalev was doing most of the holding. Many fans (and Lederman) complained that Ward was doing ~all of the holding, but the broadcast team saw it differently (labeling Kovalev as the initiator).

Kovalev also did a lot of pushing down as Ward attempted to get inside and Ward did a lot of forearms to the face use (circa Mayweather). Low blows were exchanged at times, but neither man seemed at all fazed by any of this.

Biased fans (for either guy) could have scored the fight along with Harold Lederman at 116-111 Kovalev (8-4 in rounds) or 115-112 Ward (8-4 in rounds). Scoring that wide really comes off as biased because of how close and competitive the fight was.

Personally I wasn't disappointed with the score because the fight was awesome. It was a good, competitive close fight and I can't wait for the rematch. Shame one guy had to lose because both came to win and deserved a win.

Ward showed a ton of heart and made a lot of adjustments and put in good body work. Kovalev showed his power is the real deal in KD Ward (2nd) and that he can box a whole lot better than he's given credit for.

Can't wait for the rematch !

scored it same as the judges twice and a draw.....for kov to win, i literally had to give him all the swing rounds, which im sure all the whiners on this site did.

Fight was my favorite of 2016.....High level violent chess with 2 p4p types.

Both proved they are top 3 p4p in my book and ward showed he can claw his way back and win a fight....showed his greatness

[therealpugilist]

I had Kovalev winning but it obviously wasn't convincing enough for the venue and judges. He better step it up if there's a rematch.

the fight couldve been on mars and some of you would complain about the venue...." bu bu bu he only fight in oakland doe!!!"


all those complaints about ward fighting in oakland and clinching before the fight and the fight ends up signed and happens in vegas ...... kovalev initiated much of the holding, headlocks. He wanted no parts of an inside fight

[Buratina]

Well, first it's hard to agree that rd10 is a swing round.
Nice summary of that round by Michael Montero - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWKs8-UaFcg&t
I'm waiting for a rematch, it would be fun.
P.S. If Sergey had the decision it would not be that interesting - Ward would just retire, Sergey would fought whom - SmithJr? Barrera? Chilemba-II?

[bojangles1987]

It was an excellent fight between arguably the two best fighters in the sport. I love how it went down. Both guys looked good, the momentum shifted in compelling ways, we had a KD, and there was drama to the very end. The actual fight delivered IMO.

I still think Kovalev had the better argument for winning, but Ward certainly had his own (admittedly slimmer) case. The judges' scorecards all fell within the potential range, so I have zero problem with them. It reminds me a lot of Matthysse-Judah from a scoring standpoint (not so much as a fight comparison). Matthysse definitely had the better case for the decision in that fight. Most people had him winning. However, Judah had that lesser argument for winning, and the two judges who scored it for him both scored it that way. You may not like it if you scored it for Matthysse, but the scores were not outrageous.

Same thing here. You may not like that Ward won, and most did have Kovalev winning, but the actual scores Ward won by are easily defended.