Who wins Ward vs Kovalev 2 and why no poll only real assessments allowed

[FrankieClutch]

It's hard to say. You can make a case that both of them "can't be better than what we saw that night and the other guy can clearly be better/make adjustments". I had the first fight 115-112 for Kov and that was with stamina issues. It's still 50-50 for me, but gun to head I'll pick Kovalev by decision.

[bojangles1987]

it was 2-2 on 2 judges and 3-1 wilder on another. simply impossible. just like giving ward round 10 was. and people have the audacity to bring up the judges as if thats why we should listen to them that their fav won

What the ****. That's awful. Wilder didn't win a round up to the KO.

[therealpugilist]

Klutcher can perfect the Klinching, unless he decides he wants some of that inside work his fan boys keep telling us about but fail to elaborate on.

I said this before the first fight...his lack of inside game and ward's IQ and adapting would be the difference.

You're gonna get mugged by a guy like ward if you're not gonna work inside

[therealpugilist]

It's hard to say. You can make a case that both of them "can't be better than what we saw that night and the other guy can clearly be better/make adjustments". I had the first fight 115-112 for Kov and that was with stamina issues. It's still 50-50 for me, but gun to head I'll pick Kovalev by decision.

Do you think he'll be more effective keeping space but working inside ? He did well @ long n mid range

[therealpugilist]

The thing is, Ward has to work harder and take more risks to get his shots off. He's the one that needs to adjust to Kovalev who can really stay at a distance and try to catch him every time he tries to close.

I'm still undecided.

Ward had shown he can take some lumps and shots to impose his will n skill. Kov will have to KHTFO to win. Ward is no quitter and he makes adjustments, takes what you do well away.

I think he establishes himself earlier and is clearly ahead by round 8

Of course with kovs power he doesn't walk the same tight rope ward does

I just see ward coming in sharp and hungry.

[FrankieClutch]

Do you think he'll be more effective keeping space but working inside ? He did well @ long n mid range

I think he's going to be better at controlling the distance. I think we're gonna see him jab more the second time around. One thing's for sure, if Ward starts fighting inside early, we're in for a treat because Ward usually leaps in and Kovalev is going to try to time him coming in with the right hand.

[Joe Beamish]

The real question is, "how will the judges score the fight next time?"

Otherwise, same fight as last time. It's all up to the judges.

[therealpugilist]

I think he's going to be better at controlling the distance. I think we're gonna see him jab more the second time around. One thing's for sure, if Ward starts fighting inside early, we're in for a treat because Ward usually leaps in and Kovalev is going to try to time him coming in with the right hand.

He did well timing ward when he threw the stab jab....didn't quite land many clean , but you could see he was trying to make him pay for that shot

He had trouble throwing when ward got past his straight right

He didn't finish with the left hook or with uppercuts.(which work well when guys bend @ the waist)

He is gonna have to mix it up....his punch selection got predictable after a few rounds

[FrankieClutch]

He did well timing ward when he threw the stab jab....didn't quite land many clean , but you could see he was trying to make him pay for that shot

He had trouble throwing when ward got past his straight right

He didn't finish with the left hook or with uppercuts.(which work well when guys bend @ the waist)

He is gonna have to mix it up....his punch selection got predictable after a few rounds

I don't think I've ever seen Kovalev throw an uppercut lol most of his punches are straight shots.

[Tails]

I think it's 50/50 the same as I thought going into the first fight. I personally feel Kovalev won the first fight slighltly as do a slight majority of people. With Kovalev being the rangier guy I think he will always establish an early lead over Ward no matter how many times they fight. I think Ward will always take those mid to late rounds and that the championship rounds will always be toss ups just given there styles.

That said I think Kovalev won't chance a decision again unless he's just flat out dominating Ward with multiple knockdowns. When both of the them fresh at the beginning of the fight I believe Kovalev is the superior fighter like what was shown in the first fight and that he is going to take advantage of that and try to stop or cause some major damage to Ward sometime in the first 4 rounds.

As far as the outcome I think Kovalev stops Ward in the first half of the fight. Not necessarily a straight up knockout but a ref stoppage.