Comments Thread For: Kovalev To Ward: You Should Call Yourself 'Son of Kovalev'

[peplz]

I'm definitely getting the sense that people have forgotten about Kovalev's power. His fight with Chilemba didn't show it as much but I see him coming into this fight looking to KO Ward. I don't know if it's a good idea but I see why he's angry.

He literally was the best light-heavyweight in the world and then because of a controversial decision ( I don't believe it was 7-5 Ward) he loses them all and then got strung around for the rematch negotiations.

How did he get strung around? The first fight was only seven months before the second fight is going to be.

[BoxingExpress]

Ward lost last fight, but I think the technical boxer always comes back stronger in rematches. Ward by UD this time around, HOWEVER I won't be shocked if Kovalev KO's him. Sergey is clearly hangry

[peplz]

Sounds better than son of the devil

Sergey "Son of Satan" Kovalev... Lol!

[peplz]

I haven't forgotten, but the fact is his last two fights, he's only had a couple rounds in him of fully energized Krusher. Each time it was a different excuse why he tired so easily, so we'll have to see if this time is different. He still beat Ward but it's hard to be sure about him anymore if he's tiring constantly.

See this is how boxing works now. The top punchers have to exist in this bubble against only B-level fighters until they're 32, because no one will fight them during their primes until they at least get paid millions to take the risk, which doesn't happen until the puncher has a big enough name at like 32, 33, 34 years old. And until then, the fights against B-level guys never have VADA testing or anything because they're not big fights.

Then the puncher finally gets a big name to fight him at age 32, 33, 34, and for the first time there is drug testing. The big name opponent invariably is allowed to hold and foul all night, and the puncher doesn't look as good as normal, doesn't throw as many punches as he normally does, and gasses out.

And we're all left to pick up the pieces as boxing fans. We're all left to wonder what happened. Did he just get old? Was the opponent just really good at neutralizing him? Except remember GGG's first performance wasn't against Jacobs, it was against Brook. So was Brook really that much of a problem for GGG? You could argue Jacobs had the tools to neutralize him somewhat, but Brook? A welterweight? That doesn't make sense.

Same with Kovalev. You could have argued Ward is just that good at neutralizing his opponent's offense, except Kovalev's first down performance didn't come against Ward, it came against Chilemba. So once again boxing fans are left to wonder. Is it age with Kovalev, or was Chilemba underrated, or what?

And then of course, the issue of drug testing. Kovalev has been tested for multiple fights I believe by VADA, but still. Neither he or Ward showed a lot of energy to throw many punches last fight. They were both extremely economical with their punch output, which of course is fine with Ward, that's what he wants anyway, but is not what fans who've watched Kovalev throw tons of punches for a light heavyweight before paid to watch, and is not good for boxing.

And then of course you have another factor: meldonium was legal to use when Kovalev was on a complete tear through the division, showing amazing stamina. And if meldonium does have an effect, it's on stamina. Now it is not legal. So one again, fans are left to wonder.

This is why I think boxing is beyond saving in terms of a real competitive, legitimate sport. There will still be big fights, but as we've seen lately, they will almost always end with question marks and asterisks. Boxing fans will never have legitimate outcomes anymore. We will always be left to wonder about the fighters age, because promoters refuse to make the best fights when guys are actually under 30 anymore. We will always be left to wonder about drug testing, and if athletes are using undetectable PEDs, etc etc.

So yeah man, as Kovalev showed when both he and Ward were fresh, Kovalev is way better. Even when Kovalev was tired, all Ward could do was jab, grab, and hit and hold inside. He still couldn't really take advantage from outside except when he surprised Kovalev with some nice upjabs. But that was it. The number of power punches Ward landed to Kovalev's head was probably less than 1 per round. It was an absolutely pathetic display, offensively, from Ward.

So absolutely, if you can guarantee me Kovalev will have a full gas tank, and have energy to throw punches for 12 rounds without having to avoid throwing any combinations all night, or conserving energy, and without his punches visibly slowing down by the 6th round, then absolutely this fight is no contest. Ward honestly never fought another top athlete and A-level boxer his entire career, and the best guys he did fight were smaller guys at 168 where Ward was a weight bully. Against an A-level fighter his size, Ward is far from invincible. No one is, really. Floyd would have had similar problems if he ever fought someone like that in their primes.

But since it's two fights in a row where Kovalev has NOT had a full gas tank, I can't be too confident picking Kovalev. He and his trainer also had a terrible strategy on the inside where Ward went to his body, but he didn't reciprocate. Meaning we know Ward is going to come with every trick in the book, and yeah, if Kovalev also comes with an ideal game plan, Kovalev's best gameplan will beat Ward's best gameplan every time. But are we sure Kovalev's team knows what they're doing? Again I don't know.

On the one hand, Ward got to fight an entire 12 rounds against Kovalev without having his body targeted, and he still lost more rounds than he won. So if Kovalev actually does target Ward's body early and throughout the fight, it could end disastrously for Ward. I mean he already did poorly without that even happening, and it was really his only advantage in the entire fight. What if Kovalev fixes that, what else will Ward have?

But on the other hand, if Kovalev couldn't get to Ward's body for whatever reason in the first fight, who's to say he can in the second? Kovalev is longer, but especially as he started to tire, it was clear that Ward is still faster. Can Kovalev deliver body shots on a faster man without catching a check hook on the way in?

But hey even if he can't, he should still be able to trade body shots with Ward on the inside, and his should do a lot more damage because of the power. That is one way he can definitely go to the body without a big risk.

But again, JDJ didn't show him how to do that for the first fight, so what guarantee do we have that he'll do it in the second?

I think all Kovalev has to do is jab all night from the outside, and even fight going backwards if need be to keep Ward at distance, and make Ward take chances coming forward if he wants to get on the inside. And then if Ward does get inside, just trade body shots with him and he probably won't want to come inside anymore, in which case he has nothing.

Just jab and throw straight punches from the outside. No hooks Ward can duck under and get inside. Nothing but jabs and straight rights down the pipe all night from the outside, and the few times Ward gets inside, dig to the body even if you give up your own a little bit, and let's see if Ward really wants to start trading body shots with the biggest puncher in the division.

If Kovalev just follows that simple gameplan, I think he beats Ward 95 out of 100 times. Ward just doesn't really have the tools to beat that gameplan. But again it's in Vegas, Ward might have the better trainer, the ref will be on his side, the judges on his side, and Kovalev might be overaggressive going for the knockout, he might gas AGAIN since he has been the last two fights, so we'll see. Kovalev is better, as we saw the first fight, but he may be getting old, and either way, he doesn't just have to beat Ward, he has to overcome the ref and the judges too. We'll see what happens.

Excuses excuses... Just cause you wrote a whole fiction novel about them doesn't make them true. If y'all thought that Kovalev truly won then you wouldn't be making all of these excuses.

[peplz]

I think Kov knows what he's missing, but I don't know if he did anything about it:

December 31, 2016 (by Allan Fox Boxing News 24)

The rematch still isn’t set, but it’s expected to take place in the first half of the New Year. Kovalev isn’t saying he’s going to boot his trainer John David Jackson, but he is talking about wanting to add another coach.

How that reflects on Jackson is debatable. Is it a signal that Kovalev doesn’t think Jackson can do the job or is this just a precautionary measure on his part to make sure nothing goes wrong the second time around. Since grappling isn’t a big part of Eastern European boxing, it might not help Kovalev to get a trainer from Russia to help him.

It would be understandable if Kovalev could get the trainer that developed Russian Artur Beterbiev, because that two-time Olympian has one of the best inside games in the light heavyweight division. Unless Beterbiev is a naturally born inside fighter, Kovalev would do well to try and get whoever taught him out to fight on the inside...

Kovalev said this to allboxing.ru about wanting to add Khromov to his team as a coach:

“I would love to talk to him [Nikolai Khromov], listen to his opinion, maybe have his advice,” said Kovalev. ”Or maybe he could agree to being one my coaches. I wouldn’t mind. He’s a great trainer even though he trains amateurs. If I got to be honest, he is a really good coach.”

Just how the addition of Khromov – or another trainer – would impact Kovalev’s current situation with his trainer John David Jackson is unclear.

Ward is likely going to fight in a different way than Khromov saw in the Olympics. There isn’t a lot of mauling type fighters in Olympic competition. In that type of competition, you’ve got throw punches. Wrestling isn’t how you wins fights in the Olympics, so it’s unclear how much Khromov can add to Kovalev’s team to help him get ready for the rematch against Ward. Kovalev needs the trainer that developed Beterbiev. Obviously, Beterbiev isn’t going to help Kovalev get ready for Ward, because he’s planning on fighting the winner of that fight. Beterbiev isn’t going to give Kovalev tips in how to deal with the inside tactics that Ward will be using.

Kovalev could probably go a long ways towards teaching himself some of the finer points in how to fight on the inside if he would study Beterbiev’s fights. Kovalev has to learn how to stay busy on the inside by throwing short punches without being able to get leverage on the shots. Learning how to fight on the inside has to be priority one for Kovalev, because that’s clearly what Ward is going to be doing in the rematch.

Instead of Ward waiting until the 3rd round to start with the grappling and mauling on the inside against Kovalev, you can expect those tactics to start in round 1. It’s up to Kovalev to persuade Ward that it’s not in his best interest to fight on the inside by him hurt him with short shots in close the way that Beterbiev would do. Ward will then make adjustments by taking it to the outside and trying his best to beat Kovalev from there. Kovalev is a better outside fighter than Ward. If Kovalev can dominate Ward on the inside, then it’s pretty much game over for Ward.

“Filter everything that I need and dump everything that I don’t need,” said Kovalev. ”Maybe add someone into my team. I’ve already started the talks with some of the specialists whom give me advice, whom might be useful for me and the career ahead. It’s going to be like a second breath,” said Kovalev.

Jackson is still with Kovalev right now, but it’s going to be interesting to see if he’s still there when the rematch takes place against Ward in 2017. With Kovalev talking about not wanting to “dump everything that I don’t need,” it suggests that he might be kicking around the idea of changing his training team.

“I’ve never used practices and tactics of U.S coaches,” said Kovalev. ”If I got to be honest, they’re all zeroes over there. Some think about them like they’re the best. These some are wrong,” said Kovalev.

Kovalev is talking about the U.S boxing coaches, and yet he’s still being trained by a U.S coach in John David Jackson. What does this mean? Is Kovalev going to keep Jackson or simply add the Russian coach Khromov to the team if he accepts the offer to work alongside his U.S coach?

http://www.************.com/2016/12/...-ward-rematch/

The grappling and holding was done mostly by Kovalev. And it was done specifically to avoid fighting on the inside.

[Bronx2245]

This article is half **** with a bit of truth. It takes YEARS to develop an effective inside game. Not one training camp. Think about Ward, he started really focusing on the inside game when he first turned pro (he said it in an interview) and it took him over 5 years before he felt comfortable with it. Kov doesn't need to act outside of the box, he needs to fight where he is best at, midrange and keep it there at all costs.

I didn't say he could fix his inside game in one camp, but Kov feels that he has holes in his game, and he obviously doesn't think JDJ (or any other U.S. trainer) can help him. I think that's the most important revelation of the article.

[peplz]

Bro I Deadass laughed out loud looking at Kovalevs post. Round 1 to the Krusher.

Andre Ward is not much of a trash talker.

[Bronx2245]

The grappling and holding was done mostly by Kovalev. And it was done specifically to avoid fighting on the inside.

Maybe because he can't fight on the inside for 12 rounds? Maybe those ribs were sore and he couldn't put the power on his punches in the later rounds? We'll see if he can come up with an effective game plan. What I really want to know is what John David Jackson feels about his comments!

[SugarRaRobinson]

Kovalev beat up Ward and outboxed him last time....This time Kovalev puts a hurting on him. Ward will quit on his stool this time when the referee wont let him hold like last time. If its a white ref Ward is not going to be able to cheat this time.

What fight were u watching?
Kov was the one grappling and clinching when Ward was getting to the inside.

Your far and abstracted from reality !

[Lester Tutor]

I haven't forgotten, but the fact is his last two fights, he's only had a couple rounds in him of fully energized Krusher. Each time it was a different excuse why he tired so easily, so we'll have to see if this time is different. He still beat Ward but it's hard to be sure about him anymore if he's tiring constantly.

See this is how boxing works now. The top punchers have to exist in this bubble against only B-level fighters until they're 32, because no one will fight them during their primes until they at least get paid millions to take the risk, which doesn't happen until the puncher has a big enough name at like 32, 33, 34 years old. And until then, the fights against B-level guys never have VADA testing or anything because they're not big fights.

Then the puncher finally gets a big name to fight him at age 32, 33, 34, and for the first time there is drug testing. The big name opponent invariably is allowed to hold and foul all night, and the puncher doesn't look as good as normal, doesn't throw as many punches as he normally does, and gasses out.

And we're all left to pick up the pieces as boxing fans. We're all left to wonder what happened. Did he just get old? Was the opponent just really good at neutralizing him? Except remember GGG's first performance wasn't against Jacobs, it was against Brook. So was Brook really that much of a problem for GGG? You could argue Jacobs had the tools to neutralize him somewhat, but Brook? A welterweight? That doesn't make sense.

Same with Kovalev. You could have argued Ward is just that good at neutralizing his opponent's offense, except Kovalev's first down performance didn't come against Ward, it came against Chilemba. So once again boxing fans are left to wonder. Is it age with Kovalev, or was Chilemba underrated, or what?

And then of course, the issue of drug testing. Kovalev has been tested for multiple fights I believe by VADA, but still. Neither he or Ward showed a lot of energy to throw many punches last fight. They were both extremely economical with their punch output, which of course is fine with Ward, that's what he wants anyway, but is not what fans who've watched Kovalev throw tons of punches for a light heavyweight before paid to watch, and is not good for boxing.

And then of course you have another factor: meldonium was legal to use when Kovalev was on a complete tear through the division, showing amazing stamina. And if meldonium does have an effect, it's on stamina. Now it is not legal. So one again, fans are left to wonder.

This is why I think boxing is beyond saving in terms of a real competitive, legitimate sport. There will still be big fights, but as we've seen lately, they will almost always end with question marks and asterisks. Boxing fans will never have legitimate outcomes anymore. We will always be left to wonder about the fighters age, because promoters refuse to make the best fights when guys are actually under 30 anymore. We will always be left to wonder about drug testing, and if athletes are using undetectable PEDs, etc etc.

So yeah man, as Kovalev showed when both he and Ward were fresh, Kovalev is way better. Even when Kovalev was tired, all Ward could do was jab, grab, and hit and hold inside. He still couldn't really take advantage from outside except when he surprised Kovalev with some nice upjabs. But that was it. The number of power punches Ward landed to Kovalev's head was probably less than 1 per round. It was an absolutely pathetic display, offensively, from Ward.

So absolutely, if you can guarantee me Kovalev will have a full gas tank, and have energy to throw punches for 12 rounds without having to avoid throwing any combinations all night, or conserving energy, and without his punches visibly slowing down by the 6th round, then absolutely this fight is no contest. Ward honestly never fought another top athlete and A-level boxer his entire career, and the best guys he did fight were smaller guys at 168 where Ward was a weight bully. Against an A-level fighter his size, Ward is far from invincible. No one is, really. Floyd would have had similar problems if he ever fought someone like that in their primes.

But since it's two fights in a row where Kovalev has NOT had a full gas tank, I can't be too confident picking Kovalev. He and his trainer also had a terrible strategy on the inside where Ward went to his body, but he didn't reciprocate. Meaning we know Ward is going to come with every trick in the book, and yeah, if Kovalev also comes with an ideal game plan, Kovalev's best gameplan will beat Ward's best gameplan every time. But are we sure Kovalev's team knows what they're doing? Again I don't know.

On the one hand, Ward got to fight an entire 12 rounds against Kovalev without having his body targeted, and he still lost more rounds than he won. So if Kovalev actually does target Ward's body early and throughout the fight, it could end disastrously for Ward. I mean he already did poorly without that even happening, and it was really his only advantage in the entire fight. What if Kovalev fixes that, what else will Ward have?

But on the other hand, if Kovalev couldn't get to Ward's body for whatever reason in the first fight, who's to say he can in the second? Kovalev is longer, but especially as he started to tire, it was clear that Ward is still faster. Can Kovalev deliver body shots on a faster man without catching a check hook on the way in?

But hey even if he can't, he should still be able to trade body shots with Ward on the inside, and his should do a lot more damage because of the power. That is one way he can definitely go to the body without a big risk.

But again, JDJ didn't show him how to do that for the first fight, so what guarantee do we have that he'll do it in the second?

I think all Kovalev has to do is jab all night from the outside, and even fight going backwards if need be to keep Ward at distance, and make Ward take chances coming forward if he wants to get on the inside. And then if Ward does get inside, just trade body shots with him and he probably won't want to come inside anymore, in which case he has nothing.

Just jab and throw straight punches from the outside. No hooks Ward can duck under and get inside. Nothing but jabs and straight rights down the pipe all night from the outside, and the few times Ward gets inside, dig to the body even if you give up your own a little bit, and let's see if Ward really wants to start trading body shots with the biggest puncher in the division.

If Kovalev just follows that simple gameplan, I think he beats Ward 95 out of 100 times. Ward just doesn't really have the tools to beat that gameplan. But again it's in Vegas, Ward might have the better trainer, the ref will be on his side, the judges on his side, and Kovalev might be overaggressive going for the knockout, he might gas AGAIN since he has been the last two fights, so we'll see. Kovalev is better, as we saw the first fight, but he may be getting old, and either way, he doesn't just have to beat Ward, he has to overcome the ref and the judges too. We'll see what happens.

Meldonium is one hell of a drug when it's not used!

#2016 #Povetkin #Russia #Rio