Can both sides be honest with themselves here?

[Derranged]

The shots were low and the stoppage ******. The last shot was very low and Kovalev should've been given time to recover. I don't care what anyone says.

On the other hand, even though I had Kovalev winning 5-2/4-3, he was completely out of gas in the 8th round and it would've been tough for him to last the rest of the fight. His stamina needs work or he needs to move up to CW.

[hugh grant]

The blows were low. Its not kovs job to to tell ref they were low, its the refs job to see they were low. Kov shouldn't have to squirm on the floor like BH.
Terrible stoppage. Ward was having a good roiund though. Next round kov might have been OK though

[Johnny2x2x]

That's just one scenario though. If Weeks had given Ward a point deduction instead of stopping the fight (I don't think a standing 8 was an option) it would have made it a 9 - 9 round and they would have still been at virtual parity. I too think that the fight was only going one way at that point, but wtf do we watch this sport for if not the amazing turn-arounds and comebacks that make the best fights truly memorable? OK probably Ward would have won. Quite possibly he would have stopped Sergei. But saying a stoppage is good based on our beliefs about what might have happened in the unfought rounds is just absurd.

Even if Weeks had seen that last blow as low it wasn't egregious enough to warrant a point deduction. And Kovalev doubled over like that was also a factor. Kovalev was literally sitting in the ropes. I would have preferred the fight continue, but with a guy totally not defending himself and literally taking a seat it was hardly a terrible stoppage.

[Johnny2x2x]

The blows were low. Its not kovs job to to tell ref they were low, its the refs job to see they were low. Kov shouldn't have to squirm on the floor like BH.
Terrible stoppage. Ward was having a good roiund though. Next round kov might have been OK though

Blows? 1 of them was slightly low and with Kovalev bent over like that it's no surprise it wasn't seen. People saying the blows were low are trying to further the falsehood that Ward was hitting Kovalev low all fight. He went to the body all fight and maybe 2 shots were at all low and not drastically low at that. The average fight has more than a couple blows lower than those. And you know what? A couple of Kovalev's body shots might have been a little low too.

When you're working the body and occasionally punch is going to be a couple inches low. No punch came close to either fighter's junk.

[vman075]

ok. i retract any disparaging comment towards you.....

(fan boys are quick to lose their shlt if they feel their guy is slighted).

.....EXCEPT the ''kov isnt a puncher'' thing. you are COMPLETELY wrong there.

I mean he can obviously punch but he is much more than that. A simple puncher would not have 20 basically even rounds with a top p4p fighter.

[uppercut510]

The blows were low. Its not kovs job to to tell ref they were low, its the refs job to see they were low. Kov shouldn't have to squirm on the floor like BH.
Terrible stoppage. Ward was having a good roiund though. Next round kov might have been OK though

hugh that just isnt true

[Elroy The Great]

I mean he can obviously punch but he is much more than that. A simple puncher would not have 20 basically even rounds with a top p4p fighter.

hes not a caveman but his preferred path to winning is the ko.

maybe the fights went as long as they did because sog ISNT a puncher ?

[FLY TY]

Get over the stoppage.

If a guy was being pummeled in his face, about to fall through the ropes, NOT defending himself, NOT firing back....and the last punch MAY HAVE caught him behind the head....

You stop the fight for his sake.





I think the biggest question here is if sht was the other way around, would you feel the same way about the stoppage?

I can equivocally say if Ward was in Kovalev's position at that point in the fight, the ref made the right call. Ward fought valiantly, but had the fight beaten out of him.

I'd congratulate Kovalev.

[vman075]

Get over the stoppage.

If a guy was being pummeled in his face, about to fall through the ropes, NOT defending himself, NOT firing back....and the last punch MAY HAVE caught him behind the head....

You stop the fight for his sake.





I think the biggest question here is if sht was the other way around, would you feel the same way about the stoppage?

I can equivocally say if Ward was in Kovalev's position at that point in the fight, the ref made the right call. Ward fought valiantly, but had the fight beaten out of him.

I'd congratulate Kovalev.

The answer is yes, I would feel the same. And while the final punches being low added to the stoppage being bad, I thought it was bad timing for a stoppage.

The example about being pummeled in the face is different. Brain damage is a much bigger risk in boxing than any internal organ injuries.

[JakeTheBoxer]

Ward was better, Kovalev was done, punches were low. Fight was a garbage. these guys have a good chance to become forgotten.