I said kovalev was a flat track bully with questionable heart and chin

[Earl-Hickey]

And got laughed at.

I was told of "subtle skill" and adaptability. And that he had iron chin.

I was right all along.

Alway the same with these punchers

[CatchAndShoot]

Kovalev is a power hitter, with the technical ability of a non power hitter. That's what lost him the fight. He was never really used to getting in wars, and fighting an ugly fight.

Meanwhile, Ward is a technical fighter, that can fight like a brawler/pressure fighter, and if they going gets rough, has that sluggers will and mentality to break you down.

He actually does have subtle skills, but horrible at adjusting. The guy was throwing hte same 1-2 over and over and over, even after Ward timed the right hand since round 2. It was so brilliant, yet so simple for Ward at the same time.

If you're gonna beat Ward, you better be on some Roberto Duran levels of fighting. Ward is HISTORICALLY GREAT, and still doesn't get hte credit he deserves.

[Earl-Hickey]

His technical ability aint ****. Hes predictable as clockwork

[CatchAndShoot]

His technical ability aint ****. Hes predictable as clockwork

Agree, but he is a very technical fighter. He just can't adjust for ****.

[////]

They've fought twice. Kovalev won more rounds in those two meetings per the tallied scores of the boxing media.

Even if you're a Ward fanatic the most you can say is that he edged him out by a hair.

Bunch of 13 year old kids on the forums calling one fighter "exposed" because of a low blow... I'm just glad they're protesting the result.

[Real King Kong]

His technical ability aint ****. Hes predictable as clockwork

His technical ability was good enough to out-box ward in the first fight...not that i disagree with your overall assessment tho. Both kovalev and ward are overrated imo...but kovalev to a much greater degree. Until ward, he hadn't faced any real opponents or showed what intangibles he had. If he wasn't on ward's resume, ward fans would say the same things about kovalev as they say about ggg. From what i watched last night...i couldn't imagine either of those guys sharing a ring with roy jones.

[Real King Kong]

They've fought twice. Kovalev won more rounds in those two meetings per the tallied scores of the boxing media.

Even if you're a Ward fanatic the most you can say is that he edged him out by a hair.

Bunch of 13 year old kids on the forums calling one fighter "exposed" because of a low blow... I'm just glad they're protesting the result.

It wasn't just the low blows...kovalev was gassed after 5 rounds and he was starting to crack. Either his conditioning wasn't as good as he thought it was or he was tense in there...either way he didn't do what he needed to do to give himself rest. He needlessly pushed the pace from the opening bell and paid for it. I personally expect someone who's supposed to be top 5 p4p to have a bit more dog in him than kovalev showed. It wasn't even a particularly grueling or tough fight.

[HarvardBlue]

Kovalev is good at what he does. Stay at a good range, pump the jab, and land bombs from far away. He is bully but he can box. He can also adjust but he's still limited in coming up with a third or fourth option. He showed no heart last night and that was disappointing.

[Real King Kong]

It's amazing to me there are people who think the result of this fight was because of a low blows. I guess people will see what they want to see.

What I saw, as someone who wanted Kovalev to KO Ward, was Kovalev getting his butt kicked from the first round till the stoppage. Not just by Ward's doing, but due to Kovalev looking like garbage and a bit of an amateur - following Ward around the ring instead of cutting off the ring, setting up traps or using his great distance to set up up his shots. A guy who was out of gass breathing heavily with his mouth open by round 4. A guy who kept looking at the ref for help. And a guy who's shots didn't seem to have much power behind them. That was all Kovalevs doing. Not sure if it was lack of preparation, it's hard for me to imagine any scenario where that could happen with a fight of this magnitude, but he did say he overtrained for the first fight so maybe he didn't train hard enough here, who knows, whatever the case he looked bad and that should be CLEAR to anyone who watched the fight, and yet we got posters who say it was because of "the low blow". I mean, I know it sucks when the fighter you want so badly to win loses, but c'mon, the lame excuses and ignoring reality needs to stop.

I really believe kovalev could have fought at a measured pace behind his jab and won rounds. As far as the gassing out early, i believe it had to at least partially due to nerves....he fought that way anyway. He never looked relaxed.