Kovalev showed too much respect it, that was his undoing.

[Joe Beamish]

Ward adjusted and Kovalev didn't. That was his undoing. Ward had a plan: survive the early rounds, when Kovalev threw everything he had, then keep working the body. He said: I'm going to pick up where the first fight left off.

And that's what Ward did. Kovalev didn't do sheet. No plan. So he got beat.

Ward is the better man.

[littlemac]

Sergio clearly tougher outside the ring.

[Redd Foxx]

I think it was the opposite. He had no respect for his power. He laughed at the idea that Ward could finish him. Didn't play cautiously enough while in-range and he ate some heavy shots because of it. He Kovalev fought more conservatively, relying on that jab and not trying to force himself on Ward (which is where he had the greatest success with Ward) the outcome may have been different.

Don't forget what happened when Kovalev tried to lay into Ward. He missed (which is exhausting) and got hit back, and hard.

[Damn Wicked]

Kovalev's undoing was only having enough in the tank for 5 rounds and coming out needlessly pushing the pace from the opening bell. Sit back and box for a couple rounds...see how it unfolds. Instead he felt the need to back ward up and all cost, falling into clinches and counter shots.

This is very true. He pushed a pace that he didn't have the stamina to endure.

[Damn Wicked]

I think it was the opposite. He had no respect for his power. He laughed at the idea that Ward could finish him. Didn't play cautiously enough while in-range and he ate some heavy shots because of it. He Kovalev fought more conservatively, relying on that jab and not trying to force himself on Ward (which is where he had the greatest success with Ward) the outcome may have been different.

Don't forget what happened when Kovalev tried to lay into Ward. He missed (which is exhausting) and got hit back, and hard.

I agree. I think Kovalev showed less respect than he did in the first fight. He kept rushing in and seemed to be thinking that a higher workrate and more intense pressure would wear down Ward. The exact opposite happened, obviously. I do believe he had some respect for Ward's power, but not enough, especially later when he was becoming worn out. I think he had a game plan to just keep pressuring Ward continuously until Andre caved. Kovalev's biggest problem was that he's not an "all out pressure fighter"...Sure, he IS a pressure fighter but it's always controlled, steady pressure..., not furious, reckless pressure..., but that is exactly what he was starting to turn into. He couldn't handle his own pace and the fact that Ward was still with him in the later rounds. I'm sure Ward could feel Kovalev losing steam just as the mongoose feels the cobra's energy waning.

Kovalev needed to have more than one game plan. Him and his team seemed to be thinking that the steam roller approach was the correct one but they were wrong. They should have changed their tactics around the fifth or sixth round, maybe even sooner, so that Kovalev could retain his stamina. In the later rounds he was missing a lot more also. That was partly due to his stamina.

[SweetPbfAli]

I don't see how anyone can make a case that Kovalev is the better boxer, Ward is considerably more versatile

Seriously! I barely got through the rest of the post after reading that. Ward showed there is definitely some separation between the 2.