Did Kovalev's Tactics Change Your Opinion of Him as a Fighter?

[-PBP-]

I did not insult you once in my post. You're spinning a story and insulting a fighter who lost, who gave Ward full credit for being the better man that night and rightfully blaming Weeks for messing up in the fight. That's called gloating, and there are plenty of brainless fools on this forum who do that enough.


Horse****. He cried to Weeks ONCE from a legitimate body shot in early 8th, after getting seriously hit low in the 7th. That is also the one body shot he 'cringed' from.
And he handled inside fighting just fine in the 1st fight, and in the first 6 rounds of this one.

Give Ward a warning after that low blow in the 7th, and give Kovalev his alotted 5 minutes to recover (probably wont even take full time, he only took 10 secs in 2nd round), THEN we can talk.

Neither oen of those 2 are true. He didn't shy away from inside fighting in the 1st or the 2nd fight. Both fights are dominated by clinching and inside fighting - what the hell did he shy away from?
And he didn't break down from "the body attack". Not only did he never go down, which fighters ALWAYS do from good body attack, but you're completely ignoring the issue of low blows that dominate the conversation around this "body attack".

This shift in the narrative from 1st fight to the 2nd is laughable. Kovalev is the same guy he was in the 1st fight. Did you see him complaining about low blows in 1st fight during Ward's 'masterclass inside fighting'? No? Maybe that's because Ward wasn't landing any, and that was the difference.

Where have I insulted Kovalev or gloating? I'm making observations about his behavior during the fight and you are taking it personal. Even the more level headed Kovalev fans in this very thread agree with me and say they would've liked to see him show more grit and get more rugged in the trenches.

There is no spinning of any narrative. The fight is over. From Round 6 of the first fight, to round 12 of the second fight, Ward figured Kovalev out. He is a strong fighter for the first six rounds but isn't the same fighter in the last six. He gets discourage when he can't have his way and control distance and he lacks an inside game.

So once again. How about you answer the question instead of making excuses:

3 years ago, Kovalev was widely considered one of the baddest men on the planet. Do you still believe that to be true after seeing what you saw on Saturday night?

[BoxingIsGreat]

Yes, a lot. The fighter considered by many to be a killer turned out to be a kitten in the end.

[-PBP-]

even larry voted for kovalev that thread was from 2015. yeah i guess kovalev should have gotten dirty too, eye for an eye instead of turning the other cheek

That's exactly what I'm asking. Kovalev seemed like a guy that would stab you for fouling him

He's the last guy I would expect to turn the other cheek.

[Redd Foxx]

The rough/illegal stuff never bothers me that much unless it's a guy like Khan to uses it to excess. But, turning his back and (the big one for me) trying to get help from the ref really soured my view of him.

[BoxingIsGreat]

That's exactly what I'm asking. Kovalev seemed like a guy that would stab you for fouling him

He's the last guy I would expect to turn the other cheek.

Total agreement here. I was shocked to see him turn into this submissive softy.

[Mammoth]

What did you think of the low blows?

[img]https://media.*****.com/media/UBcUmVyfc8dxK/*****.gif[/img]

"What do you mean?"

[nubianpiye]

Yeah I realised that Kova is a front runner I still think he's an elite fighter Kov still beats GGG

[Graz]

Yes I think all of Kovalev's pre fight posturing didn't equate to his performance in the ring. He was fouled and it was an early stoppage but he didn't know how to deal with Ward. If he had the stamina he would have at least retaliated for getting hit low.

[dranoel]

Eh? Didn't have Ward beating him but it didn't exactly change what I thought of him as a fighter. Too about himself in terms of character. And even since the pascal fights when I heard JDJ giving him pointers on throwing a left hook in the first fight, he didn't listen. It's no surprise why the second going ended earlier when he threw uppercuts and mixed his attack variation. Basically he's too nourished in soviet school as postol seemingly. So I had him losing the second fight with ward before he lost. Character is absolutely critical. You either have what it takes to adapt in order to be number 1 and that includes shedding your own ego and perspective of the realities you're in. Or in his case you can be devoid of realities that you're not absolutely at the pinnacle of ideas and winning. Alone. Nobody is one man island.

[satiev1]

Kovalev is a great distance fighter. But he was always limited. Unlike ggg, kovalev dosen't know how to throw short compact body punches and uppercuts.