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I'd like to see Kovalev pick a trainer who can train him how to fight like the Klitschkos. If refs are going to allow cheating (holding) in every top level fight, then Kovalev, especially, can reap huge benefits from that. He is as dominant an outside+mid range fighter as anyone in boxing right now, so teach him to shut down the inside work with holding, and he can take care of the rest with his length, skills, and powers.
Who is best to do this? Emanuel Steward, RIP, would have been the perfect trainer for Kovalev, in many different ways. Who else? Maybe, would the Klitschkos themselves be willing to train Kovalev? Either one?
Or, perhaps Floyd Mayweather Sr? Is he still really sharp enough to train guys though, or does Floyd Jr basically run his own camp now?
As for Virgil Hunter, I mean, if there's one thing he does consistently teach guys to do, it's hold inside, but somehow I still don't think he's the best fit. I think he doesn't really know the fundamentals of the sweet science that well, and he could **** up Kovalev trying to teach him some of his own theories that could clash with the fundamentals Kovalev was taught coming up in the amateurs.
I'm trying to think who else would be a good trainer... Lomachenko's father would probably be a good trainer for just about anyone, provided he put the same effort into them as he does with his son, but that's doubtful. Who else? Freddy Roach could help renew Kovalev's confidence in his offense again after anomalies that were the Ward fights, but I don't think Roach is the best at teaching skills or tactics at all. Kovalev still has the offensive tools to dominate anyway, so what he needs most is someone to teach him better tactics, and help him get in better shape. Maybe Roach could do the last one, with the help of Justin Fortune...... but not the tactics one.
Who else? I don't really know. The other thing with Virgil Hunter is I suspect he would try to teach Kovalev to fight inside, which, if he could actually teach Kovalev to land the left hook to the body regularly, and actually throw a good left hook in general, then Kovalev could really be amazing, but more likely it will just confuse Kovalev and put him in positions in the fight where he doesn't need to be. He can beat anyone in the division from outside and midrange, he's better off not engaging inside. Someone to teach him a better left hook, up top and to the body, would be great, but no one should be trying to turn him into an inside fighter, and I worry Virgil would do that.
But, he definitely does not to learn a better left hook, and how to target the body more. Who are good trainers for that?
Ultimately though, I think he needs a trainer who can teach him to fight like the Klitschkos, just with a little more body work, and the key to that is someone who can teach him to throw a proper left hook. Who would you guys recommend?Comment
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How interesting would that beComment
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Not for the first Kovalev fight. But he went to training camp early for the rematch, before it was signed, before drug testing started, which JRoc's trainer said is a red flag for when boxers are cycling PEDs, and then shortly after when media was let into his camp, they all remarked how ripped he looked, and that he had put on muscle, and at the same time the video and pictures they shot showed Ward now had acne all over his back, which he didn't have in prior fights. And that acne on his back was there for the rest of training camp, through to the night of the fight.
In other words, Kovalev was more difficult than Ward thought he would be in the first fight, and it took a lot more out of him than he thought it would, and he wasn't sure he could win the rematch, so first he considered retirement, and then he realized he had no choice but to take the rematch for his legacy, so he juiced up for it. He also developed unusually big neck muscles just in time to face the puncher again, similar to the neck muscles Canelo developed in preparation to face GGG. They help you take the big punch. Not that it's su****ious boxers would want to improve their neck strength before facing a puncher, that makes sense, but it's very shocking the way they were able to transform their neck so quickly, almost on demand, before facing a big puncher. It should take years and years to build muscles like that, but they both did it seemingly overnight. Ward was the only one with back acne though.
All the red flags are there to show a clear story of what happened, and that's the story. It's just my opinion, but it makes too much sense. Going to camp before the fight is signed. Suddenly developing way more muscle in a short period of time. Getting acne all over his back at age 33 for the first time in his career at the exact same time he is adding su****ious amounts of muscle in a very short period of time. It's not hard to surmise what happened.Last edited by Boxing Logic; 09-22-2017, 10:14 AM.Comment
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Kovalev needs one to help him with defensive tactics to try to extend his career ... Why not maybe Pedro Diaz? I won't say Floyd Sr, because that's just too much of a style change. No matter who it is, kovalev will have to really work hard and be disciplined. Someone like Hunter will expect, full respect, full discipline, and not being questioned all the time. Humility goes a long way.Comment
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The truth is not gay. The truth is not straight. Well, the truth is straight, but in terms of geometry, not sexual orientation. The truth has no sexual orientation. Well, unless someone is hiding their true sexual orientation, and you're trying to figure out what the truth is, then the truth about their sexual orientation would be a sexual orientation. But I'm talking about, you know, conceptually, the truth has no sexual orientation, it is simply the truth. It is not affected by those things.Comment
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