Comments Thread For: Sergey Kovalev: 'Maybe' Virgil Hunter Will Train Me, 'Maybe Not'

[Metho_4u]

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.

???? F@g!!

[rrayvez]

... the alleged low blow here above! :

correct me if I'm wrong but is that not the exact area where the ref said "right here is good, below is not" ? That's the belt line and nobodies nuts are that high. Btw, there was also a pretty sod right hand that rocked Kovalev before the stoppage too.

[Boxing Logic]

If Kovalev really wants a new trainer he should go with Thurmans trainer Birmingham, hes the best trainer in boxing IMO. But training a sea level may be counter productive for a guy with a soft mid section.

Can you expand on this Boxfan? Because a lot of people think the reason GGG's reflexes have declined so much is that he trains 7 hours a day in high altitude, but also sleeps in high altitude, where there is less oxygen in the air, meaning that all the high twitch muscles he trains so hard all day do not get enough oxygen during rest and recovery to fully repair their muscle fibers, and so essentially what the body does is repair them the best it can without the necessary oxygen in the air, meaning the body replaces the high twitch, lean muscle with the slower fibers, because that's all it can do without enough oxygen in the air during recovery.

Or the high twitch muscle fibers deteriorate altogether over time without enough oxygen to repair themselves, so the body replaces them with muscles at older age that are not as high twitch, and that's why GGG's punches and movements are no longer as quick and reflexive, because his high twitch muscle fibers have been replaced with slower ones do to sleeping in high altitude months on end after intense workouts, year after year, after the age of 30, when the body can no longer compensate for the lack of oxygen in the air with its own processes.

Something like that. What do you think of that relative to GGG, and what did you mean about Kovalev training at sea level relating to his midsection?

[Eff Pandas]

Now if Kovalev really believed that the only reason ward beat him was because of the alleged nut shots would he really be considering hunter for a trainer?

Maybe he's working on his nut punch skills. His low blow game needs work.

In seriousness I kinda love this move & I think Kovalev is one of the biggest a$$hole's in the game today. Like a real a$$hole I don't think he's playing a character like some of these guys are. But working with Hunter would show he's legit open to learning some new sh^t + honing his craft & he just doesn't wanna do his own thing.

Would be crazy seeing Hunter with Kovalev & maybe even Ward throwing in his 2 cents &/or giving Kovalev some tips or what not. I'm rooting on the becoming a thing for all the above reasons.

[Boxing Logic]

correct me if I'm wrong but is that not the exact area where the ref said "right here is good, below is not" ? That's the belt line and nobodies nuts are that high. Btw, there was also a pretty sod right hand that rocked Kovalev before the stoppage too.

It's below where the ref said. But even if the ref said that was okay, that would just prove that the ref set an artificially low "legal" area to start the fight because he was in the tank for Ward and knew it would benefit Ward to be able to punch low. The rulebook is very clear that anything bellow the navel is low, so if the ref said "here, 10 inches below the navel is also legal," to start the fight, in direct conflict to the rules, don't you think that in itself is a red flag? As the fight went on, sometimes Kovalev's trunks would ride up to where the top of the trunks was covering the navel, and sometimes they would go down and you could see his navel right at the top of the trunks. In other words, the very top of Kovalev's trunks was consistently where the line should have been, and where his navel was. Sometimes it was half an inch hidden, sometimes it was visible by half an inch, but that was where the line should have been. Ward's punch, on the other hand, partially connected with the very bottom of Kovalev's trunks, and partially connected with his cup and his trunks. That's not legal.

Edit: just watched it again, and when I say Ward's punch partially hit the very bottom of Kovalev's waistband, I'm talking like 25% of Ward's glove connects with the very bottom of Kovalev's waistband, and 75% of Ward's glove connects with Kovalev's cup. The top of Kovalev's waist band is where the border for legal punches is supposed to be. Ward didn't make any contact at all with that.

In other words, 25% of Ward's punch was somewhat low, and 75% of Ward's punch was extremely low. None of it was legal, per the rules.

[HarvardBlue]

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.

So Ward needed PEDs and low blows to beat Kovalev? It couldn't just be his skills that he used to beat him. Kovalev admitting he trained himself (which is equivalent to representing yourself in a criminal case), but you won't take that into consideration.

If you're Andre Ward and you didn't already know Kovalev would be a difficult fight you wouldn't be retiring undefeated. It's easy to accuse someone of being PEDs but your explanation is a little too convenient. Ward looked more muscular since he moved up to 175. He had 2 1/2 to build his body up so that's not surprising. As far as Canelo, he's always had thick neck muscles. Again, a very convenient excuse to support your own fighters shortcomings.

[REMOVE SHARK 55]

LOL Whattttt Theeeee Fooook????

[rrayvez]

It's below where the ref said. But even if the ref said that was okay, that would just prove that the ref set an artificially low "legal" area to start the fight because he was in the tank for Ward and knew it would benefit Ward to be able to punch low. The rulebook is very clear that anything bellow the navel is low, so if the ref said "here, 10 inches below the navel is also legal," to start the fight, in direct conflict to the rules, don't you think that in itself is a red flag? As the fight went on, sometimes Kovalev's trunks would ride up to where the top of the trunks was covering the navel, and sometimes they would go down and you could see his navel right at the top of the trunks. In other words, the very top of Kovalev's trunks was consistently where the line should have been, and where his navel was. Sometimes it was half an inch hidden, sometimes it was visible by half an inch, but that was where the line should have been. Ward's punch, on the other hand, partially connected with the very bottom of Kovalev's trunks, and partially connected with his cup and his trunks. That's not legal.

Edit: just watched it again, and when I say Ward's punch partially hit the very bottom of Kovalev's waistband, I'm talking like 25% of Ward's glove connects with the very bottom of Kovalev's waistband, and 75% of Ward's glove connects with Kovalev's cup. The top of Kovalev's waist band is where the border for legal punches is supposed to be. Ward didn't make any contact at all with that.

In other words, 25% of Ward's punch was somewhat low, and 75% of Ward's punch was extremely low. None of it was legal, per the rules.

very descriptive explanation. So you think that you can clearly tell that wards body punches were below kovalevs naval? Keep in mind that he is completely hunched over as the punches are landing.

[Boxfan83]

Can you expand on this Boxfan? Because a lot of people think the reason GGG's reflexes have declined so much is that he trains 7 hours a day in high altitude, but also sleeps in high altitude, where there is less oxygen in the air, meaning that all the high twitch muscles he trains so hard all day do not get enough oxygen during rest and recovery to fully repair their muscle fibers, and so essentially what the body does is repair them the best it can without the necessary oxygen in the air, meaning the body replaces the high twitch, lean muscle with the slower fibers, because that's all it can do without enough oxygen in the air during recovery.

Or the high twitch muscle fibers deteriorate altogether over time without enough oxygen to repair themselves, so the body replaces them with muscles at older age that are not as high twitch, and that's why GGG's punches and movements are no longer as quick and reflexive, because his high twitch muscle fibers have been replaced with slower ones do to sleeping in high altitude months on end after intense workouts, year after year, after the age of 30, when the body can no longer compensate for the lack of oxygen in the air with its own processes.

Something like that. What do you think of that relative to GGG, and what did you mean about Kovalev training at sea level relating to his midsection?

Simple Boxing Logic, GGG is 35years old and reflex (often mistaken as handspeed) is the first thing to go. You ever hear boxing enthusiast say, "you can tell he got old because he hesitates to throw?" Thats because at some point in every mans life, we slow down a bit or a lot all at once. With GGG its been evident since the Kell Brook fight, no shame in it BUT the difference is, the GREAT fighters have learned to deal with it and change their technique. A lot of great fighters turn into counter punchers in the latter stage of their career.

As for fast twitch muscles, some are born with them and some are not. Of course as you stated there is a science to oxygen rebuilding muscle and what not BUT someone NOT born with fast twitch muscles will eventually peak if trained properly no matter where they train. And to be quite honest there really isn't to many way to train to become faster; Shadow boxing, elastic bands, & weights help but proper technique plus natural and taught reflex is key. Also with technique there are certain ways to throw a punch and place your feet to get off first BUT again as you get older the hesitation will start to take effect so a more defensive position will need to be implemented at some point, this is why defensive fighters typically last longer.

As for training up in elevation for Kov and being soft in the middle. I think training in high elevation brings the most out of your body, doing 1000 situps on Daytona beach is quite different than doing 1000 situps in Big Bear and not just because of the oxygen, it builds HEART to do so. I believe every man has heart, some just need to be pushed to bring it out and once you get there you know you can get there again and again.

Lastly, I DO NOT believe in the myth of over training. An athlete should always be training, of course if an athlete is hurting themselves or gets hurt they should see a Dr. and/or get rest.

[Boxing Logic]

Simple Boxing Logic, GGG is 35years old and reflex (often mistaken as handspeed) is the first thing to go. You ever hear boxing enthusiast say, "you can tell he got old because he hesitates to throw?" Thats because at some point in every mans life, we slow down a bit or a lot all at once. With GGG its been evident since the Kell Brook fight, no shame in it BUT the difference is, the GREAT fighters have learned to deal with it and change their technique. A lot of great fighters turn into counter punchers in the latter stage of their career.

As for fast twitch muscles, some are born with them and some are not. Of course as you stated there is a science to oxygen rebuilding muscle and what not BUT someone NOT born with fast twitch muscles will eventually peak if trained properly no matter where they train. And to be quite honest there really isn't to many way to train to become faster; Shadow boxing, elastic bands, & weights help but proper technique plus natural and taught reflex is key. Also with technique there are certain ways to throw a punch and place your feet to get off first BUT again as you get older the hesitation will start to take effect so a more defensive position will need to be implemented at some point, this is why defensive fighters typically last longer.

As for training up in elevation for Kov and being soft in the middle. I think training in high elevation brings the most out of your body, doing 1000 situps on Daytona beach is quite different than doing 1000 situps in Big Bear and not just because of the oxygen, it builds HEART to do so. I believe every man has heart, some just need to be pushed to bring it out and once you get there you know you can get there again and again.

Lastly, I DO NOT believe in the myth of over training. An athlete should always be training, of course if an athlete is hurting themselves or gets hurt they should see a Dr. and/or get rest.

Thanks for the response Boxing Fan. I agree genetics play a big role, I'm just saying you can look at GGG training for the Geale fight, or any fight 5 years ago, and his torso looks much leaner, he has those faster, leaner looking, Terence Crawford type of physique. Not all the way like Crawford, obviously, but the pressure fighter version of that. He was halfway between what Crawford is, and what GGG is now. Now, GGG looks more like old Arthur Abraham than Crawford. His torso looks like it's gotten three inches thicker, and a little softer.

I started seeing decline in the Monroe fight, and possibly the Rubio fight but that was so short, but he still looked good after that somewhat against Lemieux, and very much against Murray, although I saw slight signs of decline vs Murray as well. But then especially starting with Wade, I could see snap was missing on his punches, and it just continued since then.

Of course, Rubio was the first fight for the WBC title, the interim, so I wonder if that's when serious VADA testing started? Shortly after that time they instituted the year round VADA, leaving no windows to cycle PEDs. It's around there that GGG's real decline started, but it's impossible to pinpoint whether that's because of VADA, or just because the 32 to 35 years are exactly when you expect to see sharp decline anyway. It's just been so sharp, and so quick, with GGG, that I feel like it has to do with much more than age. It's either year round VADA, or the altitude thing, or both, because you can definitely see a lot of his lean quick twitch muscle has been replaced with bulkier, slower muscle. His six pack has also disappeared, and you can only see the outlines of his abs now, not the definition like you see on Canelo and most prime fighters, or like you used to see on GGG.