In Hindsight, Should Kovalev have avoided Andre Ward?

[Madison Boxing]

of course not. he meant to avoid all challenges just in case he loses? most people thought he won the 1st fight anyway. its boxing, one guy wins and the other one doesnt, people get too hung up on losses, who cares if they dont have an 0. Theres a few exceptions but most fighters who have an 0 have it cause theyve done everything to protect it, it shouldnt be worn around like some badge of honour. Undefeated is usually code word for not taking many challenges.If you fight on world level consistently youll probably pick up a loss.

[SplitSecond]

What he should have not done was gotten rid of his S&C coach.

[mlac]

No, we don't. First fight was close and could have gone either way..

only a tiny group of ward fangirls repeat the same thing over and over as if to convince themselves

'close fight could of gone either way'

2nd fight:

' ward would of won anyway'

' kovalev quit'

' ward ruins lives'

truely pathetic bunch

[Lomadeaux]

I think the entire issue is Kovalev,he started believing his own hype and stopped listening to the person who helped get him there

He beat Ward in the first fight... the rematch was a joke as well.

I’ve always liked Ward. I’m just very critical of his career. Barely any fights in 14 years and held/hugged so much.

[Curt Henning]

ive always liked kovalev....still have respect for him

but i wonder if we shouldnt have sort of seen this coming

he couldnt put old b hop away....and when that happened his fanboys screamed that he wanted to put in rounds and "felt bad" for the old man....he struggled with chilemba....now i know chilemba is a tough out and tricky...but he was also not in his kovs "class"....then the 2nd half of the 1st ward fight......i dunno.....def should have seen teh alvarez loss coming at least......them colombians can always bang

[Curt Henning]

ive always liked kovalev....still have respect for him

but i wonder if we shouldnt have sort of seen this coming

he couldnt put old b hop away....and when that happened his fanboys screamed that he wanted to put in rounds and "felt bad" for the old man....he struggled with chilemba....now i know chilemba is a tough out and tricky...but he was also not in his kovs "class"....then the 2nd half of the 1st ward fight......i dunno.....def should have seen teh alvarez loss coming at least......them colombians can always bang

[Eddy Current]

It's better than pulling a Joshua and avoiding the other top fighter(s).

[New England]

i never thought kovalev was that invincible or that powerful. he's a LHW, as you have seen recently, they can pretty much all punch hard enough to hurt you. he threw hard, straight shots and he knew when and where to throw them. tyson would knock guys half way across the ring and hit you three times off of a pivot. and he was a HW. completely unique, once in a lifetime fighter. student of the game, technical, his limitations were his size and his sanity.

kovalev was just a sound puncher and HBO needed a villain to fight andre ward. they made him out to be a lot more than he was. a solid fighter, a top 10 p4p guy for a while, but certainly nobody to be remembered in 25 years.


he also very easily could have gotten a nod over past prime ward in the first fight. iw as there and bascally everybodyin my section and in the casino after the fight thought he kovalev won.

[boogbx]

Absolutely not.

The best should always fight the best, you win some, you lose some but fighters fight, everybody else just speculates.

Kovalev won the first fight and was a victim of ref bias. Andre Ward though son of god, is a also a student of dirty tactics. Known for being a unicorn with his head, a lot of those body shots were low and the red let it go.

Kovalev would’ve lost the rematch regardless but could’ve faired better with a better red.

Ultimately both Andre Ward in the rematch and Eleider Alvarez were better
Men when they faced off, no excuses.

[Zaryu]

Nah, in hindsight he should've appreciated the people that helped him reach the level he did in his career.