Sergey Kovalev vs. Sullivan Barrera

[John Locke]

I don't think too highly of Kovalev but he's obviously more skilled than Barrera and wins this fight by KO

[g27region]

Kovalev dealt with Ward way better than Barrera

Kovalev dealt with Shabranskyy way better than Barrera

Even BIVOL dealt with Valera way better than Barrera

[CubanGuyNYC]

Kovalev over Barrera. I think Sullivan puts on a good show, though. He’s a warrior.

[Banko Villas]

To anyone in this thread who claims that Kovalev got great skills... Please explain this:

1: What caused his clumpsy fighting style against Pascal? Was Pascal suddenly some mysterious master of defense, a runner, since Kovalev could miss and fall around over his own legs like this? It looked plain silly for such a skilled guy.
2: Why couldn't he stop an old, slow, shot Hopkins, despite having shocked him in one of the first few rounds? Was Hopkins just too many steps ahead in the defense apartment? Joe Smith had no problem with that, though.
3: Why did Ward manage to knock Kovalev out? Why didn't he knockout Kessler, Froch, Abraham or even Barrera? Ward is a guy who consistenly wins by decision. The only explanation is, that Kovalev got a horrible defense.

And generally, why is the ONLY fight in which he ever looked skilled the first fight against Ward? IMO, the best explanation is a lucky shot that affected Ward for the rest of the fight. He still won, though.

[Medinabcheatin]

Baarera wuold make Cuckalev quit like Ward did.

[Mr Objecitivity]

How do you see this going? Barrera is obviously taller, faster and more skilled, so the logical outcome is that he stops Kovalev late. But Kovalev DOES pack a dangerous punch, so honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Kovalev managed to land a gamechanger at one point. I feel 80% sure that Barrera bullies him to a late stoppage or a unanimous decision.

Sergey Kovalev's punching power is overrated. I doubt he punches with any more power than Andre Ward. His punching power is roughly on the same level as Andre Ward in my opinion. The reason why he has more knockouts than Andre Ward is because he has better offensive skills. Hence, he was able to drop Andre Ward and Ward failed to drop Kovalev and relied on a standing stoppage after landing low blows.

So Ward didn't actually KO Kovalev. Kovalev was not only still conscious at the time of the stoppage, but also still standing. The referee stopping the bout prematurely isn't within his control. The stoppage had very little to do with Andre Ward being more skilled.

However, one could argue that Andre Ward is definitely more skilled defensively. Hence, he gets hit / punched less.

Punching power is one of the most overrated attributes in boxing. Many a times, a knockout artist doesn't necessarily have greater punching power than a non-knockout artist. Instead, they may have better offensive skills. Boxing skills isn't just determined by how good a boxer is defensively, but offensively too.

[richardt]

Barrera really gets better as the fight wears on.....but Smith and Valero dropped him early and I wonder if Kov does, Kov could finish him. BUT, as the fight wears on if it does, then you have to wonder if Kov can maintain because he does fade later. So one fighter is clearly better early, and the other fighter clearly late. Could be two different fights within a fight based on those dynamics.

[boliodogs]

I think Kovalev will easily knock him out early. He will beat him easier and in a better way than Ward did. You are making Barrera better than he is to build Ward up.

[boliodogs]

Sergey Kovalev's punching power is overrated. I doubt he punches with any more power than Andre Ward. His punching power is roughly on the same level as Andre Ward in my opinion. The reason why he has more knockouts than Andre Ward is because he has better offensive skills. Hence, he was able to drop Andre Ward and Ward failed to drop Kovalev and relied on a standing stoppage after landing low blows.

So Ward didn't actually KO Kovalev. Kovalev was not only still conscious at the time of the stoppage, but also still standing. The referee stopping the bout prematurely isn't within his control. The stoppage had very little to do with Andre Ward being more skilled.

However, one could argue that Andre Ward is definitely more skilled defensively. Hence, he gets hit / punched less.

Punching power is one of the most overrated attributes in boxing. Many a times, a knockout artist doesn't necessarily have greater punching power than a non-knockout artist. Instead, they may have better offensive skills. Boxing skills isn't just determined by how good a boxer is defensively, but offensively too.

Kovalev hits much harder than Ward. That's why he is the crusher and Ward is the clincher. Kovalev is a KO artist while Ward is a boring UD artist. Ward won both fights but only one man scored a knockdown and it wasn't Ward.

[Vlad_]

You people should be careful with your attitudes. Any true boxing fan saw Ward winning cleanly 2 times in a row and any true boxing fan knows that Barrera is a VERY significant threat to Kovalev. There has been talks that they could face each other soon. I doubt Kovalev wants that, but if it happens, then mark my words, there's a good chance your boy is getting spanked again. Barrera is aaall wrong for Kovalev... He got much better handspeed and if you can't see that, then try again. Kovalev is all power and no skills. He was tripping over his own feet as he chased Pascal around the ring, he left himself wide open to be Ward's first KO victim in years and generally, he just looks very clumpsy when fighting. He couldn't even finish an old shot Bernard Hopkins in 12 rounds, there's no excuse for that, except a lack of skills (at least in Kovalev's case, due to his massive power).

Hahahahahaha.