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I expect Kov to knock him out if/when they fight!Comment
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I haven't seen Yarde against anyone of note but he looks the part. That mean jack spit though. I always root for the younger, fresher, newer guy but Kov should be way too much. Just box and he'll stop Yarde.
I hope I'm wrong though!Comment
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"Yarde goes down harde"Comment
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Yes he was you guys just werent paying attention. From Chilemba to Ward I to Ward II to Mikhalkin to Alvarez I, every single one of those fights, Kovalev had either rumored drinking issues, smoking issues, lack of hunger for boxing, no training between camps, then overtraining in camp to burn the fat off. Kovalev's promoter said he was so "emaciated" that he went into every fight thinking he had to knock out his opponent the first 4-5 rounds of the fight otherwise he knew he would lose.
Only the Alvarez rematch, after Kovalev switched trainers and hired a nutritionist to cook all his meals last two weeks of camp, when he came in lighter than ever and was even able to eat the morning of the weigh-in for the first time, did Kovalev become a 12 round fighter again for the first time since his younger days in the Pascal rematch back when he was young and prime enough to get away with his bad habits and still perform.
They essentially traded away some of Kovalev's size and power away in order to bring back enough stamina, speed, and punch resistance (having more stamina means more oxygen in the brain when you get hit which lets you take the punch better), because those things are more important, but that doesn't mean he's prime again. In his prime, he had it all. Now with age, he's having to train better, and diet better, and do all these things better, just to keep SOME of his strengths from his prime, or even enhance a few, but at the expense of hurting other strengths. Kovalev's #1 asset in his prime was power, now he's basically having to compete without one-punch power. Does that sound like prime to you? In your prime you were a huge puncher who relied on power, now you had to give up your power and you can't rely on it at all, but that's prime? Hell no.
So you have to pay attention to the details. From Chilemba through Alvarez I, Kovalev was a shot, past prime fighter. Or rather, he was close to prime for 4 rounds, then shot the rest of the fight. Since most world class fights go past 4 rounds, it's the same effect as him being shot, for the most part. Then for Alvarez II, Kovalev was still physically past his peak years, but he and his team did a great job prioritizing the most important things over everything else, even his once vaunted power, and that allowed him to perform at an elite level again, even though he's still not in his prime years. If Yarde beats the same version of Kovalev that just beat Alvarez, he deserves a ton of credit, but we have to see how the fight goes. Kovalev boxed like a P4P star last fight so if Yarde outboxes him, Yarde will get huge credit. On the other hand, even in the rematch, Kovalev's chin didn't look sturdy at all like it used to, so if Yarde, who is a puncher more than Alvarez, lands one shot and Kovalev falls because his chin is past prime, good enough to barely survive shots from 50% KO% Alvarez but not Yarde, then obviously that will have a lot more to do with Kovalev's age than Yarde because even many C-level guys that Yarde has hit have not gone down with the first shot.
So if Yarde wins, naturally we need to see the context of how he wins before determining credit, but all else being equal, it's accurate to say Yarde would be facing the best version of Kovalev we've seen since the Pascal rematch, a much better version than Ward fought or Alvarez beat in the first fight, so he should deserve a ton of credit if he wins. But is Kovalev prime? I mean, right now, he's as close as he's been since his prime, seemingly very close overall just different and missing his power, which is a big deal for someone named "Krusher," but from the Chilemba fight through the first Alvarez fight, no, he wasn't anywhere close to prime.Comment
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Only shock will be Yarde taking the fight. He will pull out as soon as the self appointed "A side" looses the purse bid.Comment
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Give Anthony an inch and he'll take a Yarde.Comment
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There’s nothing in boxing I dislike more than the whole “lions in the camp” cringefest of Yarde and co. But that said if he takes this fight and wins, it’s great for British boxing - there are some huge potential fights down the line with Buatsi, Johnson and even Callum Smith - all assuming Hearn and Warren can get over themselves!
Light heavy has some great contenders and strong champs, so could see a lot of titles changing hands frequently over the next few years.Comment
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Is like diss yo
Ward SOG (I like you yo but stop hatin on Wilder yo)
Ward whooped prime Kovalev EZ work yo EZ destroy Dat euro
But this tea and crumpets muffin gonna get destroyed by shot Kovalev
Iss EZ formula
American G > euro bum > tea and crumpets muffinComment
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