A question about Kovalev vs Ward 1

[dibzvincent143]

They could have at least made it a draw. Really messed up Kovalev, if it happened the other way around, like Ward was slightly winning and they gave the decision to Kov, it would’ve messed ward up as well.

[Sid-Knee]

Can any Ward fan tell me precisely what EXACT techniqual "adjustments" Ward made in that fight? I heard it countless times but nobody ever mentioned what are the exact changes he made in that fight in order to "win it"?
All I've seen up till now are boxing hypsters who are just repeating this Kellerman's baseless mantra. If anything it was Kovalev who became tired due to his poor stamina and still managed to win at least 3 out of 6 last rounds.

Kovalev was the better boxer at first and really getting to Ward. Then the knockdown came. At this point it looked like Ward was going to be systematically beaten down and stopped in one sided fashion. But Ward being Ward he refused to accept this so did what he's done his whole career and clinched the life out of Kovalev and roughed him up on the inside. With the ref being in his pocket he got away with this without having points taken away. This is when Ward started to come back into it in an illegal way and continued doing this until the final round. Had he boxed within the rules, Kovalev would have knocked him out. Kovalev was winning pretty big until Ward started to cheat. But with Ward aloud to get away with it, no way Kovalev could have done anything with Ward taking it in the clinch all night.

After 12 rounds, Kovalev still did enough to get the win. But Ward had everyone in his pocket so got the robbery decision. No boxing adjustments were made by Ward, just his illegal clinching game to shut opponents down who weren't used to that kind of bull****. Anyone saying it was boxing skill are nothing but biased Americans talking the biggest load of **** you can imagine.

[S7V7N]

What ward did was be more cautious he still lost the fight but he avioded the knockdown knowing he would win on fixed cards

I noticed he started going to the body more as the fight went on.

Andre was definitely more cautious & sure worked the body more in the later rounds, not just jabbing to the body but working the hooks & uppercuts inside the clinch.

The biggest adjustment that Ward made was managing the distance & not staying in the pocket! Go watch rnd#2 again. He was trying to counter the left jab of Kov with the overhand right but got beat to the punch. Kovalev was ready for this with own right hand. So Andre didn't try to counter that jab the rest of the fight (except in the 10th & got clocked again for his effort). Every time Sergey stepped in, Ward would step back or step in himself trying to smother Kov & work the body. Ward simply worked the distance knowing he could cover it faster than Kovalev could. He's more athletic & was in better condition, using those two advantages to his favor & then got the benefit of the scorecards.

I think it was a very close fight with the KD being the difference in giving the nod to Sergey. In fact, if you look at both fights, Kov fought Ward tooth & nail through 19 very even rounds. Yet Ward will go down as an ATG while Sergey is now written off as over-hyped. Just shows how referee's & judges can really affect the legacy of any fighter.

[Zn1]

for Ward - Kovalev 1

60 TOTAL SCORES POLLED FROM MEDIA [1]

44 Scores for KOVALEV = 73%
15 Scores for WARD = 25%
1 Score for a DRAW = 2%

Allan Fox (************): 117-110 Kovalev
Doug Fischer (Ring Magazine): 117-110 Kovalev
Andrew Harrison (Boxing Monthly): 117-111 Kovalev
Harold Lederman (HBO): 116-111 Kovalev
Michael Montero (Montero On Boxing): 116-111 Kovalev
Tim Dahlberg (AP): 116-111 Kovalev
Shaun Brown (TalkingBoxing.uk): 115-112 Kovalev
Chris Mannix (Yahoo Sports): 115-112 Kovalev
Dan Rafael (ESPN): 115-112 Kovalev
Cliff Rold (Boxingscene): 115-112 Kovalev
Lance Pugmire (LA Times): 115-112 Kovalev
Victor M Salazar (Boxingscene): 115-112 Kovalev
Scott Christ (BadLeftHook): 115-112 Kovalev
Gareth A Davies (The Telegraph): 115-112 Kovalev
Kevin McRae (Bleacher Report): 115-112 Kovalev
Steve Zemach (FoxSports640): 115-112 Kovalev
Jorge Hernandez (SW Fight): 115-112 Kovalev
Tim Starks (Queensberry Rules): 115-112 Kovalev
The Guardian Online: 115-112 Kovalev
Fraser Coffeen (Bloody Elbow): 115-112 Kovalev
Steve Kim (UCN Live): 115-112 Kovalev
Bokser.org: 115-112 Kovalev
FightersRated: 115-112 Kovalev
Heavy Bag Boxing: 115-112 Kovalev
Queensberry Rules: 115-112 Kovalev
Sam Sheppard (Next Big Pod): 115-112 Kovalev
Ron Borges (Boston Herald): 116-114 Kovalev
Boxhard Podcast: 115-113 Kovalev
Ryan Burton (Boxingscene): 115-113 Kovalev
Bernardo Osuna (ESPN Deportes): 115-113 Kovalev
Andy Paterson (Boxing Asylum): 114-113 Kovalev
Daniel Vano (***************): 114-113 Kovalev
Daniel Attias (AUSboxing): 114-113 Kovalev
Beau Denison (The Boxing Truth): 114-113 Kovalev
Boxing Monthly Online: 114-113 Kovalev
Ben Weismann (************): 114-113 Kovalev
G. Leon (Boxtalk): 114-113 Kovalev
Bob Velin (USA Today): 114-113 Kovalev
Kieran Mulvaney (HBO): 114-113 Kovalev
Eric Raskin (HBO): 114-113 Kovalev
Stephen A Smith (ESPN): 114-113 Kovalev
John Angus MacDonald (Boxing Monthly): 114-113 Kovalev
Alex Morris (Next Big Pod): 114-113 Kovalev
Danny Winterbottom (Boxing Monthly): 114-113 Kovalev
Tony Bellew (Sky Sports): 114-114 DRAW
***************: 114-113 Ward
Kevin Iole (Yahoo Sports): 114-113 Ward
Wolfgang Schiffbauer (German Freelancer): 114-113 Ward
Ramon Aranda (3MoreRounds): 114-113 Ward
Brian Campbell (ESPN): 114-113 Ward
Mike Coppinger (USA Today): 114-113 Ward
New York Post Online: 114-113 Ward
LA Times Online: 114-113 Ward
Mark Butcher (Boxing Monthly): 114-113 Ward
Tom Gray (Ring Magazine): 116-115 Ward
Mark Ortega (Freelance): 115-112 Ward
Danny Richardson (Script Media): 115-112 Ward
Adam Abramowitz (Saturday Night Boxing): 115-112 Ward
Paul Smith Jnr (Sky Sports): 116-113 Ward
Tom Craze (BadLeftHook): 116-111 Ward

[Teetotaler]

What ward did was be more cautious he still lost the fight but he avioded the knockdown knowing he would win on fixed cards

Lol didnt know they were fixed. Otherwise he wouldnt have looked so surprised about the gift

[eco1]

The only time he changed something is when he heard the announcement and went from:

"I lost!" to, "I was given a gift" face.

Just look at his F face when he heard the decision.