Who will win Ward vs Kovalev rematch?

[Redd Foxx]

I called it in the main ppv sticky thread - said he looked tight and nervous, didn't really notice the red-eyed hazy thing but I will watch it again later. Sergey looked way more comfortable before the bell and it showed up in those early rounds.

Ward showed the difference between a normal mental makeup and a truly elite mental makeup today. I think most men would have crumbled or coasted to a safety first decision loss, Ward kept digging and booked his place in Canastota.

Did you like my pre-fight prediction though?

PM me a link so I can check it out (I don't always see replies in these threads).

[j0zef]

I'm gonna go with Kovalev again in a rematch, for several reasons.
-One, while both guys will be better prepared for each other, Kovalev's power will remain. There's very little Ward can do to acclimate himself to it. He'll still get marked up by jabs and will get hurt by power shots.
-Two, I think Ward fought much closer to his perfect. Despite being dropped, the fight went the way he wanted - and I think Kovalev understood that. To me, it looked like he wanted to show the world that he can beat Ward at his own game (inside fighting, strength contests). He willingly got into inside fights with Ward, even though that's not's his bread and butter. When they got into wrestling contests, he made it a point to wrestle Ward back to show him that he's stronger - a completely unnecessary macho exercise. This strategy backfired. I doubt he'll be as willing a partner the 2nd time around.
-Three, he feels robbed by the judges and will not trust them. That is a great thing. Kovalev is at his worst when he's forced back. By boxing Ward during the middle rounds, he was not as aggressive as he should have been. Aggressiveness is his strength. That killer instinct turns him into a different fighter. After Ward recovered in the 3rd, pretty much everyone started to expect the fight to goto a decision. There wasn't too much action, and you could see neither man was going for a knockout. Kovalev stopped trying to break him down, and that was a very bad move.


If my gut feeling is right, I see Kovalev taking Ward apart by the 6th round.