you keep saying oh hes too green, whos he fought. well hows he going to fight anyone if every big name says 'oh hes too high risk, low reward' as far as im aware he is the mandatory? So ward should have to fight him if he stays at LHW. if not,someone needs to give him a fight. i would have thought it would be a good opponent for kovalev, because the ward losses were controversial if he went out and cleared the rest of the division he'd get a pretty great cv. maybe beterbiev is ready, maybe hes not, my hunch is that hes the real deal. but theres one way to find out. we had that question with spence, was he ready, could he step up and he answered it. lets give beterbiev a chance.
but the weird thing about ward is he is versatile....he will box a fighter, fight a boxer, or smother a puncher.
guy with the best shot at this point is the one they love to hate.....stevenson
Gvozdyk the better boxer, Beterbiev is kinda raw but brutal power. Stevenson probably remains the guy with the best one shot in the game despite his age.
Each of them poses unique problems, but then, like you say, Andre is nothing if not versatile. Beterbiev has that savage inside game and the strength to back it up but I think if Ward keeps it long he can just pick him off and wear him down. I'm thinking Artur's stamina might not be all that either - sure I heard some rumour or something. Bit of a risk if it turns into a dog fight though.
Stevenson will always be dangerous, but take away that big left and he's not got so many options. I think Ward has the ability to do just that by controlling range and circling, then launching pre-emptive attacks whenever Stevenson looks to get off.
Gvozdyk has perhaps the most educated footwork of the 3 and a very good jab of his own - and I'm thinking about the problems Kovalev gave Ward with that jab. Sasha doesn't quite have Kovalevs rangy mobility and natural aggression but is more technically polished. I'm thinking Ward might be able to rough him up on the inside, though, much as he did with Kovalev. The main advantage Gvozdyk has is that he may prove more capable of adding new tricks to his arsenal than Kovalev and so may ultimately have a higher ceiling.
I remember when Beterbiev was crashing the LHW scene a few years rolling through Cloud and a few other top ranked guys. I thought he would have reached the top of the division by now, or at least vied for a title.
the top guys have frozen him out thats why. thats what they are doing with ortiz at heavyweight too.
Kovalev should've gotten the decision against Ward in the first fight (though it was close, not a robbery), and he was arguably winning the second fight until he ran out of gas. Ward is vulnerable at 175 and would be even more so at Cruiserweight.
That said, I don't think Beterbiev beats him. Too slow, hasn't really been tested as a pro.
Gvozdyk the better boxer, Beterbiev is kinda raw but brutal power. Stevenson probably remains the guy with the best one shot in the game despite his age.
Each of them poses unique problems, but then, like you say, Andre is nothing if not versatile. Beterbiev has that savage inside game and the strength to back it up but I think if Ward keeps it long he can just pick him off and wear him down. I'm thinking Artur's stamina might not be all that either - sure I heard some rumour or something. Bit of a risk if it turns into a dog fight though.
Stevenson will always be dangerous, but take away that big left and he's not got so many options. I think Ward has the ability to do just that by controlling range and circling, then launching pre-emptive attacks whenever Stevenson looks to get off.
Gvozdyk has perhaps the most educated footwork of the 3 and a very good jab of his own - and I'm thinking about the problems Kovalev gave Ward with that jab. Sasha doesn't quite have Kovalevs rangy mobility and natural aggression but is more technically polished. I'm thinking Ward might be able to rough him up on the inside, though, much as he did with Kovalev. The main advantage Gvozdyk has is that he may prove more capable of adding new tricks to his arsenal than Kovalev and so may ultimately have a higher ceiling.
gvozdyk looks like mr average to me, nothing special about him. beterbiev is the much better prospect.
Nobody can beat Ward. Stylistically Kov had the most favorable style to beat him and was the most prepared. Chilemba, Pascal x2, Hopkins, Mohammedi, were all great preparation fights for Ward, all guys with a similar physical profile and speed.
Gvozdyk doesn't have the durability and would probably get stopped. People bringing up his fight with Chilemba but Chilemba had to quit due to a shoulder injury, not because Gvozdyk stopped him.
Gvozdyk is better anyway... I'm not really that sold on Beterbiev. I think he's too stiff and it seems like he kills himself to make the 175 weight. Hits really hard though and is probably a more accurate puncher than Kovalev. But not very busy. I wouldn't say he's the typical EE fighter, most of them use a steady jab, Beterbiev is more focused on landing one punch.
Kovalev should've gotten the decision against Ward in the first fight (though it was close, not a robbery), and he was arguably winning the second fight until he ran out of gas. Ward is vulnerable at 175 and would be even more so at Cruiserweight.
That said, I don't think Beterbiev beats him. Too slow, hasn't really been tested as a pro.
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