Comments Thread For: Bivol's Promoter: Kovalev Has Unfortunately Slowed Down

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

Andrei Ryabinsky, promoter for WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, believes Sergey Kovalev has slowed down at the age of 35. Last weekend in Atlantic City, both Bivol and Kovalev were in action as part of an HBO televised doubleheader. The card was put together to set up a year-end clash between Kovalev and Bivol.
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[Sable&Whitefish]

Not too much to discuss here, I think just about everyone's in agreement.

[Boxing Logic]

Clearly he has, but the question is why? In his prime he actually had very good stamina and punch output. His fight vs Roman Simakov, R.I.P, was a sight to behold, the way that Kovalev was able to keep up the punch output round by round deep into the fight, throwing more punches than most welterweights do.

Then when Kovalev fought Isaac Chilemba, something changed. That was one fight before he fought Ward, but it was the end of the Krusher. He didn't show up for his homecoming fight in Russia, and he's never showed up since then. People have speculated that alcoholism, smoking, and bad training habits are the cause, but Kovalev claims he totally cleaned up his life from all those things since he almost died in Russia and then went to a Greek monastery, and yet his stamina issues have been just as bad as ever since then, maybe worse than ever if you look at the Mikhalkin fight where he gassed badly despite not fighting a heavy puncher.

The one thing I wonder about, the Chilemba fight happened about the same time as WADA banned meldonium. Before that, it was a legal substance for athletes to take, and it was supposed to help with stamina. Sometime around when it was banned, guess which aspect of Kovalev's game has completely eroded all at once? His stamina. So it would be interesting to see what the exact timeline on that was.

Okay I checked. WADA banned meldonium January 1st 2016. Kovalev had the rematch with Jean Pascal 30 days later, where he looked good, but the Chilemba fight was the first fight he had where his entire training camp would have taken place while meldonium was illegal. Not that he would have taken it in December 2015 training for the Pascal fight or anything if they knew it was about to be banned a month later... or would they? It depends how the testing works in that instance I guess. So, the timeline does not work out perfectly or anything, but there is enough there to make you curious, anyway.

And to be clear, if Kovalev did use meldonium at that time, he was doing nothing wrong. It was a legal substance. As long as it's safe, you'd figure any athlete would be smart to use something if it's allowed, if it helps performance, and if it's safe. So I am not condemning Kovalev at all, just trying to get to the bottom of what happened with his career, because it's very clear that Chilemba, Ward, Alvarez, etc did not have to face the same guy that fought Hopkins and Cleverley, and sadly once again, boxing fans were robbed of seeing top opponents like Ward face that guy. We all wanted to see Ward face the Krusher, instead all we got to see was Ward vs the Gasser, although you have to give Kovalev tons of credit, even The Gasser was still talented and powerful enough to beat the overrated Ward in the 1st fight, as well as give Ward so much trouble in the rematch that the possibly corrupt referee felt he had no choice but to intervene and try to hand Ward the victory because he didn't think Ward would pull it off on his own.

[Boxing-1013]

Clearly he has, but the question is why? In his prime he actually had very good stamina and punch output. His fight vs Roman Simakov, R.I.P, was a sight to behold, the way that Kovalev was able to keep up the punch output round by round deep into the fight, throwing more punches than most welterweights do.

Then when Kovalev fought Isaac Chilemba, something changed. That was one fight before he fought Ward, but it was the end of the Krusher. He didn't show up for his homecoming fight in Russia, and he's never showed up since then. People have speculated that alcoholism, smoking, and bad training habits are the cause, but Kovalev claims he totally cleaned up his life from all those things since he almost died in Russia and then went to a Greek monastery, and yet his stamina issues have been just as bad as ever since then, maybe worse than ever if you look at the Mikhalkin fight where he gassed badly despite not fighting a heavy puncher.

The one thing I wonder about, the Chilemba fight happened about the same time as WADA banned meldonium. Before that, it was a legal substance for athletes to take, and it was supposed to help with stamina. Sometime around when it was banned, guess which aspect of Kovalev's game has completely eroded all at once? His stamina. So it would be interesting to see what the exact timeline on that was.

Okay I checked. WADA banned meldonium January 1st 2016. Kovalev had the rematch with Jean Pascal 30 days later, where he looked good, but the Chilemba fight was the first fight he had where his entire training camp would have taken place while meldonium was illegal. Not that he would have taken it in December 2015 training for the Pascal fight or anything if they knew it was about to be banned a month later... or would they? It depends how the testing works in that instance I guess. So, the timeline does not work out perfectly or anything, but there is enough there to make you curious, anyway.

And to be clear, if Kovalev did use meldonium at that time, he was doing nothing wrong. It was a legal substance. As long as it's safe, you'd figure any athlete would be smart to use something if it's allowed, if it helps performance, and if it's safe. So I am not condemning Kovalev at all, just trying to get to the bottom of what happened with his career, because it's very clear that Chilemba, Ward, Alvarez, etc did not have to face the same guy that fought Hopkins and Cleverley, and sadly once again, boxing fans were robbed of seeing top opponents like Ward face that guy. We all wanted to see Ward face the Krusher, instead all we got to see was Ward vs the Gasser, although you have to give Kovalev tons of credit, even The Gasser was still talented and powerful enough to beat the overrated Ward in the 1st fight, as well as give Ward so much trouble in the rematch that the possibly corrupt referee felt he had no choice but to intervene and try to hand Ward the victory because he didn't think Ward would pull it off on his own.

great post, good points

[Vlad_]

Clearly he has, but the question is why? In his prime he actually had very good stamina and punch output. His fight vs Roman Simakov, R.I.P, was a sight to behold, the way that Kovalev was able to keep up the punch output round by round deep into the fight, throwing more punches than most welterweights do.

Then when Kovalev fought Isaac Chilemba, something changed. That was one fight before he fought Ward, but it was the end of the Krusher. He didn't show up for his homecoming fight in Russia, and he's never showed up since then. People have speculated that alcoholism, smoking, and bad training habits are the cause, but Kovalev claims he totally cleaned up his life from all those things since he almost died in Russia and then went to a Greek monastery, and yet his stamina issues have been just as bad as ever since then, maybe worse than ever if you look at the Mikhalkin fight where he gassed badly despite not fighting a heavy puncher.

The one thing I wonder about, the Chilemba fight happened about the same time as WADA banned meldonium. Before that, it was a legal substance for athletes to take, and it was supposed to help with stamina. Sometime around when it was banned, guess which aspect of Kovalev's game has completely eroded all at once? His stamina. So it would be interesting to see what the exact timeline on that was.

Okay I checked. WADA banned meldonium January 1st 2016. Kovalev had the rematch with Jean Pascal 30 days later, where he looked good, but the Chilemba fight was the first fight he had where his entire training camp would have taken place while meldonium was illegal. Not that he would have taken it in December 2015 training for the Pascal fight or anything if they knew it was about to be banned a month later... or would they? It depends how the testing works in that instance I guess. So, the timeline does not work out perfectly or anything, but there is enough there to make you curious, anyway.

And to be clear, if Kovalev did use meldonium at that time, he was doing nothing wrong. It was a legal substance. As long as it's safe, you'd figure any athlete would be smart to use something if it's allowed, if it helps performance, and if it's safe. So I am not condemning Kovalev at all, just trying to get to the bottom of what happened with his career, because it's very clear that Chilemba, Ward, Alvarez, etc did not have to face the same guy that fought Hopkins and Cleverley, and sadly once again, boxing fans were robbed of seeing top opponents like Ward face that guy. We all wanted to see Ward face the Krusher, instead all we got to see was Ward vs the Gasser, although you have to give Kovalev tons of credit, even The Gasser was still talented and powerful enough to beat the overrated Ward in the 1st fight, as well as give Ward so much trouble in the rematch that the possibly corrupt referee felt he had no choice but to intervene and try to hand Ward the victory because he didn't think Ward would pull it off on his own.

Boxing Logic strikes again. Another very detailed post with some excellent points. Thanks for the read.

[Tatabanya]

A mix of loss of hunger and broken psychology lies at the basis of Kovalev's end.

As many poor people who fight hard to emerge, he was nasty during his heyday. Once he got at the top he probably felt invincible. Then the Ward defeats came, and - whatever everybody's idea of those fights - Kovalev was not the same anymore after that.

Chilemba is tough and difficult to shine against (ask Bivol). So I would not consider it the beginning of the end for the Krusher. The first Ward fight is; he felt he had won, and that it was taken from him. That broke something inside; plus, the financial stability, the distractions linked to his first son, the problems with John David Jackson.

The definitive confirmation of Kovalev's deteriorating skills were against Mikhalkin, a second level fighter who managed to put in some good shots. That memory is what was pushing me to bet for an Alvarez knockout win last Saturday, which would have brought me a nice lump. Unfortunately I didn't pull the trigger... and was left fuming for my ******ity.

[steady_p]

A mix of loss of hunger and broken psychology lies at the basis of Kovalev's end.

As many poor people who fight hard to emerge, he was nasty during his heyday. Once he got at the top he probably felt invincible. Then the Ward defeats came, and - whatever everybody's idea of those fights - Kovalev was not the same anymore after that.

Chilemba is tough and difficult to shine against (ask Bivol). So I would not consider it the beginning of the end for the Krusher. The first Ward fight is; he felt he had won, and that it was taken from him. That broke something inside; plus, the financial stability, the distractions linked to his first son, the problems with John David Jackson.

The definitive confirmation of Kovalev's deteriorating skills were against Mikhalkin, a second level fighter who managed to put in some good shots. That memory is what was pushing me to bet for an Alvarez knockout win last Saturday, which would have brought me a nice lump. Unfortunately I didn't pull the trigger... and was left fuming for my ******ity.

Another interesting analysis, even though i lean more to Boxing Logic's. Anyway, don't blame yourself for not having bet. It's always difficult to bet against your favourite fighter or team, even when there are good reasons to do so. Probably u've just listened to your heart...

[_Maxi]

Clearly he has, but the question is why? In his prime he actually had very good stamina and punch output. His fight vs Roman Simakov, R.I.P, was a sight to behold, the way that Kovalev was able to keep up the punch output round by round deep into the fight, throwing more punches than most welterweights do.

Then when Kovalev fought Isaac Chilemba, something changed. That was one fight before he fought Ward, but it was the end of the Krusher. He didn't show up for his homecoming fight in Russia, and he's never showed up since then. People have speculated that alcoholism, smoking, and bad training habits are the cause, but Kovalev claims he totally cleaned up his life from all those things since he almost died in Russia and then went to a Greek monastery, and yet his stamina issues have been just as bad as ever since then, maybe worse than ever if you look at the Mikhalkin fight where he gassed badly despite not fighting a heavy puncher.

The one thing I wonder about, the Chilemba fight happened about the same time as WADA banned meldonium. Before that, it was a legal substance for athletes to take, and it was supposed to help with stamina. Sometime around when it was banned, guess which aspect of Kovalev's game has completely eroded all at once? His stamina. So it would be interesting to see what the exact timeline on that was.

Okay I checked. WADA banned meldonium January 1st 2016. Kovalev had the rematch with Jean Pascal 30 days later, where he looked good, but the Chilemba fight was the first fight he had where his entire training camp would have taken place while meldonium was illegal. Not that he would have taken it in December 2015 training for the Pascal fight or anything if they knew it was about to be banned a month later... or would they? It depends how the testing works in that instance I guess. So, the timeline does not work out perfectly or anything, but there is enough there to make you curious, anyway.

And to be clear, if Kovalev did use meldonium at that time, he was doing nothing wrong. It was a legal substance. As long as it's safe, you'd figure any athlete would be smart to use something if it's allowed, if it helps performance, and if it's safe. So I am not condemning Kovalev at all, just trying to get to the bottom of what happened with his career, because it's very clear that Chilemba, Ward, Alvarez, etc did not have to face the same guy that fought Hopkins and Cleverley, and sadly once again, boxing fans were robbed of seeing top opponents like Ward face that guy. We all wanted to see Ward face the Krusher, instead all we got to see was Ward vs the Gasser, although you have to give Kovalev tons of credit, even The Gasser was still talented and powerful enough to beat the overrated Ward in the 1st fight, as well as give Ward so much trouble in the rematch that the possibly corrupt referee felt he had no choice but to intervene and try to hand Ward the victory because he didn't think Ward would pull it off on his own.

Bivol also looked awful against Chilemba.

[katlholo]

Kovalev's demise

Kovalev's problem psychological. He refused to accept Ward defeats and so couldn't process and make adjustments. Also seems to have no respect for fighters of colour, including former trainer, and in a sport that knows no colour, it's a fatal flaw. He's finished.

[Tatabanya]

Another interesting analysis, even though i lean more to Boxing Logic's. Anyway, don't blame yourself for not having bet. It's always difficult to bet against your favourite fighter or team, even when there are good reasons to do so. Probably u've just listened to your heart...

No, there must be no heart or "favorites" when one has to bet. I stayed there for an hour, analyzing all the facts and having a clear idea of how Krusher was on the way down. Most probably the deciding factor for not betting was Alvarez's (presumed) lack of punch. But I should have known better after his KO win over Lucian Bute, and even more so after having seen Kovalev's diminishing reflexes and punch resistance from Ward on.