Ward v Kovalev - Who Would Win The Rematch?

[Horse]

I reckon they will rematch, it's probably the biggest fight out there for Ward right now, and he isn't afraid of Kovalev, despite a terrible start, he still won the fight.

Not according to most people.

[crusader]

Kov had plenty of success too James, which is why Ward rightfully had to come back from such a big deficit. You make it seem like Kov was pretty much shut down throughout when he wasn't, and even in the second half Ward arguably lost multiple rounds and wasn't exactly landing much of his own; to me it's another case of people exaggerating how effective the lauded technical boxer was (he even ties his shoes brilliantly!), and understating what the puncher did apart from displays of power. I assume that you've actually watched the full fight now, unlike before when you were giving your thoughts without having seen it.

By the way, there were probably just as many people claiming that Ward would comfortably handle Kov (and even stop him! saw a fair share of that odd suggestion) as there were people claiming that he'd never fight him. I'd like to see the fight again, this time with judges who don't unanimously give Ward rounds like the 10th.

[PredatorHayds]

I thought Ward edged the first fight and he will win by a slightly bigger margin than the first one.

He's such a intelligent fighter that he will find his timing and distance quicker than the first fight.
Kovalev is a great fighter and his power means he should never be discounted but Wards intelligence in the ring is second to none.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I reckon they will rematch, it's probably the biggest fight out there for Ward right now, and he isn't afraid of Kovalev, despite a terrible start, he still won the fight.

Not according to most people.

Since when did you care about what 'most people' thought.

It seems plenty also thought Ward won.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Kov had plenty of success too James, which is why Ward rightfully had to come back from such a big deficit. You make it seem like Kov was pretty much shut down throughout when he wasn't, and even in the second half Ward arguably lost multiple rounds and wasn't exactly landing much of his own; to me it's another case of people exaggerating how effective the lauded technical boxer was (he even ties his shoes brilliantly!), and understating what the puncher did apart from displays of power. I assume that you've actually watched the full fight now, unlike before when you were giving your thoughts without having seen it.

By the way, there were probably just as many people claiming that Ward would comfortably handle Kov (and even stop him! saw a fair share of that odd suggestion) as there were people claiming that he'd never fight him. I'd like to see the fight again, this time with judges who don't unanimously give Ward rounds like the 10th.

I'm ambivalent, I've not watched the fight, I watched the first couple of rounds, but because I know how dull the fight is, and the result, it's a hard watch. I'll try and watch it in full tonight, but it's a pretty dire hour of my life gone forever.

I'm just saying I don't think Ward is scared. It sounds like there were a lot of close rounds there, some which people felt shouldn't have gone Ward's way, but it doesn't sound like a fight anybody dominated, which was entirely expected, well by me anyway, Ward is too tricky for anybody to dominate him.

I'm not a fan of Ward, he is awful to watch, I appreciate his talent, but it's not a pleasure watching him.

[Horse]

Since when did you care about what 'most people' thought.

It seems plenty also thought Ward won.

I care more about what the people think than the judges.

It seems that far more think that Kovalev won.

[Horse]

I'm ambivalent, I've not watched the fight, I watched the first couple of rounds, but because I know how dull the fight is, and the result, it's a hard watch. I'll try and watch it in full tonight, but it's a pretty dire hour of my life gone forever.

I'm just saying I don't think Ward is scared. It sounds like there were a lot of close rounds there, some which people felt shouldn't have gone Ward's way, but it doesn't sound like a fight anybody dominated, which was entirely expected, well by me anyway, Ward is too tricky for anybody to dominate him.

I'm not a fan of Ward, he is awful to watch, I appreciate his talent, but it's not a pleasure watching him.

You don't know how dull the fight is, because you haven't watched it.

Why are you commenting on a fight that you haven't watched?

Bizarre behaviour.

[magwitch]

I'm ambivalent, I've not watched the fight, I watched the first couple of rounds, but because I know how dull the fight is, and the result, it's a hard watch. I'll try and watch it in full tonight, but it's a pretty dire hour of my life gone forever.

I'm just saying I don't think Ward is scared. It sounds like there were a lot of close rounds there, some which people felt shouldn't have gone Ward's way, but it doesn't sound like a fight anybody dominated, which was entirely expected, well by me anyway, Ward is too tricky for anybody to dominate him.

I'm not a fan of Ward, he is awful to watch, I appreciate his talent, but it's not a pleasure watching him.

You don't know how dull the fight is, because you haven't watched it.

Why are you commenting on a fight that you haven't watched?

Bizarre behaviour.

Norman Stanley McDonnell, you are charged with commenting on a fight on Boxrec without having watched it . How do you plead?

Come on Horse, hardly a crime is it? I do it all the time

[jamesmcdonnell]

I'm ambivalent, I've not watched the fight, I watched the first couple of rounds, but because I know how dull the fight is, and the result, it's a hard watch. I'll try and watch it in full tonight, but it's a pretty dire hour of my life gone forever.

I'm just saying I don't think Ward is scared. It sounds like there were a lot of close rounds there, some which people felt shouldn't have gone Ward's way, but it doesn't sound like a fight anybody dominated, which was entirely expected, well by me anyway, Ward is too tricky for anybody to dominate him.

I'm not a fan of Ward, he is awful to watch, I appreciate his talent, but it's not a pleasure watching him.

You don't know how dull the fight is, because you haven't watched it.

Why are you commenting on a fight that you haven't watched?

Bizarre behaviour.

I've watched Ward fight before - I can extrapolate.
I've listened to various comments from many different people, the general consensus is it was a pretty dull affair. I take on others opinions and make interpretations. Strangely, you don't seem to think other people's opinions have any merit, unless of course they chime with your own.

My comments are not based on having watched the fight, nowhere did I say there were, as I said at the time, sky's stupid fight pass didn't work so I couldn't watch.

I'm making some general comments, If I can bring myself to watch the fight, I'll make some specific ones.

[Horse]

I've watched Ward fight before - I can extrapolate.
I've listened to various comments from many different people, the general consensus is it was a pretty dull affair. I take on others opinions and make interpretations. Strangely, you don't seem to think other people's opinions have any merit, unless of course they chime with your own.

My comments are not based on having watched the fight, nowhere did I say there were, as I said at the time, sky's stupid fight pass didn't work so I couldn't watch.

I'm making some general comments, If I can bring myself to watch the fight, I'll make some specific ones.

Just watch the fight!

Why comment on it if you haven't watched it?

Why is it so important that you have a say in this thread when you don't know what you are talking about?

You are making a fool of yourself.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I've watched Ward fight before - I can extrapolate.
I've listened to various comments from many different people, the general consensus is it was a pretty dull affair. I take on others opinions and make interpretations. Strangely, you don't seem to think other people's opinions have any merit, unless of course they chime with your own.

My comments are not based on having watched the fight, nowhere did I say there were, as I said at the time, sky's stupid fight pass didn't work so I couldn't watch.

I'm making some general comments, If I can bring myself to watch the fight, I'll make some specific ones.

Just watch the fight!

Why comment on it if you haven't watched it?

Why is it so important that you have a say in this thread when you don't know what you are talking about?

You are making a fool of yourself.

Horse, this may surprise you, I don't require your approval to comment on anything, get back to your lists. Your opinion of me has no relevance.

[Horse]

Horse, this may surprise you, I don't require your approval to comment on anything, get back to your lists. Your opinion of me has no relevance.

You've made a complete monkey of yourself in this thread, as you have in others recently.

Your post quality seems to be at an all time low. Sort yourself out.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Horse, this may surprise you, I don't require your approval to comment on anything, get back to your lists. Your opinion of me has no relevance.

You've made a complete monkey of yourself in this thread, as you have in others recently.

Your post quality seems to be at an all time low. Sort yourself out.

In the words of the bard "Go fcuk yourself"

[Syntax Error]

Unless one of them deteriorates, it would be another close fight.

They're both top fighters & both still in their primes.

Although Kov is well skilled, I don't think he can beat Ward unless he TKOs/KOs him, or decks him multiple times & I can't see than happening.

Ward by close UD or SD.

[ALI]

Sounds like a very convenient excuse for Kovalev not being able to dominate ward to me. How about he struggled to land much on Ward and impose his style?

Does not sound like an excuse to me, rather a sound evaluation of what most likely went on in the fight. I'm also of the opinion Kovalev thought he was out in front and did not press the action as much as he could have because of this mind set. In a rematch he will go for broke, my money will be on a stoppage win, probably get decent odds i think.

Something tells me Ward wont get back in the ring with him though.

I wonder if you were one of many, who were claiming Ward would never face him in the first place, there were lots of those, who swore blind Ward would back out, as he was terrified of Kovalev.

No, you are well off track, i felt confident Ward would fight him long before the fight was even announced. I also bet on Ward to win, and feel extremly lucky to have won my bet.

I personally feel Ward will have his doubts about the rematch, but he would likely take the fight as he has that steely resolve about him, i feel its his team that might try to steer him in a different direction, simply because i think he loses the rematch and if i was his manager i'd be thinking he already has a win over Kovalev, history will always show that, move on.

Could be wrong, will be interesting to see. There is a rematch clause so maybe from a legal staand point there is no reasonable way out of the rematch?

[jamesmcdonnell]

Does not sound like an excuse to me, rather a sound evaluation of what most likely went on in the fight. I'm also of the opinion Kovalev thought he was out in front and did not press the action as much as he could have because of this mind set. In a rematch he will go for broke, my money will be on a stoppage win, probably get decent odds i think.

Something tells me Ward wont get back in the ring with him though.

I wonder if you were one of many, who were claiming Ward would never face him in the first place, there were lots of those, who swore blind Ward would back out, as he was terrified of Kovalev.

No, you are well off track, i felt confident Ward would fight him long before the fight was even announced. I also bet on Ward to win, and feel extremly lucky to have won my bet.

I personally feel Ward will have his doubts about the rematch, but he would likely take the fight as he has that steely resolve about him, i feel its his team that might try to steer him in a different direction, simply because i think he loses the rematch and if i was his manager i'd be thinking he already has a win over Kovalev, history will always show that, move on.

Could be wrong, will be interesting to see. There is a rematch clause so maybe from a legal staand point there is no reasonable way out of the rematch?

Well, sorry for assumption.

Sadly, as we well know, there's ALWAYS a way out, he can pay step aside, drop the belt, any number of ways.

I'd hope Ward wouldn't do so though. It's a good money fight for Ward, does he have that many big fights out there for him, what's going on with Stevenson et. al these days?

[Boxerbeetle]

I wonder if you were one of many, who were claiming Ward would never face him in the first place, there were lots of those, who swore blind Ward would back out, as he was terrified of Kovalev.

No, you are well off track, i felt confident Ward would fight him long before the fight was even announced. I also bet on Ward to win, and feel extremly lucky to have won my bet.

I personally feel Ward will have his doubts about the rematch, but he would likely take the fight as he has that steely resolve about him, i feel its his team that might try to steer him in a different direction, simply because i think he loses the rematch and if i was his manager i'd be thinking he already has a win over Kovalev, history will always show that, move on.

Could be wrong, will be interesting to see. There is a rematch clause so maybe from a legal staand point there is no reasonable way out of the rematch?

Well, sorry for assumption.

Sadly, as we well know, there's ALWAYS a way out, he can pay step aside, drop the belt, any number of ways.

I'd hope Ward wouldn't do so though. It's a good money fight for Ward, does he have that many big fights out there for him, what's going on with Stevenson et. al these days?

Apparently Ward is out of his HBO contract now - the Kovalev fight was the last obligation - so he could potentially move to Showtime which would make a rematch extremely difficult as Kovalev is signed exclusively to HBO.

[Counter-puncher]

Norman Stanley McDonnell, you are charged with commenting on a fight on Boxrec without having watched it . How do you plead?

Come on Horse, hardly a crime is it? I do it all the time

[Bard of Boxrec]

for once I agree with horse, jimmy's commenting on ward's performance through 'extrapolation' is a bizarre one.

What about the rematch clause? does anyone know if this can be enforced?

[jamesmcdonnell]

for once I agree with horse, jimmy's commenting on ward's performance through 'extrapolation' is a bizarre one.

What about the rematch clause? does anyone know if this can be enforced?

But I didn't comment directly on his performance, I've not seen it, I was more commenting on people's attitudes to his victories.

I'm going to force myself to watch it this weekend, It's more than a man can do, I can't bear the thought of sitting down at 8.30 on a school night to watch it, it seems a cruel and bizzare punishment.

[Boxerbeetle]

for once I agree with horse, jimmy's commenting on ward's performance through 'extrapolation' is a bizarre one.

What about the rematch clause? does anyone know if this can be enforced?

But I didn't comment directly on his performance, I've not seen it, I was more commenting on people's attitudes to his victories.

I'm going to force myself to watch it this weekend, It's more than a man can do, I can't bear the thought of sitting down at 8.30 on a school night to watch it, it seems a cruel and bizzare punishment.

Man up ffs, the fight wasn't that bad I actually enjoyed it at the time, although admittedly that was more down to intrigue than actual entertainment.

[keithmoonhangover]

When I score a round, I score on punches landed and defence, making the other guy miss and blocking punches.

How many rounds do you think Ward was more accurate in? Eleven. In every round except for the second, Ward landed a higher percentage of punches and Kovalev landed a lower percentage. For eleven rounds Ward blocked and made Kovalev miss more than the other way round.

On the night I had Ward by a point or two. I've watched the fight twice since then and scored it both times for Ward by one point. The record books agree with me.

[jamesmcdonnell]

for once I agree with horse, jimmy's commenting on ward's performance through 'extrapolation' is a bizarre one.

What about the rematch clause? does anyone know if this can be enforced?

But I didn't comment directly on his performance, I've not seen it, I was more commenting on people's attitudes to his victories.

I'm going to force myself to watch it this weekend, It's more than a man can do, I can't bear the thought of sitting down at 8.30 on a school night to watch it, it seems a cruel and bizzare punishment.

Man up ffs, the fight wasn't that bad I actually enjoyed it at the time, although admittedly that was more down to intrigue than actual entertainment.

Hahaha, I know, the thing is, when I was sat there trying to get the fight pass to work, I had the intrigue of who was going to win, take that away, and you're left with a fight where you know Ward wins with a jab and grab style for 10 rounds, after a shaky 2 rounds at the beginning, and Kovalev lands a few, but not enough to convince the judges, it's not a mouthwatering prospect. In fact I already saw the most dramatic round already.

[crusader]

Going by accuracy is a hugely flawed method.

It totally ignores that throwing punches, even if largely missing, often puts an opponent on the defensive and hence serves as a way to prevent them from landing their own shots. The best defense is a good offense proverb is important to keep in mind.

[jamesmcdonnell]

When I score a round, I score on punches landed and defence, making the other guy miss and blocking punches.

How many rounds do you think Ward was more accurate in? Eleven. In every round except for the second, Ward landed a higher percentage of punches and Kovalev landed a lower percentage. For eleven rounds Ward blocked and made Kovalev miss more than the other way round.

On the night I had Ward by a point or two. I've watched the fight twice since then and scored it both times for Ward by one point. The record books agree with me.

I think it's time to dig out the criteria again, I have to say, I am not even sure they are all listed in the same order by each commission. Actual shots landed must be by far the biggest criteria surely though, as well as quality and force of those shots.