Who has re-watched Ward-Kovalev?

[jezzamundo]

I just did, both times were with HBO commentary. I've included my first impressions, direct from the RbR thread with no editing, in normal text. CompuBox numbers, official judges scorecards and my own opinion upon second viewing are in italics.

ROUND 1
Kovalev 10 - 9 Ward
Not a lot happened, but Ward looked hurt by a jab at one point.

CompuBox:
Ward 5 of 20
Kovalev 7 of 34
All three judges scored this round for Kovalev.
This is a clear Kovalev round. Not a lot happens, Ward lands a few body jabs, Kovalev lands the better punches, including knocking Ward off-balance with a stiff jab. Kellerman is very pro-Ward with his commentary. Kovalev 10-9

ROUND 2
Ward outboxing Kovalev in the first minute of round 2, Kovalev lands a nice right and wins the second minute, Kovalev has Ward down and hurt in the final minute.
Kovalev 20 - 17 Ward

CompuBox:
Ward 3 of 16
Kovalev 16 of 49
All three judges scored this round 10-8 for Kovalev.
Not much more to say here. Kellerman still singing Ward's praises up until the KD. Even without the KD, it's a clear, almost dominant round for Kovalev. Kovalev 20-17

ROUND 3
Very close and dirty 3rd round, lots of wrestling, thought Kovalev won the first minute, Ward the second, Ward landed a left hook, best punch of the round, nicks it for him.
Kovalev 29 - 27 Ward
CompuBox:
Ward 5 of 22
Kovalev 4 of 27
McKale - Kovalev
Clements - Kovalev
Trowbridge - Ward
This is a damn close round that could go either way, or be scored even, although Ward lands by far the best punch of the round. This time the commentators are singing Kovalev's praises, still high from the knockdown, although very little actually happens in this round. Ward 27-29

ROUND 4
The 4th is another close round, a bit less wrestling, thought Ward was edging it, but then Kovalev won the last minute with his jab and nicked it for me.
Kovalev 39 - 36 Ward
CompuBox:
Ward 7 of 25
Kovalev 9 of 37
All three judges scored this round for Kovalev.
Close but clear round to Kovalev who controls it with his jab, though nothing meaningful is landed by either. Kellerman mentions Ward could have won the 4th. Kovalev 39-36

ROUND 5
Ward seems to move Kovalev with his punches for the first time in the 5th - another close round, but I think Ward edged it with better effectiveness.
Kovalev 48 - 46 Ward
CompuBox:
Ward 8 of 24
Kovalev 7 of 33
McKale - Ward
Clements - Ward
Trowbridge - Kovalev
Another very close round, in fact, upon re-watching, I think it's best scored even. Kovalev leads 49-46.

ROUND 6
The last four rounds could fairly have been scored for either fighter. Ward is winning exchanges on the inside and is roughing Kovalev up. Kovalev lands three good right hands in the middle of the round. I think those right hands nick it for Kovalev.
Kovalev 58 - 55 Ward
CompuBox:
Ward 8 of 25
Kovalev 9 of 36
McKale - Kovalev
Clements - Ward
Trowbridge - Kovalev
Ward does some good work to the body this round, while Kovalev lands a few clean shots from the outside. Another close one, but Kovalev's greater activity and aggression win him the round for me. Kovalev 59-55

ROUND 7
Ward clearly wins the 7th - roughing Kovalev up on the inside and outboxing him on the outside. Kovalev lands a good jab in the last minute, but otherwise it's all Ward.
Kovalev 67 - 65 Ward
CompuBox:
Ward 11 of 32
Kovalev 7 of 29
All three judges scored this round for Ward.
At the end of this round, Kovalev has landed 51 punches to the head and 8 to the body for a total of 59. Ward has landed 24 to the head and 23 to the body for a total of 47.
Ward doing more good body work while Kovalev tries to tie him up on the inside. Kovalev lands a few punches in the final seconds, but it's still a clear round to Ward. Lederman's comments reflect his scorecard - he's got a big preference for the aggressor. Ward 65-68

ROUND 8
Ward is landing good body punches and outboxing Kovalev now, he wins the 8th, I now have it 4-4 with the knockdown the only difference.
Kovalev 76 - 75 Ward
CompuBox:
Ward 10 of 38
Kovalev 11 of 42
All three judges scored this round for Ward.
This round was closer than I first saw it, but it's still a fairly clear round to Ward, whose body punches are the most meaningful punches landed, while Kovalev had some success with his jab. Kovalev still has a small edge when they're on the outside, but Ward is far superior on the inside. Ward 75-77

ROUND 9
Great 9th round, close but Ward is the sharper and more accurate, another Ward round for me, I now have it even.
Kovalev 85 - 85 Ward
CompuBox:
Ward 17 of 38
Kovalev 11 of 46
All three judges scored this round for Ward.
Yet another very close round, but again Ward's body work wins it for me. Ward 85-86

ROUND 10
10th is another good, close, round, but Kovalev wins it for me with aggression and activity.
Kovalev 95 - 94 Ward
CompuBox:
Ward 16 of 35
Kovalev 21 of 58
Somehow, all three judges scored this round for Ward.
Mostly a competitive round, but Kovalev threw, landed more and landed the better punches. A clear Kovalev round, though it's noticeable that the crowd makes a lot of noise whenever Andre has a moment, which may have swayed the judges. Kovalev 96-94

ROUND 11
11th is another good round, both fighters landing clean punches, Kovalev's power isn't what it was early in the fight, Ward wins the last 30 seconds and the round, wrestles Kovalev to the ground. Whoever wins the last round wins the fight on my scorecard.
Kovalev 104 - Ward 104
CompuBox:
Ward 13 of 26
Kovalev 12 of 40
All three judges scored this round for Ward.
Another close round, but Ward lands the cleaner punches, particularly in the final 30 seconds and Sergei is missing a lot of his punches. This was a closer round than on first viewing. Ward 104-105

ROUND 12
Ward wins the final round and the fight on my scorecard. 7-5 Ward with 1 knockdown.
Ward 114 - 113 Kovalev
I would not argue with anyone scoring the fight for Kovalev.
CompuBox:
Ward 12 of 42
Kovalev 13 of 47
McKale - Ward
Clements - Kovalev
Trowbridge - Ward
Ward won the first minute, Kovalev the second, the third has nothing in it. Ward lands the last meaningful punch, but I think this is an even round. My final scorecard on this viewing is 115-114 Kovalev.

After watching this fight a second time, again with HBO commentary (I get bored watching it without sound and I couldn't find any different commentary), I came away with the following conclusions:

1) It's such a close fight with so many swing rounds that I may score it differently again upon a third watching.
2) While it was for the most a high quality fight, it wasn't nearly as exciting as on the first viewing. A third viewing would no doubt be less interesting again, so I'm done!
3) While I agree Kovalev was unlucky to lose, particularly due to the scoring of the 10th round, I still don't buy into any of the conspiracy theories or any of the cries of robbery. It seems the judges were swayed by the very vocal crowd in the 10th, which is disappointing. If the judges were looking for a way to give Ward the fight, there's no way McKale or Clements would have scored the 3rd for Kovalev and there's no way Trowbridge would have scored the 5th for Kovalev.
4) I didn't notice how pro-Ward Max Kellerman was the first time, but I did the second and it bugged me, although sometimes he was merely expressing that certain rounds Lederman gave to Kovalev could have gone the other way - which is true.

[Keko]

12 round for me Ward I and everyone else agrees. 4th round could really draw and really is a close round.
Uncertain and difficult fight for scoring.

[jezzamundo]

12 round for me Ward I and everyone else agrees. 4th round could really draw and really is a close round.
Uncertain and difficult fight for scoring.

I had Ward winning the 12th the first time, but I can see why some had it for Krusher. The 4th was close, but I think is better scored for Kovalev.

[Keko]

12 round for me Ward I and everyone else agrees. 4th round could really draw and really is a close round.
Uncertain and difficult fight for scoring.

I had Ward winning the 12th the first time, but I can see why some had it for Krusher. The 4th was close, but I think is better scored for Kovalev.

There are plenty of such rounds.

[jezzamundo]

12 round for me Ward I and everyone else agrees. 4th round could really draw and really is a close round.
Uncertain and difficult fight for scoring.

I had Ward winning the 12th the first time, but I can see why some had it for Krusher. The 4th was close, but I think is better scored for Kovalev.

There are plenty of such rounds.

Yes, no question, which make the cries of robbery all the more ridiculous.

[Tanzio]

115-112 Ward second time through.

Krusher did the majority of the holding and grappling, for good reason; Ward was getting to his chest and Krusher can't deal inside.

The effect of Krusher's jab was amplified by the commentary, especially in round 1. While it bothered Ward, and it is one of the best and hardest jabs in boxing, he did not land that many. Meanwhile, Ward's jab was largely ignored by the commentary, while it was landed more cumulatively than Krusher's and was bothering the Russian as the fight wore on.

If anyone fought in straight lines it was Krusher. He followed Ward around the ring catching largely nothing but air and failing to do decent body work for the vast majority of the fight. If he had cut the ring off effectively (which others have pointed out) and landed to the body more, he would have controlled the fight. However, Ward controlled distance and where the battle was fought for at least 9 of the 12 rounds. Ward's body work was vastly superior to Krusher's, including the incessant body jabs which Ward has been given little to no credit for.

It was a close fight, that could have gone either way, but I found it less close on second viewing with the superior boxer getting a well earned close decision. That is not to say that Krusher is not a great boxer. He just got dragged out of his comfort zone and he did not have the tools to close the show on another truly great boxer.

Maybe Krusher will finish the job next time. I will give him full props if he does, but thanks to his squealing pig fanbuoys, I will be rooting for Ward to grind him down like a beet for borscht.

[Keko]

I had Ward winning the 12th the first time, but I can see why some had it for Krusher. The 4th was close, but I think is better scored for Kovalev.

There are plenty of such rounds.

Yes, no question, which make the cries of robbery all the more ridiculous.

I agre 100%

[Ricky_]

If yo scored round 5 a 10-10 round, then how do you end up with that score? You get a 115-115 draw, no?

Anyway, good anaylsis jezza. The 1 think you failed to mention though was Kovalev holding the centre of the ring. If Ward turned the tide and started stepping forward to put it on Kovalev, he would have had all sorts of praise from pundits and fans for taking the centre of the ring and coming forward.

So why doesn't Kovalev get any credit for constantly being the fighter on the front foot? It's the same situation with many of Floyd's fight imo, if you are going to give up the centre of the ring and move backwards or circle, it should be counted against you.... If you take advantage of back foot boxing, by controlling range and landing counters then sure, that's a win, but when you give up the front foot and are eating the same (or more) shots than you are landing, you can't claim the round imo. Kovalev took the fight to Ward for 12 rounds and wasn't clowned, or outjabbed or outlanded apart from a couple of the mid rounds. In the close rounds punch wise, the aggressor really has to take them.

Anyway, having rewatched each round, I gave Ward 7,8,9 & 11, which makes for a pretty lopsided loss with the KD. I think there's a reasonable cry of robbery that the judges gave Ward 10 & 12 knowing that Kov winning 1 more round from 6 onwards and it was curtains for Ward. Giving nothing to Kovalev from 7-12 stinks imo.

[NateJR]

I rewatched it this morning. If I remember right my scorecard looked like this

1- Kovalev 10-9
2- Kovalev 10-8 - 20-17 Kovalev
3- Ward 10-9 - 29-27 Kovalev
4- Kovalev 10-9 - 39-36 Kovalev
5- Ward 10-9 - 48-46 Kovalev
6- Ward 10-9 - 57-56 Kovalev
7- Ward 10-9 - 66-66 Even
8- Kovalev 10-9 - 76-75 Kovalev
9- Ward 10-9 - 85-85 Even
10- Kovalev 10-9 - 95-94 Kovalev
11- Ward 10-9 - 104-104 Even
12- Ward 10-9 - 114-113 Ward

Not even close to a robbery, people are just a bunch of sour fornicating cry baby's.

[Supremo]

I watched it i British commentary and on American commentary. Americans place FAR too much importance and respect to compubox stats. Every round it was giving the stats- who cares? It's just a human being sitting making judgements in real time with their own eyes- you so that yourself whilst watching a fight anyway.

[BAD INTENTIONS]

115-112 Ward second time through.

Krusher did the majority of the holding and grappling, for good reason; Ward was getting to his chest and Krusher can't deal inside.

Funny how all these guys watched Floyd hold and complained.
Kovalev holds and they are actually making excuses for it.

I've concluded most people stopped scoring after the 2nd round,
or gave Ward less credit for his work because they thought his punches were less valuable.
Many people who scored for Kovavlev think his punches were worth more, because he is more powerful.
Not a scoring criteria, completely imaginary, and prone to errors.
But somehow, it's a scoring method that has a lot of followers. Violence lovers.

But whatever, I got to enjoy a great fight. Too bad other people only saw a bad decision.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

115-112 Ward second time through.

Krusher did the majority of the holding and grappling, for good reason; Ward was getting to his chest and Krusher can't deal inside.

Funny how all these guys watched Floyd hold and complained.
Kovalev holds and they are actually making excuses for it.

I've concluded most people stopped scoring after the 2nd round,
or gave Ward less credit for his work because they thought his punches were less valuable.
Many people who scored for Kovavlev think his punches were worth more, because he is more powerful.
Not a scoring criteria, completely imaginary, and prone to errors.
But somehow, it's a scoring method that has a lot of followers. Violence lovers.

But whatever, I got to enjoy a great fight. Too bad other people only saw a bad decision.

If the exact opposite fight happened you would be going on and on about ward schooling him.

[BAD INTENTIONS]

115-112 Ward second time through.

Krusher did the majority of the holding and grappling, for good reason; Ward was getting to his chest and Krusher can't deal inside.

Funny how all these guys watched Floyd hold and complained.
Kovalev holds and they are actually making excuses for it.

I've concluded most people stopped scoring after the 2nd round,
or gave Ward less credit for his work because they thought his punches were less valuable.
Many people who scored for Kovavlev think his punches were worth more, because he is more powerful.
Not a scoring criteria, completely imaginary, and prone to errors.
But somehow, it's a scoring method that has a lot of followers. Violence lovers.

But whatever, I got to enjoy a great fight. Too bad other people only saw a bad decision.

If the exact opposite fight happened you would be going on and on about ward schooling him.

No, I would have said that Ward started strong. Had ONE big round. Then lost down the stretch.
I like fighters none of you like. I accept that.
So I must accept, or at least acknowledge, the dominant reality.

I accept that Walters might get screwed on Saturday.
I also accept that Lomachenko might be better.

You guys need to accept that your scoring based on perceived damage is bias.

[BAD INTENTIONS]

And the "bruises on their face" people are the dumbest of them all ...

Possibly means no white fighting beats any dark skinned black fighter ...

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Funny how all these guys watched Floyd hold and complained.
Kovalev holds and they are actually making excuses for it.

I've concluded most people stopped scoring after the 2nd round,
or gave Ward less credit for his work because they thought his punches were less valuable.
Many people who scored for Kovavlev think his punches were worth more, because he is more powerful.
Not a scoring criteria, completely imaginary, and prone to errors.
But somehow, it's a scoring method that has a lot of followers. Violence lovers.

But whatever, I got to enjoy a great fight. Too bad other people only saw a bad decision.

If the exact opposite fight happened you would be going on and on about ward schooling him.

No, I would have said that Ward started strong. Had ONE big round. Then lost down the stretch.
I like fighters none of you like. I accept that.
So I must accept, or at least acknowledge, the dominant reality.

I accept that Walters might get screwed on Saturday.
I also accept that Lomachenko might be better.

You guys need to accept that your scoring based on perceived damage is bias.

[gilgamesh]

Funny how all these guys watched Floyd hold and complained.
Kovalev holds and they are actually making excuses for it.

I've concluded most people stopped scoring after the 2nd round,
or gave Ward less credit for his work because they thought his punches were less valuable.
Many people who scored for Kovavlev think his punches were worth more, because he is more powerful.
Not a scoring criteria, completely imaginary, and prone to errors.
But somehow, it's a scoring method that has a lot of followers. Violence lovers.

But whatever, I got to enjoy a great fight. Too bad other people only saw a bad decision.

If the exact opposite fight happened you would be going on and on about ward schooling him.

No, I would have said that Ward started strong. Had ONE big round. Then lost down the stretch.
I like fighters none of you like. I accept that.
So I must accept, or at least acknowledge, the dominant reality.

I accept that Walters might get screwed on Saturday.
I also accept that Lomachenko might be better.

You guys need to accept that your scoring based on perceived damage is bias.

and what was your scoring based on? Perceived control that wasn't actually there?

[Freedom2013]

You guys need to accept that your scoring based on perceived damage is bias.

[davie]

If yo scored round 5 a 10-10 round, then how do you end up with that score? You get a 115-115 draw, no?

He scored the last round 10-10 as well.

[Kalan]

I just did, both times were with HBO commentary. I've included my first impressions, direct from the RbR thread with no editing, in normal text. CompuBox numbers, official judges scorecards and my own opinion upon second viewing are in italics.

ROUND 1
Kovalev 10 - 9 Ward
Not a lot happened, but Ward looked hurt by a jab at one point.

CompuBox:
Ward 5 of 20
Kovalev 7 of 34
All three judges scored this round for Kovalev.
This is a clear Kovalev round. Not a lot happens, Ward lands a few body jabs, Kovalev lands the better punches, including knocking Ward off-balance with a stiff jab. Kellerman is very pro-Ward with his commentary. Kovalev 10-9

ROUND 2
Ward outboxing Kovalev in the first minute of round 2, Kovalev lands a nice right and wins the second minute, Kovalev has Ward down and hurt in the final minute.
Kovalev 20 - 17 Ward

CompuBox:
Ward 3 of 16
Kovalev 16 of 49
All three judges scored this round 10-8 for Kovalev.
Not much more to say here. Kellerman still singing Ward's praises up until the KD. Even without the KD, it's a clear, almost dominant round for Kovalev. Kovalev 20-17

ROUND 3
Very close and dirty 3rd round, lots of wrestling, thought Kovalev won the first minute, Ward the second, Ward landed a left hook, best punch of the round, nicks it for him.
Kovalev 29 - 27 Ward
CompuBox:
Ward 5 of 22
Kovalev 4 of 27
McKale - Kovalev
Clements - Kovalev
Trowbridge - Ward
This is a damn close round that could go either way, or be scored even, although Ward lands by far the best punch of the round. This time the commentators are singing Kovalev's praises, still high from the knockdown, although very little actually happens in this round. Ward 27-29

ROUND 4
The 4th is another close round, a bit less wrestling, thought Ward was edging it, but then Kovalev won the last minute with his jab and nicked it for me.
Kovalev 39 - 36 Ward
CompuBox:
Ward 7 of 25
Kovalev 9 of 37
All three judges scored this round for Kovalev.
Close but clear round to Kovalev who controls it with his jab, though nothing meaningful is landed by either. Kellerman mentions Ward could have won the 4th. Kovalev 39-36

ROUND 5
Ward seems to move Kovalev with his punches for the first time in the 5th - another close round, but I think Ward edged it with better effectiveness.
Kovalev 48 - 46 Ward
CompuBox:
Ward 8 of 24
Kovalev 7 of 33
McKale - Ward
Clements - Ward
Trowbridge - Kovalev
Another very close round, in fact, upon re-watching, I think it's best scored even. Kovalev leads 49-46.

ROUND 6
The last four rounds could fairly have been scored for either fighter. Ward is winning exchanges on the inside and is roughing Kovalev up. Kovalev lands three good right hands in the middle of the round. I think those right hands nick it for Kovalev.
Kovalev 58 - 55 Ward
CompuBox:
Ward 8 of 25
Kovalev 9 of 36
McKale - Kovalev
Clements - Ward
Trowbridge - Kovalev
Ward does some good work to the body this round, while Kovalev lands a few clean shots from the outside. Another close one, but Kovalev's greater activity and aggression win him the round for me. Kovalev 59-55

ROUND 7
Ward clearly wins the 7th - roughing Kovalev up on the inside and outboxing him on the outside. Kovalev lands a good jab in the last minute, but otherwise it's all Ward.
Kovalev 67 - 65 Ward
CompuBox:
Ward 11 of 32
Kovalev 7 of 29
All three judges scored this round for Ward.
At the end of this round, Kovalev has landed 51 punches to the head and 8 to the body for a total of 59. Ward has landed 24 to the head and 23 to the body for a total of 47.
Ward doing more good body work while Kovalev tries to tie him up on the inside. Kovalev lands a few punches in the final seconds, but it's still a clear round to Ward. Lederman's comments reflect his scorecard - he's got a big preference for the aggressor. Ward 65-68

ROUND 8
Ward is landing good body punches and outboxing Kovalev now, he wins the 8th, I now have it 4-4 with the knockdown the only difference.
Kovalev 76 - 75 Ward
CompuBox:
Ward 10 of 38
Kovalev 11 of 42
All three judges scored this round for Ward.
This round was closer than I first saw it, but it's still a fairly clear round to Ward, whose body punches are the most meaningful punches landed, while Kovalev had some success with his jab. Kovalev still has a small edge when they're on the outside, but Ward is far superior on the inside. Ward 75-77

ROUND 9
Great 9th round, close but Ward is the sharper and more accurate, another Ward round for me, I now have it even.
Kovalev 85 - 85 Ward
CompuBox:
Ward 17 of 38
Kovalev 11 of 46
All three judges scored this round for Ward.
Yet another very close round, but again Ward's body work wins it for me. Ward 85-86

ROUND 10
10th is another good, close, round, but Kovalev wins it for me with aggression and activity.
Kovalev 95 - 94 Ward
CompuBox:
Ward 16 of 35
Kovalev 21 of 58
Somehow, all three judges scored this round for Ward.
Mostly a competitive round, but Kovalev threw, landed more and landed the better punches. A clear Kovalev round, though it's noticeable that the crowd makes a lot of noise whenever Andre has a moment, which may have swayed the judges. Kovalev 96-94

ROUND 11
11th is another good round, both fighters landing clean punches, Kovalev's power isn't what it was early in the fight, Ward wins the last 30 seconds and the round, wrestles Kovalev to the ground. Whoever wins the last round wins the fight on my scorecard.
Kovalev 104 - Ward 104
CompuBox:
Ward 13 of 26
Kovalev 12 of 40
All three judges scored this round for Ward.
Another close round, but Ward lands the cleaner punches, particularly in the final 30 seconds and Sergei is missing a lot of his punches. This was a closer round than on first viewing. Ward 104-105

ROUND 12
Ward wins the final round and the fight on my scorecard. 7-5 Ward with 1 knockdown.
Ward 114 - 113 Kovalev
I would not argue with anyone scoring the fight for Kovalev.
CompuBox:
Ward 12 of 42
Kovalev 13 of 47
McKale - Ward
Clements - Kovalev
Trowbridge - Ward
Ward won the first minute, Kovalev the second, the third has nothing in it. Ward lands the last meaningful punch, but I think this is an even round. My final scorecard on this viewing is 115-114 Kovalev.

After watching this fight a second time, again with HBO commentary (I get bored watching it without sound and I couldn't find any different commentary), I came away with the following conclusions:

1) It's such a close fight with so many swing rounds that I may score it differently again upon a third watching.
2) While it was for the most a high quality fight, it wasn't nearly as exciting as on the first viewing. A third viewing would no doubt be less interesting again, so I'm done!
3) While I agree Kovalev was unlucky to lose, particularly due to the scoring of the 10th round, I still don't buy into any of the conspiracy theories or any of the cries of robbery. It seems the judges were swayed by the very vocal crowd in the 10th, which is disappointing. If the judges were looking for a way to give Ward the fight, there's no way McKale or Clements would have scored the 3rd for Kovalev and there's no way Trowbridge would have scored the 5th for Kovalev.
4) I didn't notice how pro-Ward Max Kellerman was the first time, but I did the second and it bugged me, although sometimes he was merely expressing that certain rounds Lederman gave to Kovalev could have gone the other way - which is true.

The 3rd goes to Kovalev for sure. Lederman gave the 9th to Kovalev on more damaging punches and aggression, and yes, all 3 judges liked Ward in that round, as they would... But Ward also needed the 10th round to win the fight and the judges knew it, so they gave him a clear Kovalev round... The commissioners needed to call the judges in front of the commission and ask them why they scored the 10th for Ward... It's similar to Jerry Judge, in the De La Hoya-Trinidad fight giving the 12th round to De La Hoya.. He obviously wanted Trinidad to win and already had the fight sown up for Trinidad -- but the fight was way closer than his scorecard -- so he gave the 12th, a very 1-sided Trinidad round, to De La Hoya ... to make his score sound more plausible when it was announced. His man had already won it on his card so this was a little trimming and shaping.

[Heretic]

3) While I agree Kovalev was unlucky to lose, particularly due to the scoring of the 10th round, I still don't buy into any of the conspiracy theories or any of the cries of robbery. It seems the judges were swayed by the very vocal crowd in the 10th, which is disappointing.

As much as I respect you as one of the more sane posters on here... That's one of the most stupid things you keep repeating.

There is no such thing as luck in Vegas. Kovalev was not unlucky to loose. Ward was not lucky to win. The judges are not randomizing their scores. They are scoring with certain parameters and corruption is sadly one of them. This can be clearly seen in scoring of round 10. Ward needed that round to stay on the match and he got it even when it was better round for Kovalev than some of those that he was given earlier.

Also round 12 was given to Kovalev by the only judge who had one round to spare. What a coincidence

I scored the fight 115-113 for Kovalev. (one even round)

The reason I came up with Kovalev winning so much is this.

Ward is the better infighter. Kovalev is the better distance fighter.

Kovalev was keeping Ward outside for the majority of the fight. He was controlling the pace and distance of the fight. Ring generalship... Because of this every round too close to judge by clean punches landed goes to Kovalev who was controlling the fight and was the aggressor.

Also I don't consider body punches to be as good as punches to the head. They are easier to land and it is really hard to tell how effective they are. Good body punching usually gives fighter edge in later rounds. Kovalev was still looking good and fresh enough in round 12. Even thou he did throw many more punches than Ward. So in my scoring Kovalev out landed Ward more than punch stats show.

Even if the fight is close obvious robbery is still obvious


Robberies like this are one of the major things keeping this sport down. Both on amateur and professional level.

They also ruin the great fights. If the home fighter only has to run and survive like Ward did to win the decision there will be very little actaul fighting going on.

Just imagine if Ward had to really dug deep and try to win this one by dominating Kovalev in the ring. Do or die style. This would have been the fight of the year. One to remember.

Now it is just remembered as the usual Vegas bullshit. And Ward running for hes life.

[BitPlayer]

Great thread. I haven't rewatched it, but I thought Ward edged it in the end. No issue with someone thinking Kovalev won it though, it was a close fight certainly not a robbery.

[BitPlayer]

It's funny how pro-Ward the British commentry was compared to the American, I think they all scored it for Ward, maybe one scored it level.

[BAD INTENTIONS]

and what was your scoring based on? Perceived control that wasn't actually there?

Who landed more clean solid shots in the round.

Whether they're going forward or backwards.
Whether they're white or black.
Whether I like them or not.

[gilgamesh]

and what was your scoring based on? Perceived control that wasn't actually there?

Who landed more clean solid shots in the round.

Whether they're going forward or backwards.
Whether they're white or black.
Whether I like them or not.

So you're implying my scorecard went to Kovalev because I'm white? Why did Roy Jones score it for Kovalev then?

You think everybody that disagrees with the scoring of a fight did it for racial reasons?

[Kalan]

I agree that some of the Brits were on the American side in this controversy.. The Brits are our closest ally and we speak the same language.. Brits and Russians don't mix that well.. The language and culture are quite different and hostilities go back to the Anglo-Russian War which lasted 5 years.. At that time Russians regarded Englishmen as pampered, pretentious snobs.. The Brits invented the term Russkie to refer to the Russians -- who they considered barbaric, insufferable louts.. I wasn't surprised at Eddie Hearn's partisan comments.

But regardless of nationalities the 10th round tells the story... It was a solid Kovalev round and all 3 American judges scored it for Ward.