Ward vs. Kovalev: Who's watching?

[davie]

Man do I wish I skipped that farce of a card.

I was about to agree with you

Then thought, naaaa, I'd only have come on here, read all the controversy and been desperate to see it


It was an absolute sh1tshow though

[rab]

Both Kov and Ward have a genuine right to feel aggrieved here. Kov more than Ward because Ward got the win. Ward was humped out the chance to genuinely stop Kovalev and do what nobody thought he could. Kovalev was robbed the chance to recovery and fight on in a close fight! It's a decision by Weeks that has fukked everyone out of a conclusion to a good fight.

Everyone makes mistakes and he was the closest to any of em in there but he let a few bad ones go beforehand and should've been more vigilant considering he's a top ref.

Kovalev shouldn't have given him the chance to call the fight. You can't just stop throwing punches and bend over doing nothing at the ropes.

You can't fight a fight worrying what the ref might do mate. You've enough to worry about.

i agree, but the problem with that is it can change the mindest and approach of a fighter that thinks there is no way he is going to get a decision. let's face it, i doubt kovalev had the option of staying on the back foot,jabbing and moving all night.
i also doubt ward fights the same way if the fight is in russia ,it is what it is though.

[ScottDetonator]

Weeks waved the fight off as though it was nothing.

If it had been the other way around, Kovalev would have had a point off or been DQ'd and Ward would have been given 5 minutes to recover.

[rab]

Weeks waved the fight off as though it was nothing.

If it had been the other way around, Kovalev would have had a point off or been DQ'd and Ward would have been given 5 minutes to recover.

i agree with that. i also think if they fought another ten times ward wins them all.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Another black eye for boxing.

HBO should refund the PPV sales.

I was disgusted with Tony Weeks last night. Beyond a joke.

I won't watch another Ward fight.

To add - Adam Smith is the worst boxing commentator I have ever heard in my life as well. Shut up screaming dribble!

Finally something in this thread we can all agree on

I had a HBO stream.. Lampley is abit annoying.. Kellerman and RJJ aren't too bad..

[MightyWarrior]

A double bill of farcical referee incompetence. What the hell was he thinking, waving off a big fight like that, just because Kov goes down, for the first time, and not even badly hurt?

But got to say Ward showed some real savvy fighting there, certainly throwing in the low blows all night, but the SOG is so crafty the dim witted referee couldn't even see what was right in front of him, The last punch direct to the balls was the fight finisher, A move that would've had Roberto Duran clapping in appreciation.
Complete cock up of by ref, but ward really got inside the Russians head, and was going to stop him anyway in the next round probably. Those were some heavy shots to the head he shook him with, his tactics seemed to be, right hand to the head, left hook to the balls.

[BitPlayer]

A double bill of farcical referee incompetence. What the hell was he thinking, waving off a big fight like that, just because Kov goes down, for the first time, and not even badly hurt?

But got to say Ward really showed some real savvy fighting there, certainly throwing in the low blows all night, but the SOG is so crafty the dim witted referee couldn't even see what was right in front of him, The last punch direct to the balls was the fight finisher, A move that would've had Roberto Duran clapping in appreciation.
Complete cock up of by ref, but ward really got inside the Russians head, and was going to stop him anyway in the next round probably. Those were some heavy shots to the head he shook him with, his tactics seemed to be, right hand to the head, left hook to the balls.

The trouble was, he wouldn't go down he was out on his feet and acting defeatist before that.

[TheGingerBomber]

I believed that Andre Ward was p4p no.1 before this fight. I based it off of his record, against Barrera and Kovalev at LHW, and Froch, Kessler etc at super middle. I thought Kov won the first fight and was of the belief if anything, Ward didn't deserve to win.

It's funny because second time around he's beaten him by stoppage, but it's more controversy. This is horrible for Kovalev but also not great for Ward, because his talent and performances are being overshadowed by this bullshit.

Weeks has had a nightmare, it looks bad from most angles.

[handsofstone]

Not much being mentioned about Ward wobbling Kovalev with the right hand just beforehand, obviously the low blows and stoppage overshadowed that but for Ward to hurt Kova like that is pretty incredible IMO, gutted about the controversy as Kovalev was hurt bad and looking distressed, he might have done a Gatti and switched things around but he looked a bit sorry for himself and wasn't too pissed immediately after the ref stepped in, the smart money would've been on Ward getting rid of him legit

[Ricky_]

I believed that Andre Ward was p4p no.1 before this fight. I based it off of his record, against Barrera and Kovalev at LHW, and Froch, Kessler etc at super middle. I thought Kov won the first fight and was of the belief if anything, Ward didn't deserve to win.

It's funny because second time around he's beaten him by stoppage, but it's more controversy. This is horrible for Kovalev but also not great for Ward, because his talent and performances are being overshadowed by this bullshit.

Weeks has had a nightmare, it looks bad from most angles.

Good post. Ward got 2 wins but neither will get the credit that beating Kovalev should get, since both endings stunk.

[ewenhay]

Firstly I thought it was a good fight, much better than the first fight. Two excellent fighters albeit very different skillsets.

I thought Kovalev started well but after the 5th round Ward was getting better and Kovalev declining. The body shots were having an effect although one was certainly on the borderline. The head shot in the 8th that led to the stoppage took a lot out of Kovalev and he was struggling to stay in the fight from that point.

At first I thought it was a premature stoppage and one or two of the last three body shots looked debatable but none of the angles were particularly clear. Kovalev certainly made the referee's decision easier for him by leaning over, half turning away and dropping his hands. He looked like a sitting duck for a clear headshot at the end. He certainly didn't look like he was defending himself anymore. Which is probably understandable if he'd taken a low blow.

Kovalev looked on the way out and I don't think Ward would have let him off the hook in any case. I was impressed with Ward after the first few rounds for the first time in years.

[Ezzard]

Putting to one side the abysmal ref job, awful TV blackout of the controversy and the usual smorgasbord of butts, elbows, low blows etc...

I thought it was a fairly evenly contested fight right up until the right hand from Ward.

Both men were blowing...though Ward at least looked fresh at the start of the rounds. It was a better fight than the first one.

Kovalev seemed weak. For a top pro to get stopped by Ward is almost unheard of (even in such circumstances). My gut tells me that Kov has probably been overrated...most KO artists usually are...

[Ezzard]

A double bill of farcical referee incompetence. What the hell was he thinking, waving off a big fight like that, just because Kov goes down, for the first time, and not even badly hurt?

But got to say Ward showed some real savvy fighting there, certainly throwing in the low blows all night, but the SOG is so crafty the dim witted referee couldn't even see what was right in front of him, The last punch direct to the balls was the fight finisher, A move that would've had Roberto Duran clapping in appreciation.
Complete cock up of by ref, but ward really got inside the Russians head, and was going to stop him anyway in the next round probably. Those were some heavy shots to the head he shook him with, his tactics seemed to be, right hand to the head, left hook to the balls.

x2

[TheLeprechaun]

I remember saying that I thought Ward could stop Kovalev after the Chilemba fight on here and everyone said that was practically impossible.

[Boxerbeetle]

I remember saying that I thought Ward could stop Kovalev after the Chilemba fight on here and everyone said that was practically impossible.

I said exactly the same - a few other knowledgeable people on here did as well (not many though ).

[TheLeprechaun]

I remember saying that I thought Ward could stop Kovalev after the Chilemba fight on here and everyone said that was practically impossible.

I said exactly the same - a few other knowledgeable people on here did as well (not many though ).

I remember you backing me up mate

[handsofstone]

I remember saying that I thought Ward could stop Kovalev after the Chilemba fight on here and everyone said that was practically impossible.

I said exactly the same - a few other knowledgeable people on here did as well (not many though ).

I remember you backing me up mate

I would never have thought that Ward could stop him

[Counter-puncher]

I said exactly the same - a few other knowledgeable people on here did as well (not many though ).

I remember you backing me up mate

I would never have thought that Ward could stop him

me neither

[lefty]

Putting to one side the abysmal ref job, awful TV blackout of the controversy and the usual smorgasbord of butts, elbows, low blows etc...

I thought it was a fairly evenly contested fight right up until the right hand from Ward.

Both men were blowing...though Ward at least looked fresh at the start of the rounds. It was a better fight than the first one.

Kovalev seemed weak. For a top pro to get stopped by Ward is almost unheard of (even in such circumstances). My gut tells me that Kov has probably been overrated...most KO artists usually are...

I've always felt that Stevenson would have had a better shot against Kovalev than a lot of people gave him. I wonder if that fight could still be made with Kovalev being somewhat in the wilderness now with the loss of his belts.

[TheLeprechaun]

Putting to one side the abysmal ref job, awful TV blackout of the controversy and the usual smorgasbord of butts, elbows, low blows etc...

I thought it was a fairly evenly contested fight right up until the right hand from Ward.

Both men were blowing...though Ward at least looked fresh at the start of the rounds. It was a better fight than the first one.

Kovalev seemed weak. For a top pro to get stopped by Ward is almost unheard of (even in such circumstances). My gut tells me that Kov has probably been overrated...most KO artists usually are...

I've always felt that Stevenson would have had a better shot against Kovalev than a lot of people gave him. I wonder if that fight could still be made with Kovalev being somewhat in the wilderness now with the loss of his belts.

Kovalev is in the who-needs-him club now. No chance he gets a voluntary defense. He will have to work his way back to a mandatory position.

[Ezzard]

Watching the stoppage back Mr Weeks breaks them on the ropes... He barely makes Ward take a step back. He was clearly biased. Poor form.

[handsofstone]

Putting to one side the abysmal ref job, awful TV blackout of the controversy and the usual smorgasbord of butts, elbows, low blows etc...

I thought it was a fairly evenly contested fight right up until the right hand from Ward.

Both men were blowing...though Ward at least looked fresh at the start of the rounds. It was a better fight than the first one.

Kovalev seemed weak. For a top pro to get stopped by Ward is almost unheard of (even in such circumstances). My gut tells me that Kov has probably been overrated...most KO artists usually are...

I've always felt that Stevenson would have had a better shot against Kovalev than a lot of people gave him. I wonder if that fight could still be made with Kovalev being somewhat in the wilderness now with the loss of his belts.

Kovalev is in the who-needs-him club now. No chance he gets a voluntary defense. He will have to work his way back to a mandatory position.

On the other hand Kovalev looked well on the way to be truly ruined legit from Ward, maybe he still is? I wonder if Kovalev will ever be the same again, his aura of invincibility is certain gone for good and being in his mid 30s can he get back to p4p contention? The Ward loss on paper isn't a total disaster, Kovalev will still be regarded in the top 10 but I'm not so sure he'll reach the heights he was at, his engine does seem to be letting him down and now with him showing vulnerability, opponents mindsets will be totally different going in, a bit like Tyson

But then again who knows how the Ward fight would've played out but my money would be strongly in favour of Ward stopping him

[Ezzard]

Kov looked to wilt. The fight was even. I didn't see any breaking down particularly. Kov worked harder than usual and got weary... It wasn't like Ward broke him down a la Duran (Buchanan aside!).

[rab]

for me it was really worth listening to wards post fight press conference .he summed the whole situation perfectly. one thing i wondered was as he had been so inactive in the lead up to the first fight ,would it shake off any ring rust he had . he certainly looked a lot sharper and appeared to have a lot more in the tank the other night. he was ashen faced at the end of the first fight,totally different the second.

[Boxerbeetle]

Kov looked to wilt. The fight was even. I didn't see any breaking down particularly. Kov worked harder than usual and got weary... It wasn't like Ward broke him down a la Duran (Buchanan aside!).

Kovalev was vulnerable to the body, it should have been patently clear to anyone who watched the first fight. Saying that, it was a combination of Ward breaking him down and Kovalev having a poor engine.