The return of Sergey Kovalev ... What are you expecting ?

[boxing_rocks]

... or maybe he is realizing what [at least some of] his problems are:

https://www.badlefthook.com/2017/11/15/ ... -inflicted

[Ilya Muromets]

I'm expecting prime Krusher because this time he should be fighting only one guy rather than one dirty fighting bum plus his referee assistant and on-the-payroll judges, and the rest of the "Sin City", as they proudly bill themselves, crew, the tv announcers, drug testers, custom ring builders, etc.

[caldo2025]

Let's be realistic about Kovalev people. Here's a guy who, in my opinion, won most of the rounds against one of the best boxers of the time period. This is still the same boxer that should have gotten his hand raised against Ward. Sure he ran out of gas in the second fight but I had him winning that fight up until he emptied his gas tank and quit. We are still talking about a fantastic fighter and a special talent.

I still think that Kovalev is one of the best LH's in the division and I give him a good chance of beating both of the young Russian's before he hangs em up. Sure, his inability to take a body shot could cost him going forward as i'm sure it will be a focus of everyone's attack but everyone has a weakness. Let's see if he does anything to improve on that.

[Ruthless-RKO]

He'll easily take Shabs..

It's after this fight, the question is, who will his mando be? What type of voluntaries is he going to take? Is he going to look at unifications straight away?

These are the real burning questions.

[fightfan95]

I really hope we see the best of Krusher, some great fights that can be made with him in.

[crow]

Let's be realistic about Kovalev people. Here's a guy who, in my opinion, won most of the rounds against one of the best boxers of the time period. This is still the same boxer that should have gotten his hand raised against Ward. Sure he ran out of gas in the second fight but I had him winning that fight up until he emptied his gas tank and quit. We are still talking about a fantastic fighter and a special talent.

I still think that Kovalev is one of the best LH's in the division and I give him a good chance of beating both of the young Russian's before he hangs em up. Sure, his inability to take a body shot could cost him going forward as i'm sure it will be a focus of everyone's attack but everyone has a weakness. Let's see if he does anything to improve on that.

Exactly my thoughts.
He was beating Ward in the rematch too until being caught then fouled. Yes his stamina was dwindling, but so was Ward's, hence the low blows.

Kovalev will not change or improve because in his eyes he was winning vs Ward (even though he could have improved his game for the rematch but simply refused); he will still do the same routine and get Shab out of there pretty convincingly.

I expect a 7 rd ko.

[Noxy]

A win for Kov, he’s probably peaked though

[jamamb]

Let's be realistic about Kovalev people. Here's a guy who, in my opinion, won most of the rounds against one of the best boxers of the time period. This is still the same boxer that should have gotten his hand raised against Ward. Sure he ran out of gas in the second fight but I had him winning that fight up until he emptied his gas tank and quit. We are still talking about a fantastic fighter and a special talent.

I still think that Kovalev is one of the best LH's in the division and I give him a good chance of beating both of the young Russian's before he hangs em up. Sure, his inability to take a body shot could cost him going forward as i'm sure it will be a focus of everyone's attack but everyone has a weakness. Let's see if he does anything to improve on that.

yes i agree. if he is not mentally ruined he still has all the physical ability to still be one of the best. you cant rate ward as some awesome p4p boxer (which he was) and then dismiss kovalev when he won so many rounds against him. ppl starting to rate barrera now as a contender and he won like 2 rounds against ward and was never in the fight.

[dagilechia]

i expect that Kovalyov KO's his opponent pretty easy

[Stuarty]

A win for Kov, he’s probably peaked though

This

[Mexi-Box]

There have been times while watching Sergey Kovalev both on tv and watching him live in person in Las Vegas against Andre Ward that's about the most intoxicating spectacle in sport.
Reason I brought up perhaps a bad attitude and grudges is I hope he doesn't go that route.
This is an important fight for him, he's under review and I hope he doesn't blow it.

The reason he lost the second Ward fight after being robbed in the first one was low motivation. Of course, there were multiple low blows and no reaction from the ref, but it was also clear that Kovalev was gassing and would most likely have lost anyway. He didn't train well, and I am not sure if he has enough fire left to train well enough to be able to get on the very top.

Do you have some kind of proof to back up your claim that Kovalev was not training properly for the rematch? Or is it just a feeling of yours? Rumors you hear?

I find it hard to believe that Kovalev would have had motivation issues for the rematch...

Jackson and Kovalev both say somewhat similar things. Kovalev didn't train well for Ward: II, and on top of that, we had that corrupt low-blow KO.

[man]

his achilles heel is exposed, his
spirit at least cracked. he will
win easy against journey men,
top level will be very difficult.

[Kalan]

It's interesting that people refuse to acknowledge favoritism and corruption that slants the scales in favor of North Americans, from judges to referees to gloves to drug testing. As well as work behind the scenes by snakes like John David Jackson – who everyone knew would not be with Kovalev for his next fight after going behind Kovalev's back to sell him out..

John David Jackson called Ward's entire team LIARS and said they brought Sergei and him together "closer than ever" ... something I laughed at. JDJ was trying to squeeze out from between a rock and a hard place... You’re not going to stay with a traitor -- Kovalev and JDJ were history.

Now that he's fighting other Eastern Europeans for the foreseeable future I think the Boxing Establishment still wants Kovalev to lose. But he’s going to be much better in this fight because he finally ditched the cutthroat bastards he’s been working with.

[boxing_rocks]

That was such a stupid decision by Kovalev to stay with JDJ for the second fight. One of a few stupid decisions of his.

[Mexi-Box]

That was such a stupid decision by Kovalev to stay with JDJ for the second fight. One of a few stupid decisions of his.

Agreed. Complete and utterly stupid move on his part. Ward just had everything in his favor going into the rematch. Not sure at all what kept him with JDJ. They had tension during the build-up to the first Ward fight from what it sounds like too.

[Ricky_]

I think Kovalev will carry on where he left.

He's in a bad place though. He got jobbed over by the judges in fight 1, lost controversially in fight 2... and now Ward's retired. Bad luck- that has now placed a ceiling on how good Kovalev's legacy can be.

[Enlightened-One]

I think Kovalev will carry on where he left.

He's in a bad place though. He got jobbed over by the judges in fight 1, lost controversially in fight 2... and now Ward's retired. Bad luck- that has now placed a ceiling on how good Kovalev's legacy can be.

Sergey Kovalev can forge himself a decent legacy by cleaning out the 175lbs weight division and enjoying a long reign, perhaps five years or so...

However, I doubt that he'll be capable of achieving this, because I feel that he has already peaked and may now be on the decline.

Hindsight may eventually disprove my theory, but I strongly suspect that it won't. And I feel that even Krusher's most ardent admirers share the same opinion.

[greg]

..I just hope he'll continue boxing the way he's been doing it for quite a while..he's got a Russian-speaking coach which I believe might be an improvement in many ways..I also hope his team have balls to file a protest every time they get a feeling the responsible state commissions intend to appoint up to 4 American judges/ref to officiate..

[jamamb]

i mean kov might be on the decline but last two fights he won many rounds against an awesome boxer. problem with taking tough fighrs is you lose and ppl start saying you were overated all along or that the end is coming

[Grand_Cru54]

He said he's ready to face Beterbiev, and Beterbievwill loose that fight by KO.

It's up to Katy Duva and Al Haymon to come to an agreement. They're the ones who are blocking this fight.

[BAD INTENTIONS]

Still be the best fighter at 175.
However, Kovalev is what I thought he was, a GREAT weight draining bully.

If he can't make 175, he could still beat many cruisers on skill.
However, without a significant size/power advantage, he won't be nearly as effective.

I think a Stevenson fight in March 2018 is Montreal is the only way to go.

[SFW]

I'm expecting prime Krusher because this time he should be fighting only one guy rather than one dirty fighting bum plus his referee assistant and on-the-payroll judges, and the rest of the "Sin City", as they proudly bill themselves, crew, the tv announcers, drug testers, custom ring builders, etc.

Of course, of course.. Nothing at all to do with his lack of fighting abilities, nothing lol.

With all this sissified excuse talk, you should all get together and do a Ted Talk teach everyone how to blame the world for your shortcomings. Its a growth industry.

[victor-romeo]

Win lose or draw every time Kovalev fights you are seeing the legacy of a great fighter being built.

[crow]

I expect to see a broken man. As big of a bully as Kovalev is, he doesn't seem to be the most mentally of strong people out there. He just seems to be one of those people, that once he gets taken off the throne, he just doesn't get back to the form that put him on top.

Kovalev is a recipe for disaster from here on out. Wouldn't be surprised at all if he ends up losing again in the near future to someone he would have stream rolled prior to the Ward fights. I'm quite confident that Stevenson would knock him out at this point, but damn I still really, really want to see that fight.

Well, how did that prediction turn out...

I believe i saw improvements: Kovalev's learning to stand his ground and slip then counter, instead of just using his legs to get away from punches.

Pity he waited that long.

[jamamb]

so many fighters lose and come back fine. ppl seem overly obsessed with thinking kov is done, or like they dont like him and are hoping for that.

fans call for the best fights and say losses are no big deal, fighter takes a top fight, loses competitively, 'oh, i think he may be broken'