How good is/has been Sergey Kovalev?

[phillykid]

he was pretty good, lots of natural talent.

he got really far in his career it seems with just his jab and right hand.

he lacked inside fighting skills though, and some defensive issues as well i.e keeping left hand low during and after exchanges

but he was dominant in his prime, and imo is the first person to beat Andre Ward.

[jujigatame]

I would say not a HOFer but at the top tier of non-HOF fighters. Unless he has another title run, that could change my mind.

[victor-romeo]

Kovaelv was a very good fighter, one of the most exciting fighters, of the last 4 years or so. He was fairly one dimensional but what a dimension, he was like a pitcher with a tremendous fast ball. He was very mobile, fast hands with an excellent jab and tremendous right hand, power his mobility and offense coming forward where his defense. His chin was average, his in side fighting not good, and ability to take body punch not good. Andre Ward had the talent to exploit this.
I had Kovalev beating Ward the first fight with the knockdown and the fast start in the first 6 rounds, it took Ward about 6 rounds to figure Kovalev out.
In the second fight , I had Kovalev winning on points when he got Ko'd in the second fight also although Kovalev was winning more of the rounds he was losing the fight as he was getting hit to body and below the belt(he should have retaliated low) in the second fight Ward was continuing what he learned after the 6th round in their first fight the mid range body attack. Finishing Kovalev off with a series of low 3 blows.
That said Kovalev got a raw deal in Vegas twice as American boxing system tipped balance of fight in judging and officiating to the already excellent and more adaptable Andre Ward.

Synopsis, Ward better fighter smarter ,adaptable but could not figure out Kovalev fast enough in first fight to achieve victory was given decision by judges.
Second fight the 'war' of the fight dominated by Ward, but dirty fight with many low blows, and finished with low blows.
Kovalev great career. Thanks for the entertainment.

[victor-romeo]

he was pretty good, lots of natural talent.

he got really far in his career it seems with just his jab and right hand.

he lacked inside fighting skills though, and some defensive issues as well i.e keeping left hand low during and after exchanges

but he was dominant in his prime, and imo is the first person to beat Andre Ward.

[IKSRTFO]

Tarver still has NEVER been stopped and there's no indication that Kovalev can do it simply because "he's big, bad, and has power."

Tarver has a solid chin and a lot of heart. I don't think he's so mobile as to be able to dance rings around Kovalev, and his head movement has always been just OK. Kovalev might be the hardest hitter at 175 since Moorer, and that's a markedly different level of competitor than the ones Tarver faced during not only his prime, but his post-prime. And not only does he hit hard, but he's precise and accurate with his shots (unlike Lateef Kayode, likely the winner of "strongest guy Tarver faced.")

Anyways, that's one name in 35 years. Maybe Mike McCallum, Henry Maske, or Glen Johnson could have gone distance too, but it's hard to picture any of them (IMO) earning a W.

BTW, Tarver at 6'2 walking around 200+ as a light heavy would dwarf Kovalev, who supposedly is so big.

Tarver's best wins (and a good number of his glaring losses) took place against guys who came up in weight: Reggie Johnson, Roy Jones Jr., Chad Dawson, Glen Johnson, and Bernard Hopkins.

You forgot James Toney.

[zorndeslammes]

You forgot James Toney.

Can't argue that one.

[IKSRTFO]

You forgot James Toney.

Can't argue that one.

Joe Calzaghe also. Sure, he moved up but I recon his speed, angles, and toughness would give him the same problems Kessler had.

[zorndeslammes]

Joe Calzaghe also. Sure, he moved up but I recon his speed, angles, and toughness would give him the same problems Kessler had.

Oh, Calzaghe would never fight him. Like never in a million years. His fear of flying would come back.

[IKSRTFO]

Joe Calzaghe also. Sure, he moved up but I recon his speed, angles, and toughness would give him the same problems Kessler had.

Oh, Calzaghe would never fight him. Like never in a million years. His fear of flying would come back.

Calzaghe >>>>> Kovalev

[zorndeslammes]

Krusher should have fought fifteen more Mohammedis instead of Ward. Then beat up Marco Huck when he was 44. First ballot Hall of famer....

[jamamb]

y you so butthurt about kovalev isktfo bruh? in all these threads. did he offend you personally or something?

[jamamb]

Krusher should have fought fifteen more Mohammedis instead of Ward. Then beat up Marco Huck when he was 44. First ballot Hall of famer....

lol sad but true, so many fans will love on guys for that type of opposition, but then they lose competitively to elite fighters and the sh!t starts to fly

[zorndeslammes]

lol sad but true, so many fans will love on guys for that type of opposition, but then they lose competitively to elite fighters and the sh!t starts to fly

Hardcore boxing fans: Floyd Mayweather avoided the toughest fights and cherry picked his opposition

also Hardcore Boxing fans: jOe cAlZaGhE rEtIrEd uNdeFeAteD

[IKSRTFO]

y you so butthurt about kovalev isktfo bruh? in all these threads. did he offend you personally or something?

His fans offend me including HBO who was the biggest fanboy.

Stuff like this:
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=189864&hilit=Kovalev

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=186728&hilit=Kovalev&start=25 People thinking he can compete at HW?

[jamamb]

y you so butthurt about kovalev isktfo bruh? in all these threads. did he offend you personally or something?

His fans offend me including HBO who was the biggest fanboy.

Stuff like this:
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=189864&hilit=Kovalev

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=186728&hilit=Kovalev&start=25 People thinking he can compete at HW?

lol you can easily find plenty of stuff to like people saying hopkins would school him (an espn media poll even had hopkins favoured 13-12), or hed hardly win a round vs ward (ward was fav both fights too), or even clev would beat him. he actually surpassed many expectations

nice thread bumping now, grow the f@ck up

are you a black or mexican guy offended by his racism? maybe then i can understand!

[zorndeslammes]

People thinking he can compete at HW?

Yes, because historically numerous cruiserweights, light heavyweight, and even middleweights in the last 25 years have been plenty successful at the weight. Lemme guess, you're one of those guys who thinks Wilder would beat Usyk, aren't you?

[Boxerbeetle]

y you so butthurt about kovalev isktfo bruh? in all these threads. did he offend you personally or something?

His fans offend me including HBO who was the biggest fanboy.

Stuff like this:
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=189864&hilit=Kovalev

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=186728&hilit=Kovalev&start=25 People thinking he can compete at HW?

lol you can easily find plenty of stuff to like people saying hopkins would school him (an espn media poll even had hopkins favoured 13-12), or hed hardly win a round vs ward (ward was fav both fights too), or even clev would beat him. he actually surpassed many expectations

nice thread bumping now, grow the f@ck up

are you a black or mexican guy offended by his racism? maybe then i can understand!

Did many people really think Hopkins had a chance against Kovalev? I thought the consensus - quite rightly - was that Kovalev was gonna destroy him?

[jamamb]

His fans offend me including HBO who was the biggest fanboy.

Stuff like this:
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=189864&hilit=Kovalev

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=186728&hilit=Kovalev&start=25 People thinking he can compete at HW?

lol you can easily find plenty of stuff to like people saying hopkins would school him (an espn media poll even had hopkins favoured 13-12), or hed hardly win a round vs ward (ward was fav both fights too), or even clev would beat him. he actually surpassed many expectations

nice thread bumping now, grow the f@ck up

are you a black or mexican guy offended by his racism? maybe then i can understand!

Did many people really think Hopkins had a chance against Kovalev? I thought the consensus - quite rightly - was that Kovalev was gonna destroy him?

majority opinion was that kovalev would win, but i mustve seen 100+ predictions of hopkins winning (see below), and even schooling him. like i said an espn media poll of 'experts' had hopkins favoured 13-12, boxing news picked hopkins, terry dooley picked hopkins, danny flexen, roy jones etc, it was hardly some fringe opinion

and sure, there are extreme assertions out there of what kov would do, but you can find almost any opinion on a forum. btw, i dont mean to 'call out' anyone with these quotes, but just to show that it was hardly just super fringe opinion at the time that hopkins would win or have a good shot, posts like these were all over other forums and i had no problem finding them here too.

this is all just from a few threads that came up right away on the british, so not including all the picks hopkins got from americans

The pot shot counters will keep Kovalev honest. I'm expecting a schooling here.

Good luck and I hope you win but I really think Hopkins is going to pull off the "shock"

See thefootage ofthe overhand right that dropped Krusher? He is gonna them all night long, like tarver did.
Hopkins ud.

I think Hopkins is going to school him, old man this Russian big time.

Hopkins will take him into the deep water and drown him.

Hopkins isn't KOing anybody. He's said it before he tries for the KO and it doesn't come. That's why he's the Alien now rather than the executioner, because he just doesn't stop guys anymore.

Hopkins UD.

I'm picking Hopkins. Power punchers he can deal with. It's industry he hates.

Hopkins on points for me.Plodding forward throwing bombs with total disregard for your opponent is in my opinion wild and will ultimately be his downfall.

I've a feeling Hopkins may pull it off here.

Watched a bit of Kovalev, think he's absolutely made for Hopkins to systematically break down. Hype job for me until he proves otherwise.

Styles - and it's hard to pick against Hopkins.

BHop UD

Hopkins MD

Hopkins UD

Hopkins SD

BHop UD

Hopkins SD

BHop SD

I'm picking Hopkins. Power punchers he can deal with. It's industry he hates.

I've got to agree with you.
It'll be rough and ragged but Hopkins has the knowledge and no-how to negate Kovalev's power for 12 rounds.

if Kov can be put on his ass then Hopkins is definitely sneaky enough to do that on route to a points victory. It will be close mind as Kovalev will try until the last second of the fight.

i wouldnt be too surprised that Hopkins wins on points , he boxes on the back foot goes on little walks and pot shots with rights

if kovalev doesnt catch him clean then does he have the stamina output to outwork hopkins ???

Really Kovalev should nail him but Hopkins isnt a normal Boxer.

i had never saw Shumonev before but Hopkins made him look extremley Clueless,

On the fence. He should lose in theory but Hopkins can negate any man's power and work rate at any age

I'd never write Hopkins off against anyone and to say he has no chance is just foolish. Kovalev is a beast without question but he's been in with no-one anywhere near the calibre of Hopkins. I make this a 50-50 fight and so will be backing Hopkins at 5/2. I know it was only a flash knockdown but Kovalev being caught in his last fight doesn't exactly fill me with confidence as to his chances. No way he stops Hopkins either. He only wins by out working him.

Hopkins has a way of taking other fighters game away from them. I think Kovalev is the favourite and should be, but Hopkins is a master at doing it ugly and spoiling the other fighters tactics. I can definitely see Hopkins winning an ugly decision if he manages to get through the first few rounds without taking a beating.

[Boxerbeetle]

lol you can easily find plenty of stuff to like people saying hopkins would school him (an espn media poll even had hopkins favoured 13-12), or hed hardly win a round vs ward (ward was fav both fights too), or even clev would beat him. he actually surpassed many expectations

nice thread bumping now, grow the f@ck up

are you a black or mexican guy offended by his racism? maybe then i can understand!

Did many people really think Hopkins had a chance against Kovalev? I thought the consensus - quite rightly - was that Kovalev was gonna destroy him?

majority opinion was that kovalev would win, but i mustve seen 100+ predictions of hopkins winning (see below), and even schooling him. like i said an espn media poll of 'experts' had hopkins favoured 13-12, boxing news picked hopkins, terry dooley picked hopkins, danny flexen, roy jones etc, it was hardly some fringe opinion

and sure, there are extreme assertions out there of what kov would do, but you can find almost any opinion on a forum. btw, i dont mean to 'call out' anyone with these quotes, but just to show that it was hardly just super fringe opinion at the time that hopkins would win or have a good shot, posts like these were all over other forums and i had no problem finding them here too.

this is all just from a few threads that came up right away on the british, so not including all the picks hopkins got from americans

The pot shot counters will keep Kovalev honest. I'm expecting a schooling here.

Good luck and I hope you win but I really think Hopkins is going to pull off the "shock"

See thefootage ofthe overhand right that dropped Krusher? He is gonna them all night long, like tarver did.
Hopkins ud.

I think Hopkins is going to school him, old man this Russian big time.

Hopkins will take him into the deep water and drown him.

Hopkins isn't KOing anybody. He's said it before he tries for the KO and it doesn't come. That's why he's the Alien now rather than the executioner, because he just doesn't stop guys anymore.

Hopkins UD.

I'm picking Hopkins. Power punchers he can deal with. It's industry he hates.

Hopkins on points for me.Plodding forward throwing bombs with total disregard for your opponent is in my opinion wild and will ultimately be his downfall.

I've a feeling Hopkins may pull it off here.

Watched a bit of Kovalev, think he's absolutely made for Hopkins to systematically break down. Hype job for me until he proves otherwise.

Styles - and it's hard to pick against Hopkins.

BHop UD

Hopkins MD

Hopkins UD

Hopkins SD

BHop UD

Hopkins SD

BHop SD

I'm picking Hopkins. Power punchers he can deal with. It's industry he hates.

I've got to agree with you.
It'll be rough and ragged but Hopkins has the knowledge and no-how to negate Kovalev's power for 12 rounds.

if Kov can be put on his ass then Hopkins is definitely sneaky enough to do that on route to a points victory. It will be close mind as Kovalev will try until the last second of the fight.

i wouldnt be too surprised that Hopkins wins on points , he boxes on the back foot goes on little walks and pot shots with rights

if kovalev doesnt catch him clean then does he have the stamina output to outwork hopkins ???

Really Kovalev should nail him but Hopkins isnt a normal Boxer.

i had never saw Shumonev before but Hopkins made him look extremley Clueless,

On the fence. He should lose in theory but Hopkins can negate any man's power and work rate at any age

I'd never write Hopkins off against anyone and to say he has no chance is just foolish. Kovalev is a beast without question but he's been in with no-one anywhere near the calibre of Hopkins. I make this a 50-50 fight and so will be backing Hopkins at 5/2. I know it was only a flash knockdown but Kovalev being caught in his last fight doesn't exactly fill me with confidence as to his chances. No way he stops Hopkins either. He only wins by out working him.

Hopkins has a way of taking other fighters game away from them. I think Kovalev is the favourite and should be, but Hopkins is a master at doing it ugly and spoiling the other fighters tactics. I can definitely see Hopkins winning an ugly decision if he manages to get through the first few rounds without taking a beating.

I am relieved to see my name not on that list, as I’m sure I picked Kovalev to beat Hopkins

I always take internet predictions with a pinch of salt anyway - I find quite a few people pretty much always pick the underdog so they can pretend to be some sort of boxing guru if an upset happens.

[jamamb]

ya there are defo those ppl who like to be different. but the overall air at the same was defo of a competitive fight. about half the predictions ive seen were that hopkins would either win or was in with a real shot.

[IKSRTFO]

People thinking he can compete at HW?

Yes, because historically numerous cruiserweights, light heavyweight, and even middleweights in the last 25 years have been plenty successful at the weight. Lemme guess, you're one of those guys who thinks Wilder would beat Usyk, aren't you?

Wilder would beat Usyk

[TheLeprechaun]

As far as Hopkins vs Kovalev goes, I did think Hopkins would win.

Given what Ward did to Kovalev, I don't think anyone can disagree that prime Hopkins beats him.

I saw those flaws in Kovalev and thought that Hopkins, who had in fact declined more than I realized would win. In hindsight, Hopkins was being flattered by fairly convincing wins over lower level competition in Cloud, Murat and Shumenov. The Hopkins who beat Pavlik in 2008 schools Kovalev for me.

[jamamb]

i can understand your logic, and at the time a lot thought the same way about the kov vs hopkins fight (i personally have always thought steve wouldve beat him)...ppl now saying kov was generally considered invincble are revising things

and even far more people had ward down to totally school him then he had vs hopkins, but he fought super close vs an excellent p4p elite boxer . and even the clev fight was close to pick em

this isnt a ggg case where like 95 percent of ppl rated him as some unbeatable machine. i see a lot of exaggerating with the ppl now saying he was a big totally overrated hype job

he was a top 2 world class lhw with a good career, was highly competitive and hurt even the guys who beat him. flawed, but a good fighter and a sharp dangerous puncher. exciting career to follow even in losing

[Perseus]

Kovalev to this point has had a solid, respectable career. He's not a hall of famer but there is no shame in that.
At 35 and having just been stopped again saying he's finished is popular but it's not unheard of for boxers who are supposed to be finished to record another solid win or two.
I'm not bold enough to predict Kovalev will come back and win another belt but I won't be surprised if it happens.
It's a shame we never got to see a Stevenson/Kovalev fight but we can't change the past.
Kov managed to unify three belts and was at the top of the division for quite a while.
When he finally lost it was to a certain hall of famer and he has been competitive in all of his losses.
I don't think he's done fighting and don't think we should write him off until he fails to be competitive in defeat.

[whiskey]

In regards to the thread title, it's a poorly kept secret that Kovalev has been training in bars on a diet of vodka for some time apparently.

Shades of Pavlik.