Sergey Kovalev vs. Anthony Yarde - August 24, 2019

[Ilya Muromets]

Odds slashed today by about a quarter, something happen ?

Kov is about a 2-1 favorite with the books. Seems to me he should be more like 10 to 1.

[cormack]

Apparently Yarde just arrived in russia yesterday which isnt a long pre fight spell to aclimatise etc , just wonder if he is a bit too confident ?

[Bard of Boxrec]

Odds slashed today by about a quarter, something happen ?

Kov is about a 2-1 favorite with the books. Seems to me he should be more like 10 to 1.

That’s because you don’t seem to know anything about boxing .

[dagilechia]

Papin vs Makabu on the undercard is an interesting fight too.

[DrDuke]

Papin vs Makabu on the undercard is an interesting fight too.

Yeah, an intriguing bout. Papin looks dangerous, but is he ready to the high level opponent as Makabu is? Makabu has recently been impressive against Kudryashov, he took his best shots and outfought him.

[dagilechia]

Papin vs Makabu on the undercard is an interesting fight too.

Yeah, an intriguing bout. Papin looks dangerous, but is he ready to the high level opponent as Makabu is? Makabu has recently been impressive against Kudryashov, he took his best shots and outfought him.

yeah, my guess is it's too early for Papin, but who knows, he has a very solid Kick-Boxing experience too, who has the better chin will win i guess, both are heavy hitters with comparable skills

[Ilya Muromets]

Kov is about a 2-1 favorite with the books. Seems to me he should be more like 10 to 1.

That’s because you don’t seem to know anything about boxing .

We shall see about that.

[Evander]

When are they weighing in ?

[Bard of Boxrec]

Hello pot, meet kettle !

My obvious point (although you seem to struggle with obvious points, along with your fellow chucklehead Ilyo up there) is that you can’t predict this is going to be a mismatch based solely on reeling off a random list of fighters on one guy’s ledger without ACTUALLY ASSESSING THE SKILLS MATCHUP of the fighters taking part in THIS fight.

God, I can’t believe I had to say that. But there we are.

What do you think the words in the following post suggest?

I understand how the "Talent" is useless unless it’s proven…. And "potential" is useless unless it’s fulfilled!” argument applies to Yarde, because at some point or another, any fighter harbouring ambitions to becoming the best in their division has to eventually make a huge step-up in class.

Instead of actively seeking opportunities to criticise others, you should instead learn to read and comprehend the thoughts they've actually conveyed.

It’s as if you’re closely scrutinizing individual sentences from someone’s post, looking for any remote opportunity to criticise them, whilst blatantly ignoring anything that doesn’t provide you with sufficient ammunition to attack them.

"God, I can’t believe I had to say that. But there we are. "

Ok, I’m going to try one more time, maybe you won’t understand, maybe you will. If you don’t, I’m not surprised and I’ll bid you good day. If you do, hallelujah ! We’re getting somewhere with you.

You said this fight appears to be a ‘complete mismatch’. You said ‘I’ll be shocked if Yarde pulls off the upset’ . That’s fine! You’re allowed to be shocked! However , you’re saying this on the basis of Yarde’s prior opponents - ‘but he’s so green!’ - rather than analysing the skill set of himself and kovalev - you know, things that are relevant to THIS fight.

Let me give you an example. If the bookies put as much stock as you do into experience and not the skills matchup, what do you think the odds would be for Yarde?

[Evander]

Hard bout to call.
Rarely see them head to head in the same place which is why the weigh in is valuable.
It's a trade fight

[KiwiRider]

Hard bout to call.
Rarely see them head to head in the same place which is why the weigh in is valuable.
It's a trade fight

Pertinent post
I say that, because at the final presser when they were face to face, Kov has a bit of height on Yarde. I immediately thought Yarde is going to eat some hard jabs if he wants to get in range
I dunno why. But I was under the impression height and reach were close. Kov looks bigger next to Yarde. Boxrec lists them as both being 6 foot. Not what I saw today

[Evander]

Hard bout to call.
Rarely see them head to head in the same place which is why the weigh in is valuable.
It's a trade fight

Pertinent post
I say that, because at the final presser when they were face to face, Kov has a bit of height on Yarde. I immediately thought Yarde is going to eat some hard jabs if he wants to get in range
I dunno why. But I was under the impression height and reach were close. Kov looks bigger next to Yarde. Boxrec lists them as both being 6 foot. Not what I saw today

Sure it'll surface.
Nicely put I look forward to seeing it.

[conan_the_cribber]

I think the main issue in this fight is Kovalev's punch resistance. Certainly the punches that led to the KOs from Ward and Alvarez were NOT jaw breaking, head spinning punches. Big punches, but not OMG punches. And despite his lack of amateur pedigree, Yarde has a pretty solid technique with his left hand always really high. Because of his defence, the fight will go long enough, that he will hit Kovalev during the middle rounds where Kovalev has been KO'd before. The question is, "what happens when Yarde lands"?

So it's one of those fights that goes either "big punching underdog wins" or "skilled and elusive fighter sweeps every round".

[Ruthless-RKO]

Kovalev (33-3-1, 28 KO) weighed in at 174.6 pounds and Yarde (18-0, 17 KO) at 173.9, both under the 175-pound limit.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[polecateddy]

There's a lot of discussion of this fight on the UK forum side. A lot of people are starting to scratch their heads as to why Yarde, a fighter who only had 12 low key amateur fights and 18 pro fights against journeyman - that most people have never heard of - can be given more than a token punchers chance in this fight. Kovalev was 195-18 in the amateurs for example, and had a lot of serious training camps (and fights) with the likes of Beterbiev. Some people have made some good observations that Yarde's shoulder roll style is actually quite poor, in that he's quite static and lacks flexibility due to being very muscle-bound. It appears Kovalev won't have any trouble finding the target with his faster, straighter punches. Nobody can remember any fighter from the UK ever winning a big fight like this without first having a series of stepping stone fights. It's a real head scratcher why people are seriously considering an upset here.

[Enlightened-One]

Ok, I’m going to try one more time, maybe you won’t understand, maybe you will. If you don’t, I’m not surprised and I’ll bid you good day. If you do, hallelujah ! We’re getting somewhere with you.

You said this fight appears to be a ‘complete mismatch’. You said ‘I’ll be shocked if Yarde pulls off the upset’ . That’s fine! You’re allowed to be shocked! However , you’re saying this on the basis of Yarde’s prior opponents - ‘but he’s so green!’ - rather than analysing the skill set of himself and kovalev - you know, things that are relevant to THIS fight.

Let me give you an example. If the bookies put as much stock as you do into experience and not the skills matchup, what do you think the odds would be for Yarde?

Whilst I’m not completely dismissive of Yarde’s chances of scoring an upset over Kovalev, I really can’t ignore his total lack of experience and nor do I feel compelled to applaud the Brit for his superficially impressive displays against absolutely terrible opposition.

Put it this way:
• During the first twelve bouts of his career, based on their total combined pro record, Yarde’s opposition had only managed to gain 83 victories from 233 fights! I don’t mind, but Anthony has only competed eighteen times!
• Anthony Yarde hasn’t fought any fighter current listed in the top-ten of the UK’s rankings, let alone the European or world ratings

And this is where I introduce the old “rose vs. thorn” analogy…

“Roses” look beautiful to the naked eye, but they’re cosmetic and can wilt under intense heat and pressure, whereas the “thorn” is less impressive to look at but remains sharp and on point under practically any harsh conditions.

Thus far, Anthony Yarde has been the “rose”. Looking as good as can be, while drawing praise from every fight fan based on how “beautiful” his performances are inside the ring, but it could very easily be argued that there hasn’t been enough “heat” on his resume to justify whether he's able to transform himself into the “thorn” when faced with a hostile environment.

And this is the reason why I feel your personal “eyeball test” is a deeply-flawed barometer to gauge Anthony Yarde's overall boxing ability.

[Evander]

Yarde looks in good shape.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Yarde looks in good shape.

He always does though.

[Evander]

Yarde looks in good shape.

He always does though.

Yeah he keeps himself in good condition, Kovalev doesn't look to shabby either.
Looking forward to this fight

[ewenhay]

What do you think the words in the following post suggest?

Instead of actively seeking opportunities to criticise others, you should instead learn to read and comprehend the thoughts they've actually conveyed.

It’s as if you’re closely scrutinizing individual sentences from someone’s post, looking for any remote opportunity to criticise them, whilst blatantly ignoring anything that doesn’t provide you with sufficient ammunition to attack them.

"God, I can’t believe I had to say that. But there we are. "

Ok, I’m going to try one more time, maybe you won’t understand, maybe you will. If you don’t, I’m not surprised and I’ll bid you good day. If you do, hallelujah ! We’re getting somewhere with you.

You said this fight appears to be a ‘complete mismatch’. You said ‘I’ll be shocked if Yarde pulls off the upset’ . That’s fine! You’re allowed to be shocked! However , you’re saying this on the basis of Yarde’s prior opponents - ‘but he’s so green!’ - rather than analysing the skill set of himself and kovalev - you know, things that are relevant to THIS fight.

Let me give you an example. If the bookies put as much stock as you do into experience and not the skills matchup, what do you think the odds would be for Yarde?

But that's how EO works.

Everything is based on something he's read in black and white.

There's no shades of grey

[chuck9788]

He always does though.

Yeah he keeps himself in good condition, Kovalev doesn't look to shabby either.
Looking forward to this fight

Me too! This is a great fight on paper, I only predict that it will be a very violent affair.

[dagilechia]

Wonder how good/bad Yarde's chin is... looks like they were cherry picking feather fisted opponents for him so far:

Travis Reeves - 17 wins, 7 by KO
Dariusz Sęk - 27 wins, 9 by KO
Tony Averlant - 26 wins, 5 by KO
Nikola Sjekloca - 32 wins, 11 by KO

[polecateddy]

He's going to look like a very hittable novice in there. No amateur background and has only faced journeymen. People it seems will have to see it with their own eyes it would seem , considering the amount of people on this forum on the UK and American side shouting up Yarde's chances.

[KiwiRider]

Wonder how good/bad Yarde's chin is... looks like they were cherry picking feather fisted opponents for him so far:

Travis Reeves - 17 wins, 7 by KO
Dariusz Sęk - 27 wins, 9 by KO
Tony Averlant - 26 wins, 5 by KO
Nikola Sjekloca - 32 wins, 11 by KO

Very good point there Daggie me old mate
Those are very low KO rates for LHW. You would expect around 70% for light heavies.
So, going into the fight you could safely say Yarde's chin is completely untested. Coming out of the fight- tested