Sergey Kovalev vs Andre Ward

[keithmoonhangover]

Nope, you wont live it down. Being super insistent, and then wrong, should teach humility. Of course this is the internet and it seldom does.

I have plenty of humility thanks. You should try it sometime.

[Taansend]

I just noticed that further down the undercard there's a fighter named Sonny Fredrickson who is 14(9)-0 who is a 6 foot two inch Light Welterweight

[magwitch]

Ward is going to win every second of every round. You'll see the prefect performance tonight. Ward might ever stop him.

Get up there son, nice one At best you’ll be a genius and at worst you can give us all plenty of amusement on Sunday if Kov schools him No splinters in the bum for you!
I should say Kovalev, but I suspect that this Ward character might be a bit of a genius inside that squared circle.

[keithmoonhangover]

Ward is going to win every second of every round. You'll see the prefect performance tonight. Ward might ever stop him.

Get up there son, nice one At best you’ll be a genius and at worst you can give us all plenty of amusement on Sunday if Kov schools him No splinters in the bum for you!
I should say Kovalev, but I suspect that this Ward character might be a bit of a genius inside that squared circle.

In for a penny, in for a pound and all that.

[Loftgroov]

Anyone hazard a guess at the ring time for the main fight?

I plan to set the alarm rather than stay up, so if anyone seen the likely ring walk time for the main event then info welcome

[boxingknockout]

Anyone hazard a guess at the ring time for the main fight?

I plan to set the alarm rather than stay up, so if anyone seen the likely ring walk time for the main event then info welcome

According to telegraph 4am for main event

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.telegr ... ent=safari

[MightyWarrior]

Ward has slowed. He doesn't look formidable at 175, far from it. He isn't as impressive as he was. Without power his reflexes, movement and ability to navigate the inside had to be on point. Not being as sharp as he was and the way these guys' styles match up, Ward doesn't have much of a path to victory, and I'm very confident in that analysis.

Volume is key in this one. Ward is going to upset Kovalev's rhythm to a certain degree and lower his output. But Kovalev is always going to be the one commanding and cutting off the ring and conserving energy. He showed vs Hopkins that he can pick his punches intelligently and make his opponent go backwards and use up energy without much exertion himself. That will happen to Ward, and to win the fight Ward has to find a way of not only staying out of trouble but landing more than Kovalev. That sounds like matching him for output to me. If he tries that Ward is getting starched. He is simply not going to get through this one without getting hit hard, and I don't believe he has the constitution to live with that.

Kovalev is winning this fight in a lopsided manner. It's just a question of when he gets to Ward. I predict by round 5 Ward will be in survival mode.

Ahhh Riddick, putting your neck on the line with a bold prediction, going against the general opinion, I like it

though you have good company, with the ultra sharp Graham Houston calling this for the dastardly Russian too.

well I recall you telling us that Kov was gonna pulverize Clev, which I doubted, and I hope you're right here too, as I love watching the Krusher, and I can't say the same about the boring American...

BUT...maybe for the sake of argument, could it be that Andre is right, and that Kov is really just a bully, and the wily battle hardened Ward is gonna show him up ?

I have to admit, I've not watched Ward too closely of late, fast forwarding though his boring fights, so maybe I'm coming in half cocked, but it seems to me that Ward is one of those who always finds a way to win, by hook or by crook, mauling, grabbing, landing enough and not getting hit too much - I think he out foxes Kov tonight for a points win. Though I really hope you're right and we see Krusher blast his way to a great win.

[Taansend]

Anyone hazard a guess at the ring time for the main fight?

I plan to set the alarm rather than stay up, so if anyone seen the likely ring walk time for the main event then info welcome

According to telegraph 4am for main event

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.telegr ... ent=safari

I f*cking hope not. I don't get in from work until 11.30pm (4:30am GMT) and will have to spend ten minutes scrabbling around for a stream.

[Bard of Boxrec]

Ahhh Riddick, putting your neck on the line with a bold prediction, going against the general opinion, I like it

though you have good company, with the ultra sharp Graham Houston calling this for the dastardly Russian too.

well I recall you telling us that Kov was gonna pulverize Clev, which I doubted, and I hope you're right here too, as I love watching the Krusher, and I can't say the same about the boring American...

BUT...maybe for the sake of argument, could it be that Andre is right, and that Kov is really just a bully, and the wily battle hardened Ward is gonna show him up ?

I have to admit, I've not watched Ward too closely of late, fast forwarding though his boring fights, so maybe I'm coming in half cocked, but it seems to me that Ward is one of those who always finds a way to win, by hook or by crook, mauling, grabbing, landing enough and not getting hit too much - I think he out foxes Kov tonight for a points win. Though I really hope you're right and we see Krusher blast his way to a great win.

Hi mate! Well, sometimes you just have to make a prediction, I don't do it much but I've been looking forward to this fight for years, back when Ward was at 168 just hoping he would move up to make it happen. Just feel very strongly like I know what's going down!

[Spiker]

Anyone hazard a guess at the ring time for the main fight?

I plan to set the alarm rather than stay up, so if anyone seen the likely ring walk time for the main event then info welcome

According to telegraph 4am for main event

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.telegr ... ent=safari

Sky sports 3 are showing repeat at 9.55 am Sunday morning.

[cookiejason]

Anybody know what time ring walks are ?

[ElJefe]

Aside from what I mentioned yesterday- I wouldnt be hugely shocked if Ward fought a large portion of the fight as a southpaw. He's a natural lefty who converted and he looks pretty much as comfortable as a left hander as he does fighting orthodox.

To be honest I'd be shocked if he went southpaw for prolonged periods of time. His best punches are his jab and his left hook. His jab will be essential to offset Kovalev from range who has a brilliant jab himself. He'll also need both his jab and his left hook if he wants to close the distance and work inside. I don't see him trying to get close to Kovalev leading with his weak side and risking walking on to a right hand. Plus, I think the advantage gained would be relatively small, we haven't seen (that I know of) any examples of Kovalev having trouble with a southpaw. Seems like a huge risk to me. I've been wrong before though.

That's what's great about this fight. Prompts proper technical discussion because everyone realises that this is a seriously high level match up.

How will Kovalev react to being bullied and mauled? Froch and Kessler said that it was extremely frustrating.

He said if Ward tries that that he'll break his arms. The man is a stone cold zero fucks given assassin. May not win him the fight but he's a scary man either way.




I've swung back and forth on this a couple of times. When the fight first got made I was confident that Kovalev would win. The closer it's got the more I've liked Ward's chances, for the past week or so I've been leaning towards him making it ugly and getting a close decision. But for some reason today I've gone back to Kovalev. I think the biggest moment of this fight will be Ward's mental reaction to getting hit. Assuming his physical reaction is ok in that he's still conscious when Kovalev lands a right hand it'll be interesting to see the mental effect. He comes across as someone who is almost impossible to faze but if feeling the Krusher's power makes him hesitant about closing the gap and working inside then I think Kovalev will be able to out work him at range.

Final pick: Ward starts well, smothering and out working Kovalev inside and taking the early rounds. Kovalev gets his timing around the 4th and starts to anticipate Ward's attempts to close distance. In the mid rounds Ward feels the power. Ward is still in the fight but is a little too hesitant in closing the gap because of the threat of Kovalev's power. Kovalev is able to out work the hesitant Ward down the stretch by controlling range with his feet and jab en route to a 116-112, 115-113 x2 victory. Kovalev by decision.

[keithmoonhangover]

I don't know about a dance but there's more worrying marking up for Ward.

If he even gets into the second half of the fight his face will be a mangled mess vs Sergey.

You see it Kovalev and I see it Ward. Bet you a BoxRec £1?

[Boxerbeetle]

Are people planning on staying up for this one or setting an alarm? I think I'm going to do an all-nighter for the first time since Mayweather's last fight. That fvcked me up for about a week and was a crap fight so definitely wasn't worth it; hopefully this one will be.

[keithmoonhangover]

Are people planning on staying up for this one or setting an alarm? I think I'm going to do an all-nighter for the first time since Mayweather's last fight. That fvcked me up for about a week and was a crap fight so definitely wasn't worth it; hopefully this one will be.

I'm off work tomorrow, but Mrs Hangover has plans. What to do?

[Bard of Boxrec]

Are people planning on staying up for this one or setting an alarm? I think I'm going to do an all-nighter for the first time since Mayweather's last fight. That fvcked me up for about a week and was a crap fight so definitely wasn't worth it; hopefully this one will be.

4am jobs are awful for sure. I don't know where I'm watching yet, might have to be the casino.

[Boxerbeetle]

Are people planning on staying up for this one or setting an alarm? I think I'm going to do an all-nighter for the first time since Mayweather's last fight. That fvcked me up for about a week and was a crap fight so definitely wasn't worth it; hopefully this one will be.

4am jobs are awful for sure. I don't know where I'm watching yet, might have to be the casino.

I'm getting a day pass for Now TV and gonna watch it through the Playstation. Can't be arsed with the casino.

[Boxerbeetle]

Are people planning on staying up for this one or setting an alarm? I think I'm going to do an all-nighter for the first time since Mayweather's last fight. That fvcked me up for about a week and was a crap fight so definitely wasn't worth it; hopefully this one will be.

I'm off work tomorrow, but Mrs Hangover has plans. What to do?

Fake an illness until she goes out?

[ElJefe]

Also worth noting that Kovalev didn't really set his feet against Hopkins, he always stayed a little bit bouncy and on his toes allowing him to take that step or even just half step back to stop Hopkins coming in and giving him the room to land a counter. I think against Chilemba he tended to set his feet a bit more because he wasn't worried about the opponent and was more bothered about forcing a KO. Both Kovalev and John David Jackson are too intelligent to let that happen again, imo.

[Bard of Boxrec]

Ward/Kovalev got exactly eight lines in the Times today underneath a large article about George Groves' fight.

Lol

[keithmoonhangover]

Are people planning on staying up for this one or setting an alarm? I think I'm going to do an all-nighter for the first time since Mayweather's last fight. That fvcked me up for about a week and was a crap fight so definitely wasn't worth it; hopefully this one will be.

I'm off work tomorrow, but Mrs Hangover has plans. What to do?

Fake an illness until she goes out?

[Andrew]

Are people planning on staying up for this one or setting an alarm? I think I'm going to do an all-nighter for the first time since Mayweather's last fight. That fvcked me up for about a week and was a crap fight so definitely wasn't worth it; hopefully this one will be.

Setting the alarm this time.

The best thing I used to do for overnight fights was have a night out on the town then make sure I got home for the fight.

[Andrew]

Been on the fence until recently. I just feel Wards opposition has been poor recently and his large in activity prevented him from really establishing his legacy.

I want Kovalev to win mainly because I feel its better for the sport to have an exciting figurehead. Plus I still want him to execute Chickenson aspfter this for all of the belts.

If ward wins I won't be gutted as I've got a lot of admiration for him. I just hope it's an excellent fight.

2016 has been the worst year for the sport since I've been a fan. If either fighter backed out of this I was going to kick it in the head. Just glad it's happening.

[Bard of Boxrec]

i seem to be drunk already. this doesnt bode wel for going to the casino

only another 7 hours

christ

[Counter-puncher]

2016 has been the worst year for the sport since I've been a fan. If either fighter backed out of this I was going to kick it in the head. Just glad it's happening.

Yeah, fair play to both of them (and thank god) that its happening, a pullout would have pitched me over the edge, I think id just sort out whatever tv package was necessary to become a UFC fan.