crusader wrote:TheLeprechaun wrote:gilgamesh wrote:
Ward's only ever stopped one big name fighter. He ain't stopping Kovalev. Ward definitely has strength on the inside, but he'll never have faced an opponent as strong as Kovalev, and he's never faced a hitter like Kovalev.
Kovalev will probably just lose a wide decision but it depends on whether or not he accepts that Ward is the better man like all of Wards opponents have. Both they and Ward then settle for Ward UD. Kovalev will have to settle for Ward UD or get knocked out. I get the feeling he will settle for Ward UD but some fighters would rather be knocked out than lose a decision.
I like Ward in that fight too, but perhaps you underrate Kovalev? You predicted that Hopkins would school him and seemed to suggest that Pascal had a realistic chance of cruising to a win. I believe you also stated that Sergey would be outclassed by Stevenson, which I think is unlikely going by the evidence.
As for the stopoage, Ward is s relatively light hitter and despite landing clean all night couldn't put down guys who've been dropped/hurt many times, like Allen Green and EdIson Miranda. To give another example, Edwin Rodriguez was all over the place after two rounds with Mike Seals and Thomas Williams, yet never even hurt by Ward over 12.
I did think Hopkins would beat him. I think Hopkins showed big signs of aging in that fight. I would have expected him to do better than Chilemba did but he did far worse. I thought Hopkins would have the angles and movement and feints/lead left hook/pot shot right hand/jab to offset Kovalev and keep him tentative. Turned out Hopkins had to be even more negative than usual after he felt Kovalevs power early. Seeing Kovalev vs Chilemba, you can see where I was coming from. Take the Hopkins who fought Calzaghe even (a fight I scored 6-6 with the knockdown giving Hopkins a one point lead) and I'd give him a big chance vs Kovalev.
I remember saying I thought Stevenson could outbox Kovalev and this was just after the Bellew fight if I recall. Stevenson had beat Dawson, Cloud and Bellew by stoppage and not lost a round and I thought he could keep himself on the backfoot and keep Kovalev tentative to throw and overextend. I was thinking Stevenson would get the KO actually but I didn't think he'd lose a round en-route. I still think thats possible. I'd take Stevenson to win that one. Stevenson has better movement and manages to land his fast left hand in pretty much every fight.
As for Pascal, that was another situation where Pascal hadn't ever been stopped and carried power and was faster handed than Kovalev so I was expecting him to be able to keep Kovalev honest but surprisingly to me, he crumbled every time he got hit. I took Kovalev in their rematch.
I still see Kovalev as limited but very powerful. If he can land, the fight is over. If a fighter can constantly offset him and is a good defensive fighter, then I think he can and will be made to look average.
As far as Ward stopping him, I know there is a difference between amateur and pro but Kovalev was amateur into his early 20s and got well and truly STARCHED very heavily in a fight that I think it available on youtube. I think his chin might be far from granite. Funnily enough, I remember warren and cleverly referring to that fight and I believe that footage was the main reason Warren and Cleverly were so confident in taking that fight.
...In all serious though I know what you mean.
