BoxRec

It would also inflate wards already massive head

jamamb wrote: ↑26 Nov 2017, 16:56 ya bivol has fought total poo as a pro. but thought he was a good amateur. won youth world titles, euro title, and lots of russian titles, which is good considering how good russia is in amateurs.

he just doesnt convince me yet though.

His body of work is impressive. His skillsets are elite-level. Dude is a force.

Kovalev beating Gvozdyk, Bivol, and Beterbiev would be insane.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote: ↑26 Nov 2017, 15:51 He'd definitely beat beterbiev.

Judging Beterbiev by his fights against his recent opposition is like judging Ward by his fights against Smith and Brand. Unless his injuries are not healing, he is capable of much more and is tough as hell.

how do we know hes that tough? he hasnt fought anyone dangerous. hes been down before and ive seen him turned to jelly legs as an amateur. that doesnt mean hes not tough but whats the evidence. i wouldnt be surprised if sullivan barrera got off the canvas to beat him or give him hell.

there are deffo some eastern euro bonus points going around forbert and bivol. kov is most legitimate of the eastern euros by far and still arguably #1 at lhw

It could change but at this point I think Sergey beats Beterbiev.
Bivol is a work in progress but he does look quite good, Kovalev could risk it against Bivol but he may not want to let him mature and strike immediately to put him out of the frame altogether if he can.

Would be some good wins but they all have some work to do. I have my doubts about Kovalev's stamina being much better than it has been. At this stage of the game, stamina is more mental than physical. You can get through tough moments when you're tired, if you really want to.

Mexi-Box wrote: ↑26 Nov 2017, 19:06

jamamb wrote: ↑26 Nov 2017, 16:56 ya bivol has fought total poo as a pro. but thought he was a good amateur. won youth world titles, euro title, and lots of russian titles, which is good considering how good russia is in amateurs.

he just doesnt convince me yet though.

His body of work is impressive. His skillsets are elite-level. Dude is a force.

Kovalev beating Gvozdyk, Bivol, and Beterbiev would be insane.

That would be pretty impressive from Kova.

boxing_rocks wrote: ↑26 Nov 2017, 19:58

SaadOffTheDeck wrote: ↑26 Nov 2017, 15:51 He'd definitely beat beterbiev.

Judging Beterbiev by his fights against his recent opposition is like judging Ward by his fights against Smith and Brand. Unless his injuries are not healing, he is capable of much more and is tough as hell.

Evander wrote: ↑26 Nov 2017, 20:55 It could change but at this point I think Sergey beats Beterbiev.
Bivol is a work in progress but he does look quite good, Kovalev could risk it against Bivol but he may not want to let him mature and strike immediately to put him out of the frame altogether if he can.

I ran into some clips from Bivol's amateur fights. Clearly, he can do more than he had to demonstrate in pro.

https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/934872560302415872

Though Kovalev would probably beat Bivol or Beterbiev now, time is not on his side since Bivol is 8 years younger than him, and both Bivol & Beterbiev have far less wear and tear than Sergei.

Former Eastern Bloc fighters already own the light heavies. Some will disagree & need more time for clarification.

Both Bivol and Beterbiev look sharp, but they haven't been truly tested yet. While we know, what Kovalev is capable of, and he still in shape, so for now I pick Sergey to win. It will be great, if those fights take place in near future.