Kovalev vs Ward 2: Predictions from an Expert Panel

[gilgamesh]

There hasn't been much coverage of the upcoming Kovalev vs Ward 2 fight anywhere. It ain't much, but I'm trying my best to put at least a little something about the fight out there for it.

Have a look if you're interested

http://www.the13thround.com/ttround/ite ... ordID=2039

[Taansend]

To me, rightly or wrongly, Ward is the last of the old "skilled but boring" brigade that plagued the sport in recent years.

Mayweather was great up until around 2010 then it was just jab, grapple & smother.

Hopkins had skills but would just moan & cheat (although he was 200 years old)

Klitschko, had ten years of dull, dull fights up until his brilliant battle with Joshua.

And Ward is another fighter who is responsible for turning fans off the sport.

I love watching a pure boxer. F*ck it, I even enjoyed watching Skeete against Sam Eggington but these elite blokes using their skills to negate the fight just got too dull.

I think Ward wins handily (he's figured out the code now) but I'd love to be wrong. Skilful boxing is one thing but negative boxing by a skilful fighter is quite another.

Anyway, that's my view & I'm sure there's plenty who disagree

[gilgamesh]

To me, rightly or wrongly, Ward is the last of the old "skilled but boring" brigade that plagued the sport in recent years.

Mayweather was great up until around 2010 then it was just jab, grapple & smother.

Hopkins had skills but would just moan & cheat (although he was 200 years old)

Klitschko, had ten years of dull, dull fights up until his brilliant battle with Joshua.

And Ward is another fighter who is responsible for turning fans off the sport.

I love watching a pure boxer. F*ck it, I even enjoyed watching Skeete against Sam Eggington but these elite blokes using their skills to negate the fight just got too dull.

I think Ward wins handily (he's figured out the code now) but I'd love to be wrong. Skilful boxing is one thing but negative boxing by a skilful fighter is quite another.

Anyway, that's my view & I'm sure there's plenty who disagree

5 on the panel disagree

[Taansend]

To me, rightly or wrongly, Ward is the last of the old "skilled but boring" brigade that plagued the sport in recent years.

Mayweather was great up until around 2010 then it was just jab, grapple & smother.

Hopkins had skills but would just moan & cheat (although he was 200 years old)

Klitschko, had ten years of dull, dull fights up until his brilliant battle with Joshua.

And Ward is another fighter who is responsible for turning fans off the sport.

I love watching a pure boxer. F*ck it, I even enjoyed watching Skeete against Sam Eggington but these elite blokes using their skills to negate the fight just got too dull.

I think Ward wins handily (he's figured out the code now) but I'd love to be wrong. Skilful boxing is one thing but negative boxing by a skilful fighter is quite another.

Anyway, that's my view & I'm sure there's plenty who disagree

5 on the panel disagree

With my prediction of the fight or my moaning

[gilgamesh]

The prediction

[Ricky_]

I'm surprised to see so many picks for Kovalev there...

Kovalev was robbed and jobbed in the first fight but to be honest, Ward had neutralized him somewhat in the 2nd half of the fight. I think Kovalev needs to hurt him again early to stand a chance, i'm picking Ward though - he has his number now.

[BitPlayer]

To me, rightly or wrongly, Ward is the last of the old "skilled but boring" brigade that plagued the sport in recent years.

Mayweather was great up until around 2010 then it was just jab, grapple & smother.

Hopkins had skills but would just moan & cheat (although he was 200 years old)

Klitschko, had ten years of dull, dull fights up until his brilliant battle with Joshua.

And Ward is another fighter who is responsible for turning fans off the sport.

I love watching a pure boxer. F*ck it, I even enjoyed watching Skeete against Sam Eggington but these elite blokes using their skills to negate the fight just got too dull.

I think Ward wins handily (he's figured out the code now) but I'd love to be wrong. Skilful boxing is one thing but negative boxing by a skilful fighter is quite another.

Anyway, that's my view & I'm sure there's plenty who disagree

Maybe rule changes are needed to make it. Smaller glvoes for one would make blocking shots a lot trickier.

[dalcumly]

Ward can't improve from the first fight, but Kovalev can.

Kovalev by knockout.

[Autobarn]

I felt Kovalev won.

He truly dominated the first half.

And the second half I felt was tit for tat, even. In these repetitive ,after rounds Ward was holding and hitting but Kovalev was still landing his jab, his right and sometimes his left hook. Something you don't see in Andre Ward fights.

Think Kovalev should work the body of Ward, something he neglected in the first fight.

[SteveDow]

I really hope Kovalev wins this.

As good a boxer as he is, Ward is as dull as dishwater and definitely got lucky in the first fight.

If Kovalev wins it opens up a load of really interesting fights in the division with Stevenson, Beterbiev etc. If Ward wins it'll be dull no matter who he fights.

[Boxerbeetle]

I thought Ward won the first fight (just) but had Kovalev figured out by the end of it. Unless Kovalev has somehow improved his inside game, stamina and ability to cut off the ring, Ward will win more comfortably.

Of course, there's always a chance Kovalev ko's him, which would probably be the better result for boxing in general.

[Tanzio]

I find it very interesting that so many are suggesting that Krusher has more room for improvement than SOGgy does. Krusher fought a near perfect fight for the first four rounds and then failed to close the deal.

Meanwhile, SOGgy fought poorly in the first four and came on to win a razor thin decision. If the Oakland fighter improves his first half, and avoids getting ktfo, this fight will not be close. In fact, contrary to the vast majority, I think that SOGgy has a chance to stop Krusher late this time around.

Of course, Krusher is always dangerous, especially in the first half of fights. He could just beat down SOGgy early or hurt him bad enough to win a lopsided decision this time. However, he could suffer a serious adrenaline dump in the process of trying to end it early and get ground into pelmini content.

Do not dismiss the possibility of SOGgy actually clipping Krusher early either. If that happens, Krusher will attempt to comeback with a vengeance, do or die. It is not as if Krusher has never been caught before. It actually might be what leads him to sellout and ktfo SOGgy.

Great fight between two top p4p talents. I am looking forward to it.

[gilgamesh]

I find it very interesting that so many are suggesting that Krusher has more room for improvement than SOGgy does. Krusher fought a near perfect fight for the first four rounds and then failed to close the deal.

Meanwhile, SOGgy fought poorly in the first four and came on to win a razor thin decision. If the Oakland fighter improves his first half, and avoids getting ktfo, this fight will not be close. In fact, contrary to the vast majority, I think that SOGgy has a chance to stop Krusher late this time around.

Even if Ward dominates and wins every round in the rematch I guarantee you he ain't stopping Kovalev.

[Boxerbeetle]

Strange how different people see different fighters. I've never found Ward or Mayweather boring, and don't put them anywhere near the same bracket as some of the other genuinely 'boring' fighters they get compared to (Wlad, Rigo etc).

[Tanzio]

I find it very interesting that so many are suggesting that Krusher has more room for improvement than SOGgy does. Krusher fought a near perfect fight for the first four rounds and then failed to close the deal.

Meanwhile, SOGgy fought poorly in the first four and came on to win a razor thin decision. If the Oakland fighter improves his first half, and avoids getting ktfo, this fight will not be close. In fact, contrary to the vast majority, I think that SOGgy has a chance to stop Krusher late this time around.

Even if Ward dominates and wins every round in the rematch I guarantee you he ain't stopping Kovalev.

Easy to "guarantee" something that appears to be obvious. The odds are on your side. The "experts" are on your side. But, your "guarantee" is worthless.

If the fight plays out in a couple of the ways I have described, SOGgy may well stop Krusher late. The odds are against it, but odds don't fight.

[gilgamesh]

I find it very interesting that so many are suggesting that Krusher has more room for improvement than SOGgy does. Krusher fought a near perfect fight for the first four rounds and then failed to close the deal.

Meanwhile, SOGgy fought poorly in the first four and came on to win a razor thin decision. If the Oakland fighter improves his first half, and avoids getting ktfo, this fight will not be close. In fact, contrary to the vast majority, I think that SOGgy has a chance to stop Krusher late this time around.

Even if Ward dominates and wins every round in the rematch I guarantee you he ain't stopping Kovalev.

Easy to "guarantee" something that appears to be obvious. The odds are on your side. The "experts" are on your side. But, your "guarantee" is worthless.

If the fight plays out in a couple of the ways I have described, SOGgy may well stop Krusher late. The odds are against it, but odds don't fight.

If it's some unusual scenario where Kovalev starts getting a vicious headache at some point in the fight or falls and breaks his leg or something then Kovalev might stop him, but it's extremely unlikely. Stranger things have happened, but I'd be truly shocked if Ward stopped Kovalev.

[Tanzio]

Even if Ward dominates and wins every round in the rematch I guarantee you he ain't stopping Kovalev.

Easy to "guarantee" something that appears to be obvious. The odds are on your side. The "experts" are on your side. But, your "guarantee" is worthless.

If the fight plays out in a couple of the ways I have described, SOGgy may well stop Krusher late. The odds are against it, but odds don't fight.

If it's some unusual scenario where Kovalev starts getting a vicious headache at some point in the fight or falls and breaks his leg or something then Kovalev might stop him, but it's extremely unlikely. Stranger things have happened, but I'd be truly shocked if Ward stopped Kovalev.

Fair enough, but I would not be shocked. Surprised but not shocked. SOGgy is being underrated by many, including a bunch of "experts."

[gilgamesh]

Easy to "guarantee" something that appears to be obvious. The odds are on your side. The "experts" are on your side. But, your "guarantee" is worthless.

If the fight plays out in a couple of the ways I have described, SOGgy may well stop Krusher late. The odds are against it, but odds don't fight.

If it's some unusual scenario where Kovalev starts getting a vicious headache at some point in the fight or falls and breaks his leg or something then Kovalev might stop him, but it's extremely unlikely. Stranger things have happened, but I'd be truly shocked if Ward stopped Kovalev.

Fair enough, but I would not be shocked. Surprised but not shocked. SOGgy is being underrated by many, including a bunch of "experts."

Even those of us picking Kovalev to win the fight aren't saying it as if it's a sure thing. Ward winning the fight on points wouldn't surprise any of us that were picking Kovalev.

[TheLeprechaun]

Even if Ward dominates and wins every round in the rematch I guarantee you he ain't stopping Kovalev.

Easy to "guarantee" something that appears to be obvious. The odds are on your side. The "experts" are on your side. But, your "guarantee" is worthless.

If the fight plays out in a couple of the ways I have described, SOGgy may well stop Krusher late. The odds are against it, but odds don't fight.

If it's some unusual scenario where Kovalev starts getting a vicious headache at some point in the fight or falls and breaks his leg or something then Kovalev might stop him, but it's extremely unlikely. Stranger things have happened, but I'd be truly shocked if Ward stopped Kovalev.

Kovalev has stamina problems. He has admitted he was "empty" in the Chilemba and Ward fights in the second half.

I expect the fight to be nip and tuck initially and Kovalev to get very frustrated as the fight goes on. Ward will be landing jabs and counters and body shots and will be on his bike fighting defensively. Id like to see how Kovalev responds if he feels he is getting outboxed by Ward. I don't think Kovalev will just fight to lose a 12 round decision. I could see him going for it a bit which might leave him open for good counters, particularly the left hook. The way I see this fight progressing is that I think Kovalev is going to know he's losing. Even if he feels it's close he might expect to lose on the cards. Given his dislike of Ward, I'm curious to see how he reacts. I suspect we might even see some dirty tactics.

[crusader]

Meanwhile, SOGgy fought poorly in the first four and came on to win a razor thin decision. If the Oakland fighter improves his first half, and avoids getting ktfo, this fight will not be close. In fact, contrary to the vast majority, I think that SOGgy has a chance to stop Krusher late this time around.

You say that like you didn't pick Ward by stoppage the first time

[crusader]

Strange how different people see different fighters. I've never found Ward or Mayweather boring, and don't put them anywhere near the same bracket as some of the other genuinely 'boring' fighters they get compared to (Wlad, Rigo etc).

Ya, interesting. I'm just not into the relatively light-hitting, negating fighters like Ward; he's the type whose fights largely follow the same monotonous, uneventful pattern from start to finish, and it's more about what didn't happen than what did. I guess some people like that, especially the self-satisfied, 'I'm into nuances' types...

I'd much rather watch Wlad (when he holds it's 'awful', when Ward, Hop, etc. do it's 'crafty'), because the chances of seeing a big KO or KD--some point of departure from uneventful action--are pretty good.

[Tanzio]

Meanwhile, SOGgy fought poorly in the first four and came on to win a razor thin decision. If the Oakland fighter improves his first half, and avoids getting ktfo, this fight will not be close. In fact, contrary to the vast majority, I think that SOGgy has a chance to stop Krusher late this time around.

You say that like you didn't pick Ward by stoppage the first time

not as far off as the massive herd that chose Krusher by KO. In the last quarter of that fight SOGgy was far closer to stopping Krusher than the other way around. If he had gotten the job done in the first four rounds, he may well have stopped Krusher late.

In other words, I am of the opinion that SOGgy has more upside potential in this fight than Krusher. The Russian still could end it anytime in the first six though.

[crusader]

Kov wasn't close to being stopped at any point in the fight, and he had Ward in more serious trouble than Ward ever had him. Are you going to pick Ward by stoppage again to make it both fights?

By the way, loads of people (including posters in this thread) picked Ward to cruise to a dominant victory.

[Jackson328]

I felt that Ward made the necessary adjustments in the first bout and made it close but still had Kovalev shading it, a close fight although not the robbery some suggested. I think that win gives Ward the slight edge in the rematch and he may just frustrate Kov from the off this time and win a similar decision again.

[Boxerbeetle]

Kov wasn't close to being stopped at any point in the fight, and he had Ward in more serious trouble than Ward ever had him. Are you going to pick Ward by stoppage again to make it both fights?

By the way, loads of people (including posters in this thread) picked Ward to cruise to a dominant victory.

I picked Ward to cruise to a dominant victory, and I'm doing so again.

I regret nothing!