BoxRec

Who will be #1 LHW, after Ward's retirement ?

Kovalev will allways rule above Ward, we have all clearly and easely seen that.

It's wide open for now.

Gonna be an interesting year for the Light Heavyweight division.

Gonna have to see if Kovalev returns to form when he comes back, or if he's lost something.

..the question is clear although I never thought Ward actually RULED this division..

Badou Jack. Stevenson never fights anyone good and Kovalev has been exposed.

mustlogin wrote:Badou Jack. Stevenson never fights anyone good and Kovalev has been exposed.

Badou Jack ain't even gonna win his next fight.

Not sure, but I think Ward broke Kovalev, so I don't think it's him, last I heard he's planning on fighting without a trainer. Stevenson is next top for now, but he is so ambitionless and just seems happy to plod out the rest of his career. Jack is decent, but I'm not sure how good he'll be at L.Heavy, and he wasn'tt anything that special at S.Middle. So probably one of the prospects, but honestly I haven't followed them.

greg wrote:..the question is clear although I never thought Ward actually RULED this division..

OK, he defeated Kovalev twice. Personally, I consider the both Ward's wins pretty questionable, but, in the boxing history, Kovalev will have two L against Ward.

No Badou Jack?

gilgamesh wrote:

mustlogin wrote:Badou Jack. Stevenson never fights anyone good and Kovalev has been exposed.

Badou Jack ain't even gonna win his next fight.

I've said that for the last few Jack fights but he's won them all. It's time to give him a little credit.

gilgamesh wrote:

mustlogin wrote:Badou Jack. Stevenson never fights anyone good and Kovalev has been exposed.

Badou Jack ain't even gonna win his next fight.

I agree.

IKSRTFO wrote:

gilgamesh wrote:

mustlogin wrote:Badou Jack. Stevenson never fights anyone good and Kovalev has been exposed.

Badou Jack ain't even gonna win his next fight.

I've said that for the last few Jack fights but he's won them all. It's time to give him a little credit.

I do give him credit. I think he deserved the decision against James Degale, I picked to beat Cleverly. He's a good fighter, certainly not an unbeatable one. I'm confident Bivol can and will beat him.

Jack definitely should be on the list. He's more accomplished than all but kovalev.

It's wide open for me.

Kovalev - Definitely beat Ward the first time around, for me, but the two fights took a lot out of him. Until he proves otherwise, in the ring, I see him as damaged goods.

Stevenson - Who knows? He's 40 now, and he's fought absolutely nobody in the past 3-4 years... Power is the last thing to go in an ageing fighter, but I suspect he gets found out by at least 4 or 5 other fighters in the division now. I really don't see him having the same athleticism now, as in 2013 - not unless he's got anyone in camp doing a bit of creative chemistry...

Beterbiev - Needs to be more active... He could potentially do something, but the jury's still out.

Bivol - Too soon? I don't know. He looks great, but is it too soon to throw him in with the top dogs? Probably one for 2019 onwards, for me.

Gvozdyk - If he can get the right fights, probably my favourite to take the no.1 spot - at least for now.

Jack/Barrera - Can we really count these two out? I've possibly underestimated Jack, for a long time - seeing him as a fighter who's competent in every area, but elite in none - but his results keep making me pay attention. Barrera is clearly better than most of us assumed in the lead up to the Ward fight, but how good remains to be seen.
I'd pick both of these two to beat Stevenson, if they were fighting tomorrow...

I'd pick both Jack and Barrera to beat Stevenson as well. Stevenson has had a sorry run as "Champion", and like you I figure there's numerous guys in the division that could beat him.

Bivol couldn't even stop a 9-7 guy last year... Jack has improved so much, fought Dirrell, Groves, Bute, DeGale & Cleverly, and no one managed to beat him. Bivol won't either. I'd be surprised if Jack does not beat the shit out of him. He's gotta hope he lands a perfect lucky one like Edwards did.

Kovalev is clearly the best but there's questions about his mentality and ability to bounce back following the ward saga.

Jack was super impressive vs cleverly, but kovalev had already mentally destroyed cleverly. I think he's good enough to mix it with the best at 175

Stevenson. Since he iced Dawson what has he done? The ship is sailing and I'd say he's slipping behind

Beterbiev, could be the best but needs the career fights

PsychoGamerTwo wrote:Bivol couldn't even stop a 9-7 guy last year... Jack has improved so much, fought Dirrell, Groves, Bute, DeGale & Cleverly, and no one managed to beat him. Bivol won't either. I'd be surprised if Jack does not beat the poo out of him. He's gotta hope he lands a perfect lucky one like Edwards did.

That guy you mentioned that Bivol didn't stop has only been stopped once, and it was via 12th round TKO. I think it's safe to say he's a pretty durable guy in spite of his poor record.

gilgamesh wrote:

PsychoGamerTwo wrote:Bivol couldn't even stop a 9-7 guy last year... Jack has improved so much, fought Dirrell, Groves, Bute, DeGale & Cleverly, and no one managed to beat him. Bivol won't either. I'd be surprised if Jack does not beat the poo out of him. He's gotta hope he lands a perfect lucky one like Edwards did.

That guy you mentioned that Bivol didn't stop has only been stopped once, and it was via 12th round TKO. I think it's safe to say he's a pretty durable guy in spite of his poor record.

Might be, but he hasn't fought nobody either, and clearly isn't on the same level as Jack. You think Jack would have been stopped against his opponents?

gilgamesh wrote:

IKSRTFO wrote:

gilgamesh wrote:
Badou Jack ain't even gonna win his next fight.

I've said that for the last few Jack fights but he's won them all. It's time to give him a little credit.

I do give him credit. I think he deserved the decision against James Degale, I picked to beat Cleverly. He's a good fighter, certainly not an unbeatable one. I'm confident Bivol can and will beat him.

x2......

Paul Smith is stepping up to LHW. Why's he not included in the poll?

Btw what with 3 LHW belts now?

Stuarty30 wrote:Paul Smith is stepping up to LHW. Why's he not included in the poll?

Simply, I can not memorise all Smiths.

Cent0089 wrote:Btw what with 3 LHW belts now?

Yes, some interesting fights might happen very soon.

ValMar wrote:

Stuarty30 wrote:Paul Smith is stepping up to LHW. Why's he not included in the poll?

Simply, I can not memorise all Smiths.

Paul 'Smigga' Smith. He's an absolute beast!