"SOG" Ward vs "King" Krusher Kovalev @ 175 lbs / 12.5 stone: Who wins?

[LoadedWraps]

The Battle for P4P Supremacy?


Andre "SOG" Ward (29-0-0) vs Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev (29-0-1)
Light Heavyweight / 175 lbs / 12.5 Stone
11.19.16 HBO

I have a close feel out type fight for one round, til Kovalev turns it up and walks Ward down and mauls him, beating him from pillar to post for several rounds til the 7th, where Kovalev knocks him down twice. Ward has a spirited 8th round which he wins but takes massive damage, and the towel is thrown from his corner in the 9th, Ward still on his feet but bleeding from cuts and ears.

What say you!?

OP has been updated since the fight is now official.

[LoadedWraps]

I just don't see how Ward can keep kovolev at bay for 12 rds.. He will have to fight a perfect fight and hopes kovolev gasses in the 2nd half..

Should be a great fight and winner is clearly best fighter in the world

Yea I don't see how Ward Keeps Kovalev off of him for long.

[Hype job]

Punches landed favors the more quicker and accurate Ward than the slow robotic Kovalev


All Kovalev has going for him is his power

Kovalev isn't slow.

[mathed]

Brand was landing the right hand very cleanly last night. Kovalev will spark him out unless Hunter saves him on the stool.

[Richard Hamilton]

Ward is a gym rat

[sunny31]

Yea I don't see how Ward Keeps Kovalev off of him for long.

He doesn't need to, Kovalev isn't effective at every range. Ward is more than capable of messing with his distance for the whole fight, plus Ward doesn't stand straight up, he bends low, uses upper body movement, constantly changes distance, and closes distance with fast feet and movement. He also uses good head movement, his head placement is constantly changing, this is years of practice, his defensive responsibility comes from years of repetition, and obviously natural physical talent.

Most people don't notice these things because their subtle, and quite frankly not everyone here has spent enough time in a boxing ring to notice these things. 90% of fighters (maybe more) try to establish offensive dominance in the beginning of a fight, i.e. establish a jab, right hand, land something big, show them a fast combination, they do these things to discourage the other fighter and establish control over them mentally if they can. Andre Ward is apart of a very select few of fighters who try to establish control and dominance by defensive movements in those early stages of a fight. If you watch him carefully, he will show the opposing fighter his superiority by patting their jab down, patting their right hand down, makes them miss, faints them, its a process of 'everything you try, I can see', and these things are equally discouraging and unnerving to the other fighter, and probably even more than because as I said earlier the majority of fighters they come across don't go about their business like that. Floyd does a similar thing, where he disarms the other fighter. Now don't get me wrong Kovalev won't get discouraged so easily, but Ward is not remotely comparable to anything he has fought thus far.

This is a complicated fight for both guys, I give Kovalev a big chance because he has the equaliser, and he is an educated offensive fighter, he can hurt you and knock you out with straight punches, which is a rare quality at elite level. He is built like a cruiserweight, for me he has to establish his jab to have any chance of building momentum. He can win rounds and break Ward down if the jab is working, because there will be rounds where he struggles to land power. It isn't his only chance to win, because he has that KO punch, but it is his only chance to win which doesn't revolve around landing one big shot to swing the fight in his direction. He is not capable of walking Ward down, he isn't that type of fighter, he is a boxer/puncher with a huge punch, he can stalk, but he isn't a pressure fighter. He needs to use his assets and advantages in this fight, which are height, reach, and getting his power shots home eventually.

[Build That Wall]

Kovalev isn't slow.

Kovalev is as slow as every other fighter in his country

[SERGEY DRAGO]

I win all fight

[LoadedWraps]

Kovalev is as slow as every other fighter in his country

No he isn't, don't be ridiculous. Kovalev will be all over Ward.

[LoadedWraps]

WAR KOVALEV!!!