Kovalev - How far can he Go?

Pretty quiet on here so...

Hopw far do we think Kovalev can go?

He has been making a fan out of me recently, and has a great attitude, spiteful punching power, and a good solid technique and chin.

However, he is very stright up with a really basic style which may be unpicked by those with the tools to do so.

Do we think he will get found out? If so, at what level?

Or does his undeniably strong core skillset have enough to take him all the way?

Think a Ward or Dirrell type (ie a mover, grabber, fast counterpuncher) beats him if they can take his shots.

I think you may be right, though i would fancy him, potentially, hunting Dirrell down. If he catches him, he seems to be able to land at will.

Ward i think will be too good, Ward seems to have more of a chin about him

if he hit like Paulie Magnigaggi, rather than Kovalev, I think he would be in dange of getting unpicked, but boxers of lesser skill, have made it in tougher LH eras because power is the greatest equalizer in our sport.

I dont think he has one punch concussive power, though nearly every punch seems to be with spite, and accurate with it.

I do have my doubts though if someone can pick and move, whether he may get frustrated and missing...

Ward has been hurt before, so kovalev could be a threat. I think he's fairly concussive rick! That's if he can land of course which is the tricky bit. He looks like a limited classic European style fighter, but he seems to find his target. He's accurate and clearly a very concussive puncher. Ward is several levels above anyone he's fought to date though and would be a strong favourite.

The Stevenson fight is the obvious one. Stevenson, faster with more skills, both punch very hard. Key factor might be punch resistance. I'm unconvinced by stevenson's. Infact I thought he was buzzed for a while in the fourth against bellew. kovalev looks tough enough, but hasn't been hit by someone like Stevenson.

Do you think that the Stevenson fight will be next Milky?

Or does he need another tune up against someone with a bang but a bit more limited, An Abrahams type for example?

No idea rick!

I think it's clear hbo would like it. I think it's clear the fans would like it. I think kovalev would take it. He certainly said he wants it.

If I was managing Stevenson, I'd probably be looking at the winner of bute pascal for a big domestic showdown. Given that froch beat both those mentioned (and looked very beatable against groves), that's an option too... Stevenson was hinting at that - as a local vote had come up with froch for his next fight (avenging the defeats for Canada etc).

He has a lot of choices, and I'd suggest that kovalev is the riskiest of them (apart from ward obviously). If they both stay unbeaten I think kovalev Stevenson might be a couple of fights away... Unless hbo make it irresistible. And while its big, I'm not sure it's that big... Especially if its still there in 6 months or a year.

Kovalev hits hard but im not sure if he hits hard enough for somebody with limited speed. It took a fair few shots to get rid of Cleverly, and somebody like Hopkins or Ward that doesn't take many shots might be tricky for him. He will have to wait his turn to prove himself though, as Stevenson and Hopkins will fight next. With the winner of Pascal and Bute looking to fight the winner of that one I suspect. Canada is where the money is at LH at the moment, and Kovalev has the least following

Not sure he hits hard enough? Look at his fights with Campillo, Cleverley and Saturday night to see just how hard he does indeed hit.

Concussive power.

Ive seen all his fights, he does hit hard of course he does. But so does Matthysse. I cant see Kovalev knocking anyone out with one punch though, hes a combination puncher. Don't think he could pin Ward or Hopkins down enough to knock them out. Might be able to beat Hopkins on points but id bet my house he doesn't drop him.

Disagree Lance. He battered Campillo literally man handled him.

He hammered Darnell Boone (who knocked out Adonis and also dropped Ward) in two measly rounds. Easy.

He hammered an undefeated champ in his backyard via KO.

He then destroyed Salikh on Saturday night and almost knocked him cold.

These are top fighters, not just walkovers.

Mathyssee has great power as does Maidana. But Maidana couldn't even spark Khan out.

There are different types of power, like GGG for example. He is no one punch specialist, but he breaks you down because EVERY shot hurts.

if Kovalev catches Anyone clean, its lights out, simple as that.

Kovalev has serious power... the kind the ancients would sacrifice virgins to... I think Stevenson can best him, but let's not kid ourselves, if kovalev hits, you stay hit.

Kovalev loads up on every punch. hes very very tough. but a guy loading up on punches wont get near ward or Hopkins. kovalev may well have a plan B. he might go on to be the best fighter in his division. but hes gonna need to show another side to his game other than the one hes needed so far. big punching will only take you so far.

I don't think he does load up on every punch. He sometimes wings big shots in, but lots of the time he's deliberate, technical, and accurate with his punches. He's also relentless in walking people down, and good at cutting off the ring. He's more of a technician than the likes of Maidana - and of Matthyse - plus I'd say he has more power relative to his weight than those two. I would not label him as 'only a puncher'. I don't think Hopkins could live with him at this advanced stage of his career (and life). No shame in that for Hopkins, the guy is a legend, but he's super old. Ward is special and in his prime, and I could see him neutralising Kovalev's weapons. It's still the hardest fight out there for Ward right now though.

If Boone can drop Ward, Kovalev can keep him down.... Thing for ward is that against a guy like Kovalev who will keep walking you down, you need something to keep him off... I don't think Ward hits hard enough to keep Kovalev off him, and while he can win a decision, asking him to keep Kovalev off him for 36 minutes is a tough ask.

If you have the kind of heavy hands Kovalev has then you stop anyone whether they are elusive or not. With his pressuring style eventually he will connect and then when he does his opponents legs will betray them. It's difficult to run effectively when buzzed. There are more skilled boxers than Kovalev in nearly every country but they are missing some vital ingredient and will never be ion the world stage. Despite his limitation I'd guess Kovalev's power and toughness will take him far.

Interesting debate guys, and thanks for the comments

I think in my head he is very similar to Hatton, superb but limited skill, and a couple of key attributes that will take him far, but just short of greatness.

Would love to be proved wrong though, and the fact that he has never needed a plan B yet, because Plan A is so good says a lot!

I don't particularly rate the guy..........He's a bit of a Julian Jackson isn't he..........Stand up, no head movement but can bang...........

Have no hesitation in saying a Saad Muhammad, Spinks, Hill all box his ears off.......As long as they go cautious early......

But hey it's enough.......and good luck to him........Fancy ward to beat him up..

I think he's a top quality puncher, I'm not overly convinced by his stamina through the later rounds because of how much malice he puts into each shot, but he hits bloody hard, much harder than I think some people give credit for. He doesn't have the best footwork and does leave himself open to being countered but these are mistakes he'll know of and will improve. In terms of a "who wins" scenario, I can see Stevenson looking quite old as the fight probably won't happen until late 2014 and by that point we'll have a 37 year old against a 30 year old in their prime. Right now, I'd say Stevenson capitalises on the mistakes and gets him out in round 7/8, but give him a year and he'll be knocked out within 6/7 because Kovalev will have tightened up by facing an opponent who is truly world level.

Its a tricky one to say who'd win between Ward and Kovalev because as we know Ward took Dawson to school, but Dawson wasn't exactly the second coming of PRIME incredible hulk Mike Tyson for power and was the notably bigger man. Kovalev is a bigger SMW than Dawson and has more power so although Ward is fast, does have silky skills and could counter him - would the power difference tell? I'd take Ward right now to win a UD, but like I said, give Kovalev 2 more world level opponents and provided he gets through them I think he'll learn enough to maybe get a late stoppage in 3/4 fights time.

kingraf wrote:If Boone can drop Ward, Kovalev can keep him down.... Thing for ward is that against a guy like Kovalev who will keep walking you down, you need something to keep him off... I don't think Ward hits hard enough to keep Kovalev off him, and while he can win a decision, asking him to keep Kovalev off him for 36 minutes is a tough ask.

if boone can be robbed in a split decision loss to kovalev, then surely kovalev is average???

Obvious comparisons are toward Lucas Matthyse and whether or not there is a Danny Garcia in the division. All of a sudden the aura wears off a bit and he's getting hit back hard. I think Ward beats him and makes him look ordinary in the process.i

The thing is that his last fight does flatter his punching power. I think Sillahk must have p4p worst chin in boxing, worst then Khan and Brian Sutherland.
 
Don't get me wrong, I think Kovalev is legit, but the punch hardly landed and it cabbaged him.

Seemed to catch him around the ear... Seen a few of those 'back of the head/neck' ko's recently. The traditional jaw knock out, seems a little passé these days!

Just read there that one of Kovalev's former opponents died as a result of being TKO'd by him. Scary stuff.

Doesnt seem to be that perturbed. Still banging them out for fun.

Thinks thats a worry for who ever faces him!

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:Doesnt seem to be that perturbed. Still banging them out for fun.

Thinks thats a worry for who ever faces him!

I know. I did read on his wikipedia page that he was shook up by what happened and made efforts to contact the guy's family, pay for flights for them, and donate his next purse to them - read about that here.

You expect that an event like that would affect his approach, but he still seems quite willing and able to knock opponents out.

The ko at the weekend was a funny one but two punches can do that. The first sends your brain in one direction, the second blow slams it back and you're gone. Nothing to do with chin in this case.

KingMonkey wrote:The ko at the weekend was a funny one but two punches can do that. The first sends your brain in one direction, the second blow slams it back and you're gone.  Nothing to do with chin in this case.

Who knows. But, Sillakh certainly does have a weak chin. He's one of the most technically gifted new boxers I've seen in a while. But, he's obviously not made of the right stuff for fighting at world championship-level.