Ward vs Kovalev is ON!!!

http://www.skysports.com/boxing/news/12183/10316518/sergey-kovalev-v-andre-ward-set-for-november-19-in-las-vegas


Best fight in boxing for the best light-heavyweight in the world., if not one of the best fights for years.  Beterbiev must be in the argument too, I think he'd be willing to face the winner.

I've picked Kovalev already but Ward has looked almost unbeatable. It'll be a massive win for the victor who must surely go to P4P number one.

For all that it's a great fight to get made, I doubt it will be a great fight. Ward is too tricky and slick to make it a war (be great if he did) and I don't think Kov's good enough to outbox him. Think there'll be a few close quarter engagements but Hagler/Hearns it won't be.

Still, it's one that asks a shedload of questions about both fighters and, as you say, should pretty much tell us who the p4p king is (so long as it's not an absolute stinker!)

Ward interestingly the slight betting favourite.

Excellent fight

Sticking my neck out and going for Kovalev

Whoever wins has to be talked about as an ATG

This is the sort of fight that all boxers should aspire to. The two best in their division happy to fight one another, each with a genuine shout of victory. 

I too am leaning towards Kovalev  (I don't like Ward but I recognise his talent) & I think Ward will definitely be trying to out-slick Kovalev. I just reckon that at some stage that Kovalev is going to hurt Ward, and he could be in a world of trouble then. I think Sergey's boxing skills are underrated, and whilst he isn't on Ward's level, he may spring a surprise. 

Kovalev by late-ish TKO,  say around 11. But I won't rule out a Ward decision or a draw either. Still can't be certain! A genuine "pick 'em"...

Ward, decision.

So The winner of Ward-Kovalev would have the best win in 175lbs since...

I'd need the help of someone here but I'm guessing you'd have to go back some way to find a more quality light heavyweight contest than this. Both bringing an '0' , both been looking nigh on unbeatable. It's a tremendous fight.

Kova can win by stoppage(Ward looked hittable for the first time ever in his last fight,) or points.

Ward can win by points but can't stop the Russian.

Kovalev KO. Only because Barrera hit Ward a fair few times in the last fight, and if you get hit that flush by Krusher, you won't get up. Simple as that. However, if Ward can use his undoubtable brilliance and ability, he can outbox him handily and put on a frustration clinic as we have seen many a time in the past. Moving up in weight though, and with Kov having a cracking chin, can ward hold him off for 12 rounds?

Cracking fight, looking forward.

Ward points.

Think it will be competitive but see Ward winning a close but clear points victory.

A super fight for the hardcore boxing fans but don't think it will be pretty to watch as Ward needs to frustrate Kovalev.

Fair play to both. Makes Stevenson look worse day by day.

I think it'll be a great fight. Agreed it's unlikely to be a rock'em sock'em brawl. But kovalev's power brings a tension all of its own. The fight could end at any point in 12 rounds.
There is so much on the line too, a dominant ward win elevates his legacy into the stratosphere. But where does he go with a loss? On the other hand a legitimate win for kovalev puts him in the conversation with the light heavy greats.

kingraf wrote:So The winner of Ward-Kovalev would have the best win in 175lbs since...

Hearns v Hill....

Just want to point out, Kovalev isn't just a power puncher, he has excellent skills, he wouldn't have been able to make Hopkins look silly without them

BoxingFan88 wrote:Excellent fight

Sticking my neck out and going for Kovalev

Whoever wins has to be talked about as an ATG

I don't want to be negative about a great fight (it's fantastic this is coming off) but becoming the best fighter at your weight doesn't make you an ATG. The winner could very put themselves in the discussion for being a great fighter but much would depend on the manner of victory.

I have a feeling Kovalev will hurt Ward along the way and look dominant in spots yet could still lose a decision if Ward nicks rounds. I see the fight being something like the Hopkins fight with Kovalev taking more punches back.

It may not be a great fight but it's a significant one. It would be the most significant win since Calzaghe beat Hopkins, for me.

Kovalev can definitely stop Ward. I expect Ward to be very cautious and fight in spurts, then spoil when needed.

I think he will win a unanimous decision, but expect him to be hurt along the way.

What's the betting SuperDuck won't fight the winner? Or even the loser...??


Ward SD.

Yeah Sergey can box, remember Hopkins saying that Sergey was a lot cuter than many people thought or words to that effect, and Hopkins has been in with them all, literally a who's who of his era bar Ward and Golovkin, and nobody's made him look as ordinary.

While Ward is viewed as the boxer and Sergey is viewed as the fighter, both are underrated in the other aspect... Ward can fight.

But as someone already said, Sergey's power brings a tension all of it's own... You're almost on the edge of your seat the whole time in his fights. What's freaky is, he doesn't need to load up to generate bone-breaking power. I can't think of another fighter who is able do that.

He's virtually destroyed or shut out everyone he's faced recently, nobody has been able to even be competitive with him; and Ward has hardly lost a round in years, so whatever kind of fight it turns into, on paper at least it's the most interesting fight for years for me.

Wonder how many times I'll change my mind on who's going to win. Although it's too early to say, got to say that like many others, I think both these two have got what it takes to become ATG's. Just hope Andre doesn't turn it into a stinker haha. There I'm showing my bias.. nothing against Andre who I respect, just find Kova more exciting.

TopHat24/7 wrote:What's the betting SuperDuck won't fight the winner? Or even the loser...??


Ward SD.

Translation -  I guarantee the Kovalev fight will never happen

http://www.boxingscene.com/adonis-stevenson-critics-i-guarantee-kovalev-fight-happens--105844


Wouldn't be surprised at all if Stevenson is negotiating an extension to his PBC contract.


Please can boxing fans worldwide unite and boycott this conman's fights from now on.

Herman Jaeger wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:What's the betting SuperDuck won't fight the winner? Or even the loser...??


Ward SD.

Translation -  I guarantee the Kovalev fight will never happen

http://www.boxingscene.com/adonis-stevenson-critics-i-guarantee-kovalev-fight-happens--105844


Wouldn't be surprised at all if Stevenson is negotiating an extension to his PBC contract.


Please can boxing fans worldwide unite and boycott this conman's fights from now on.

Haven't seen him fight since Bellew. He's still the man who beat the man, unfortunately. Like a few others, though, that starts to become meaningless when he takes that title hostage and the likes of Ward and Kovalev are willing to put it all on the line.

Ward will find the way and box his way to a decision win.

Yvon Michel knows perfectly well the fight's not big enough for the TV networks to come together, that only happens in exceptional circumstances.

Sulaiman doesn't want the fight, Haymon and Sam Watson don't want the fight for whatever reasons, so unless his Canadian fans boycott his fights which doesn't seem likely, the fight's never going to happen.

The worst thing is having to endure the way he looks into the camera in his horrible camp way and coos us with a 'Superman' but that's just me. And then that charade after the Pascal fight. It's a wonder his fans still turn up to see him. It really is.

90 year old Hopkins went the distance, I'm pretty sure Ward will.

Think Ward wins this by unanimous decision without ever getting significantly hurt.

Kovalev isn't hard to hit, Pascal landed flush a number of times, some of them wildish swings. Ward is much neater and more accurate

Ordinarily I wouldn't mind who wins out of Ward and Kovalev, it's just a great boxing match to me. It's Stevenson getting off the hook if Ward wins. That's why I want Kovalev to win so much. Because Stevenson orchestrated the biggest duck in boxing for the last twenty years or more and worse he continues to drop the Russian's name to publicise his fights and is grossly misleading the fans. I don't blame Yvon Michel at all, he just does what he's told.

Looks like Ward has signed to fight some guy I've never heard of in August as a tune-up fight. Puts Ward in the unusual position of a big name fighter having two upcoming fights on boxrec...

Another disappointing opponent from Ward but I guess it was more or less inevitable on this occasion.  He certainly knows how to play the system does Andre. And he does have time on his hands. If he did beat  Kovalev, you'd hope there'd be no more gimmes and it would be strictly quality from there on in.

Is it the right preparation for Kovalev? Should he have taken something tougher to get match-hardened? These are the questions people are asking. While other fighters may benefit from tougher competition, it won't effect Ward one bit imo. He knows his level and doesn't suffer from ring rust. He'll be at his peak come the Kovalev fight no excuses. And he'll need to be at his peak for sure, coz he's never faced anything like the Krusher before.

Haven’t been this intrigued by a ‘big’ fight between genuine pound for pounders since Rigondeaux-Donaire.

Kovalev has shown that there’s more to his game than just extremely heavy hands and has demonstrated against Agnew and Hopkins that he can use patience, footwork and ring IQ to beat more technical guys…But neither of them (given Bernard’s somewhat advanced years!) are anywhere near as quick, skilful or savvy as Ward. On the other hand, Ward has proved that he’s no runner and is more than happy to mix it on the inside and up close with powerful guys like Kessler, Bika and Froch…But they were naturally smaller, not as hard-hitting as Kovalev and, probably, not quite as good all-round as him either.

At Super-Middleweight the general rule seemed to be that unless Ward struggled with an opponent’s power, he had the advantage over them in every other area and I still think that applies at 175, albeit to a lesser degree. The Boone knockdown (just think, with a bit of luck Darnell could have had wins over both of these guys to go with his one over Stevenson!), given its serious nature, is a memory which still hangs over Ward to some degree, I guess, but while Kessler and Froch only had fleeting success against him in terms of landing big shots cleanly, the way Ward took them and usually sent it back with interest is proof enough that he won’t instantly fold the minute he encounters Kovalev’s heavy artillery.

A bigger problem might be that Ward hasn’t faced a top name for four years now, since Dawson. Has he lost half a step or a bit of sharpness? I agree with those above who say he hasn’t looked to be at his brilliant best in his last couple of fights, but he has seemed to raise his game when faced with the sterner challenges in the past. I think if he’s on form Ward has too many dimensions to his game for Kovalev. He doesn’t necessarily have to make it a stick-and-move, points accumulation job to win, but if he absolutely has to then he can, and that’s just it, for me – I think he has more ways to win it than Kovalev.

Ward via decision, for me, but it’s the toughest assignment of both men’s careers by a mile and I’d struggle to see it better than 60:40 or so in either guy’s favour.

Agree with Chris' assessment. Think a points decision for Ward with one card having it close and the others having it wide for either man causing us to go through another round of "what the **** were they watching?"

Ward looked less sharp and more hittable against Barrera - the Cuban simply wasn't able to exploit that to any great degree. I think his inactivity could hurt him here (especially considering who he's fighting in his next warm-up).

Kovalev, meanwhile, has been fighting often against former light heavyweight champions (Hopkins, Pascal x 2) and his warm-up against Chilemba should stand him in much better stead (Isaac is a million miles from Ward but he's awkward, holds and has a tricky style to fathom out).

I'm edging towards Kovalev. Those 12 rounds with Hopkins will have benefited him hugely.

Kovalev is like GGG to a lesser degree, we know how good we think they are but we don't actually know how good they are

I think Kovalev has been that far superior to his opposition that we haven't seen anywhere near his best yet

Could say the same about Ward, he will have to be at his elusive best though

Glad this has finally been signed. Think Ward could've picked a better warm-up fight, a light heavyweight rather than Alexander Brand.

Not been overly impressed with Ward's recent wins and think Kovalev will be too much for him.