Ward vs Kovalev - Who've you got?

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AdamT wrote:I don't care about him calling out Floyd lol. He can't move up a division, but will move down to fight a smaller man.

You all cream yourselves over him, so yes that suggests you think he is great.

Who "creams themselves" over him? Do you have any examples of this gushing praise? Any articles claiming he's "top ten definitely" etc.?

Ward and Hopkins both called Floyd out, too. It's because they'd make a fortune to fight a guy who couldn't pop a balloon.

Do you not think ward would have won anyway?

I thought kovalev was done but the low blows were blatant and he should have had recovery time and ward probably docked a point at least

Yeah I'm not a fan now either. Dirty fighter and should of had points taken, or dq!

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Nicely done Andre, now onto bigger and better things.

F*ckin clown!

There were no low blows perfectly legal

Don't think ward would have won at all BoxingFan. Think Kov was handily ahead and Ward seemed out of his depth this time round. Completely different demeanour to the last fight. Kov was landing solid jabs. He would have lost the 8th of course but last night was just blatant cheating

True

Dylan1979 wrote:

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Nicely done Andre, now onto bigger and better things.

F*ckin clown!

Your man lost, boohoo.

What about that right hand that nearly finished him?

I mean I can't just Ignore the fact that ward hurt him badly and would more than likely land a punch like that again

It really was a peach

In my opinion kovalev wouldn't have recovered

But I wouldn't argue with the other viewpoint at all

The fact is low blows ended the fight

Ward shutdown a lot of kovalevs offence except the jab he showed good skills and wasn't even half as dirty

The reason kovalev was making a meal of the low blows was to get the ref to do something about it as Byrd did nothing in the first fight

In the end doing it too much seemed to work against him

That's my opinion and it can most certainly be wrong

I had kovalev up by a couple but ward was coming on and kovalev was fading

Just seen the finish, it was premature although kov was bent double and not throwing back so he gave weeks the opportunity.

Re the low blows I saw a couple on the belt and one that was definitely below it... enough to say that kov gets time to recover and Ward gets a ticking off/point deduction.

Do I think a Ward win was inevitable at that point? No. Likely? Yes after that round.

Ward/Kovalev 2 end was vaguely similar to Froch/Groves 1.Undeniably Kovalev was ahead, but he was throwing 50+ punches per round,he's never done that before.Kovalev was wiltingin th eighth, Kovalev burnt up all his energy and couldn't KO Ward. Kovalev has been exposed inthe past that it's an early KO or a laboured points win. Unfortunately for the Russian, Ward's a superior specimen to anyone else to Kovalev's cv.

If there's a third fight ward sparks him cold

I agree Ward Is better, but was still an awful stoppage. Wish had of been a clean end. Definitely a premature stoppage, but on second viewing Ward was definitely gaining ground fast, with still a few rounds to go.

Thought the way kolarov over exaggerating some of the borderline shots showed that he was struggling. Thought he was looking for a rest. Ward was definitely coming on strong and the right hand had nothing to do with low shots. He looked like he was running on empty and for me if the ref didn't stop it then it wouldn't have been far off

A legend of the sport............Without a shadow of a doubt.

Respect to Ward - he's beaten everyone put in front of him. I still don't like him, but I do appreciate what he has achieved. I also don't think he won the first fight but there's no doubt this time around. I think it's too early to call Ward a "Legend" when he's still boxing, and also when most people outside of boxing don't know who the hell Ward is. Let's see what else he can achieve - I reckon there's more to come.

Kovalev can come again - he's too dangerous for most but Ward's too slippery, too clever.

Now let's see Ward take Stevenson's title too. Or will Superduck strike again by not going for it?

I do not have much to add, Ward gaining, Kov slowing but as mentioned terrible finish, reminded me a little of Fury/Cunningham in that the losing fighter was tiring and may have lost either way but the final punch being a foul doesn't sit well, shame good fight.

I notice some of you keep saying that you had Kovalev was ahead, but he actually wasn't. Ward was one round up the cards of two judges and three rounds down on the remaining card.

I can't give my opinion of the fight as I didn't watch it. I won't be rushing out of my way to see it either.

Kovalev was making a meal of the low blows because the last referee didn't see any of them

If you bring more attention to them the ref has to do something about it

It was his downfall as he did it too much

Last shot was most definitely low though

Shame as I really wanted a clean ending

I think I saw enough to form an opinion of the way it was going and also to say how good of a performance it was

Atila wrote:I notice some of you keep saying that you had Kovalev was ahead, but he actually wasn't. Ward was one round up the cards of two judges and three rounds down on the remaining card.

I can't give my opinion of the fight as I didn't watch it. I won't be rushing out of my way to see it either.

A Russian will never beat an American on points in the USA.

Your evidence for that being one fight.

Weeks is dirty

Ward cheated constantly and got away with it, truthfully in a neutral venue it would have been a different fight anyone here that has boxed and been hit low knows very well why its an illegal punch it rips your guts out and softens up your middle far more than any legal shots generally do. A man won with low blows thrown through the the whole fight and shameful that wasn't dealt with. It's no wonder he only fights at home because with a strong ref he would be forced to fight fairly abroad and might well come unstuck. I honestly think if they fought in the UK last night even though it not perfect over here no way does Ward get away with that utter disgrace of a win.

I don't even think he was hit low, Kovalev knew he was done and tried conning the ref into giving him more time.

Hate watching Ward fight he is such a dirty fighter

He won Herman, twice, time to move on.

Weeks must never be allowed to officiate again. Ever

I think he is a bit dirty, but Kovalev looked a beaten man. I re watched it earlier. Kov was fading, ward would of won anyway.

Ward really is his own worst enemy sometimes.

For what it's worth, I was actually impressed by much of his performance last night. Not sure why so many saw Kovalev dominating the fight before round eight - I thought Ward was well in it and had been giving Kovalev plenty to think about. Both guys were fighting well to that point.

However, Kovalev was getting very frustrated and Ward was doing some great work to the body, which some point-blank will refuse to acknowledge. There were a couple of dubious shots thrown in there, no doubt, but in my opinion the ones which had Kovalev doubling over earlier in round eight and looking to Weeks to call the foul were legitimate, and a sign that Ward was really bothering him with those short punches inside, an area where Ward is very underrated. Then of course came the massive right upstairs which Kovalev never quite recovered from.

But that's the annoying thing with Ward. He had Kovalev hurt, very possibly on his way out there and then....But he has to go and ruin it. If he'd have just bided his time a little he'd almost certainly have had a much more convincing stoppage to his credit, as I think Kovalev was wanting out by that point, but he's handed his critics another stick to beat him with when he didn't need to. The last couple of shots before Weeks stepped in were low for sure, and there just wasn't any need for it. Shouldn't have been stopped in that manner and Kovalev should have been given time to recover. Ward may well be the better man, but he might need to try and prove it yet again against Kovalev...But to be honest, at what point do we say enough is enough, time for both guys to take on some new challenges?

Typical of the kind of big fight let down we're all so accustomed to, I guess. Again, a result with a slight footnote to consider and which leaves us all a little dissatisfied.

Ward is a very good body puncher Sergey can't really get any leverage on his body work needs to learn to bend his knees more and transfer his weight onto one leg

But disgraceful refereeing performance none the less I'd like to have seen Ward's deliberate low blows dealt with early in the fight and a point deduction he can't be allowed to get away with it in future(except maybe against Stevenson) it's so obviously deliberate and a part of his repertoire and don't mention the head either

Don't think it's set in stone though that Kovalev wanted out

Ward may have gone on to win by points

Kovalev could have rallied

We will never know

Only way to deal with a low blow is deliver one back, then watch the referee squirm when he tries to enforce one but not the other

Hatton did it to Tzyu and cut that out straight away

88Chris05 wrote:Ward really is his own worst enemy sometimes.

For what it's worth, I was actually impressed by much of his performance last night. Not sure why so many saw Kovalev dominating the fight before round eight - I thought Ward was well in it and had been giving Kovalev plenty to think about. Both guys were fighting well to that point.

However, Kovalev was getting very frustrated and Ward was doing some great work to the body, which some point-blank will refuse to acknowledge. There were a couple of dubious shots thrown in there, no doubt, but in my opinion the ones which had Kovalev doubling over earlier in round eight and looking to Weeks to call the foul were legitimate, and a sign that Ward was really bothering him with those short punches inside, an area where Ward is very underrated. Then of course came the massive right upstairs which Kovalev never quite recovered from.

But that's the annoying thing with Ward. He had Kovalev hurt, very possibly on his way out there and then....But he has to go and ruin it. If he'd have just bided his time a little he'd almost certainly have had a much more convincing stoppage to his credit, as I think Kovalev was wanting out by that point, but he's handed his critics another stick to beat him with when he didn't need to. The last couple of shots before Weeks stepped in were low for sure, and there just wasn't any need for it. Shouldn't have been stopped in that manner and Kovalev should have been given time to recover. Ward may well be the better man, but he might need to try and prove it yet again against Kovalev...But to be honest, at what point do we say enough is enough, time for both guys to take on some new challenges?

Typical of the kind of big fight let down we're all so accustomed to, I guess. Again, a result with a slight footnote to consider and which leaves us all a little dissatisfied.

Dylan1979 wrote:

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Nicely done Andre, now onto bigger and better things.

F*ckin clown!

well said

The commie has turned up I see.

That comment was a bit below the belt

Watched the finish back this morning. That really was ridiculous. Kovalev - hurt for the first time in 20 rounds -was badly hurt (to the body after being chinned and wobbled). He fired back just prior to Ward digging in two blows to his balls (the latter of which hit the bullseye). Why Weeks called it off at that point is an absolute mystery.

Contrast that with Nigel Benn being punched, completely limp, through the ropes against Gerald McClellan. If we're stopping fights now as soon as a fighter is wobbled, then the sport has gone.

Imagine Kovalev got through to the bell and then dropped Ward. And then Ward rallied to stop him. You're then into legendary fight territory.

I mean look at AJ vs Wlad. You stop that one the first time one of them gets hurt and you lose one of the greatest heavyweight fights of all time.

I'm pretty sure Ward would have won down the stretch but we can't know that. Look at Gatti, Chacon - hell look at Saad Muhammad or Moore vs Durelle.

88Chris05 wrote:Ward really is his own worst enemy sometimes.

For what it's worth, I was actually impressed by much of his performance last night. Not sure why so many saw Kovalev dominating the fight before round eight - I thought Ward was well in it and had been giving Kovalev plenty to think about. Both guys were fighting well to that point.

However, Kovalev was getting very frustrated and Ward was doing some great work to the body, which some point-blank will refuse to acknowledge. There were a couple of dubious shots thrown in there, no doubt, but in my opinion the ones which had Kovalev doubling over earlier in round eight and looking to Weeks to call the foul were legitimate, and a sign that Ward was really bothering him with those short punches inside, an area where Ward is very underrated. Then of course came the massive right upstairs which Kovalev never quite recovered from.

But that's the annoying thing with Ward. He had Kovalev hurt, very possibly on his way out there and then....But he has to go and ruin it. If he'd have just bided his time a little he'd almost certainly have had a much more convincing stoppage to his credit, as I think Kovalev was wanting out by that point, but he's handed his critics another stick to beat him with when he didn't need to. The last couple of shots before Weeks stepped in were low for sure, and there just wasn't any need for it. Shouldn't have been stopped in that manner and Kovalev should have been given time to recover. Ward may well be the better man, but he might need to try and prove it yet again against Kovalev...But to be honest, at what point do we say enough is enough, time for both guys to take on some new challenges?

Typical of the kind of big fight let down we're all so accustomed to, I guess. Again, a result with a slight footnote to consider and which leaves us all a little dissatisfied.

I had Kovalev up 4-2-1 but Ward was "at it". He was full of fight and looked sure to come on strong over the last five (as he did in the 8th).

The more I watch the finish, the more puzzling it is.

hazharrison wrote:Watched the finish back this morning. That really was ridiculous. Kovalev - hurt for the first time in 20 rounds -was badly hurt (to the body after being chinned and wobbled). He fired back just prior to Ward digging in two blows to his balls (the latter of which hit the bullseye). Why Weeks called it off at that point is an absolute mystery.

Contrast that with Nigel Benn being punched, completely limp, through the ropes against Gerald McClellan. If we're stopping fights now as soon as a fighter is wobbled, then the sport has gone.

Imagine Kovalev got through to the bell and then dropped Ward. And then Ward rallied to stop him. You're then into legendary fight territory.

I mean look at AJ vs Wlad. You stop that one the first time one of them gets hurt and you lose one of the greatest heavyweight fights of all time.

I'm pretty sure Ward would have won down the stretch but we can't know that. Look at Gatti, Chacon - hell look at Saad Muhammad or Moore vs Durelle.

Wait for it!!!

I 100% agree!! It's no way for a championship fight to finish between two p4p fighters. I too think Ward would of won, but we will never know for sure. Both of Ward's wins are now very controversial.

AdamT wrote:

hazharrison wrote:Watched the finish back this morning. That really was ridiculous. Kovalev - hurt for the first time in 20 rounds -was badly hurt (to the body after being chinned and wobbled). He fired back just prior to Ward digging in two blows to his balls (the latter of which hit the bullseye). Why Weeks called it off at that point is an absolute mystery.

Contrast that with Nigel Benn being punched, completely limp, through the ropes against Gerald McClellan. If we're stopping fights now as soon as a fighter is wobbled, then the sport has gone.

Imagine Kovalev got through to the bell and then dropped Ward. And then Ward rallied to stop him. You're then into legendary fight territory.

I mean look at AJ vs Wlad. You stop that one the first time one of them gets hurt and you lose one of the greatest heavyweight fights of all time.

I'm pretty sure Ward would have won down the stretch but we can't know that. Look at Gatti, Chacon - hell look at Saad Muhammad or Moore vs Durelle.

Wait for it!!!

I 100% agree!! It's no way for a championship fight to finish between two p4p fighters. I too think Ward would of won, but we will never know for sure. Both of Ward's wins are now very controversial.

Kovalev won the first fight - I'll argue that until the day I get in my box. Ward, though, looked on course for a truly special win on Saturday. The fact that was taken away from him - and Kovalev wasn't given the chance to show he was great either - is criminal.

I'm still not going to concede the first fight lol, but the ending of the second was criminal. Robbed the fans too. That's no way to end a fight, even if the punches were legal (which they weren't).

Kovalev will feel hard done by for sure. Ward should be pi55ed too. He most likely would of won anyway and it would of erased the doubt surrounding the first fight. Sadly that isn't the case and he didn't truly demonstrate he was the superior fighter over the 20 rounds they fought.

AdamT wrote:I'm still not going to concede the first fight lol, but the ending of the second was criminal. Robbed the fans too. That's no way to end a fight, even if the punches were legal (which they weren't).

Kovalev will feel hard done by for sure. Ward should be pi55ed too. He most likely would of won anyway and it would of erased the doubt surrounding the first fight. Sadly that isn't the case and he didn't truly demonstrate he was the superior fighter over the 20 rounds they fought.

Not sure I agree there. Ward looked the better fighter, despite being behind.

Weeks was spoiling Kovalev in the clinches like he did to Matthysse and Postol same old same old Weeks

Never want to see his dirty ass near a ring again

Bad officiating Herman, but do you think Kovalev would of won?

hazharrison wrote:

AdamT wrote:I'm still not going to concede the first fight lol, but the ending of the second was criminal. Robbed the fans too. That's no way to end a fight, even if the punches were legal (which they weren't).

Kovalev will feel hard done by for sure. Ward should be pi55ed too. He most likely would of won anyway and it would of erased the doubt surrounding the first fight. Sadly that isn't the case and he didn't truly demonstrate he was the superior fighter over the 20 rounds they fought.

Not sure I agree there. Ward looked the better fighter, despite being behind.

Not sure how you can have Ward looking better yet was behind on nearly the whole entire planets scorecards?

I had Kov looking a lot better, great jab, Ward looked marked up and did at the post fight. He, in my eyes, cheated and won. It is what it is and we all move on. Stays undefeated.

On about taking on Joshua at Heavy? Hunter re-confirmed this today and is genuinely serious. Bit odd.

Ahh well, looking forward to Sep 16th now!!

AJ would smash him in no time. Surely a publicity stunt!

Yeh was thinking the same but they are super confident they can outbox him utilising his "attributes" as opposed to "size"

Fair enough, but he would literally be dodging bullets for 12 rounds because one jab from AJ would end Ward. Pretty sure of that.

AJ would walk through him. Ward couldn't even hurt him.

It is just talk for publicity. Though Maybe Ward would cash in on a career ending pay day??

mobilemaster8 wrote:

hazharrison wrote:

AdamT wrote:I'm still not going to concede the first fight lol, but the ending of the second was criminal. Robbed the fans too. That's no way to end a fight, even if the punches were legal (which they weren't).

Kovalev will feel hard done by for sure. Ward should be pi55ed too. He most likely would of won anyway and it would of erased the doubt surrounding the first fight. Sadly that isn't the case and he didn't truly demonstrate he was the superior fighter over the 20 rounds they fought.

Not sure I agree there. Ward looked the better fighter, despite being behind.

Not sure how you can have Ward looking better yet was behind on nearly the whole entire planets scorecards?

I had Kov looking a lot better, great jab, Ward looked marked up and did at the post fight. He, in my eyes, cheated and won. It is what it is and we all move on. Stays undefeated.

On about taking on Joshua at Heavy? Hunter re-confirmed this today and is genuinely serious. Bit odd.

Ahh well, looking forward to Sep 16th now!!

Ward looked more composed and more on his game. Kovalev was nicking rounds behind his jab but he looked a bit uncomfortable.

Floyd looked a better fighter than Oscar despite losing the early rounds. His plan - like Ward's - was to come on strong late, when Oscar - like Kov - faded.

AdamT wrote:Bad officiating Herman, but do you think Kovalev would of won?

Definite switch in Ward's favour if it had continued like that then yeah he(Ward) could have nicked it but as I say Weeks was blatantly spoiling by that stage

But how do we know Kovalev couldn't have rocked him with something causing another switch in momentum? Then Kovalev might have nicked it

We move on I'd like to see Beterbiev join the mix and maybe see the decider(if it's still viable) on neutral ground somewhere down the line London England The Millennium Germany, anywhere outside the US with a ref who won't stand for Ward's bully boy tactics.  What really gets me is Weeks how many more fights can he be allowed to ruin I can forgive incompetence(just) but I can't stand filthy little conts like Weeks

First fight was largely a tight battle of jabs.. this one kov won the battle of jabs but Ward was landing the bigger cleaner shots. Made it another 'what you like' fight from a scoring perspective.Maybe Ward decided to close the range and was prepared to take a few more jabs to land his power shots? Who knows.

there was a feeling that kov is susceptible to the body, that probably got backed up in this fight... as did his vulnerability to the nads. Wards a pretty decent body snatcher.. I remember him getting Froch to take some backward steps with some body work and Froch's a warrior in case you didn't know.

Decider? It's 2-0.