Kovalev is fading, he looks tired, Ward can take this match easily.
The RedCafe Boxing Thread
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Wow nice comeback from Kovalev.
Id give Kov that last round
It's been a great fight.
Should Ward see this through, I see him winning a narrow decision.
Should Ward see this through, I see him winning a narrow decision.
Not FOTY but this has been an excellent fight. Ward has very good since being dropped.
Watching this fight on a Czech stream is no fun tbh.
Ward takes 11...Kov still ahead in the fight from what Ive seen.
The recovery from that second round knockdown was incredible. Real guts, spirit and determination from Ward. He's won it for me, but could go either way. Would like to see it again.
Ward did a lot better as the fight went on but Kov seem to answer him for the most part and had a knockdown. Think Kov did enough.
Curious to see what will Kovalev say about Wards physical strength and Ward about Kovalev power.
I have this for Ward.
Not pretty. I'd take a rematch.
Ward wins by a round on every card! What a performance.
YES. WHAT A PERFORMANCE.
Nah bs
Bad decision, very bad.
Tight fight but come on, no way was Kovalev up by a big margin.
I need to watch that again.
I need to watch that again.
Great fight. Ward by one... Sure, I guess (I missed the first 3 
).
).American fighter, american judges, fight held in america.
I'm no expert, but I thought Sergey won.
What's interesting is the unanimous decision...not one judge gave it to Kov...ridiculous. Should be a good rematch, hopefully they do it asap instead of putting it off.
Really fights like these should be held on a neutral grounds with neutral judges to avoid robbery decisions like this was.
Good point haha it was even unanimous. Ward looked surprised when they called him a winner as well.
Donald Trump already making America great again. Grabbed Kathy Duva by the p*ssy.
Thought Ward won nearly every round after the the first three. With a couple being either way. A draw or Ward win for me.
Speed differential at the start of the fight was a surprise indeed. Thought Ward would be as disparate in speed from the beginning as he was at the end; I think he did, too, and was caught out by the fact he couldn't slip Kovalev's jab or work on the inside before tying up.
Kovalov looked much bigger in there, too, but Ward really showed tremendous heart and guts to stay in the pocket when he could and also commit on the jab exchanges.
I don't know if it's Kovalev's speed or, what I suspect, in that Ward is a slower mover and reflexively than he was a few years back, but that was the factor that turned the fight from what I thought it would be to what it turned out as.
The body shots took their toll on Kovalev and reaped massive dividends for Ward in the latter part of the fight.
Very close fight, but Ward's output and the amount of shots he landed in the final third had him winning, for me.
If they do a run-back and fight again anytime soon, I'd expect Ward to do better in there from the outset than he did in this fight. He got more of the measure of what Kovalev is about than vice-versa by the end of the contest, and I think that will carry over into their next bout.
Kovalov looked much bigger in there, too, but Ward really showed tremendous heart and guts to stay in the pocket when he could and also commit on the jab exchanges.
I don't know if it's Kovalev's speed or, what I suspect, in that Ward is a slower mover and reflexively than he was a few years back, but that was the factor that turned the fight from what I thought it would be to what it turned out as.
The body shots took their toll on Kovalev and reaped massive dividends for Ward in the latter part of the fight.
Very close fight, but Ward's output and the amount of shots he landed in the final third had him winning, for me.
If they do a run-back and fight again anytime soon, I'd expect Ward to do better in there from the outset than he did in this fight. He got more of the measure of what Kovalev is about than vice-versa by the end of the contest, and I think that will carry over into their next bout.
Haven't seen the fight yet but a lot of the American press had Kovalev winning, Lederman had him 116-111. There will be a rematch no doubt.
Should've been a draw.
Had Kovalev winning by 3 or even 4. Poor decision in my book. Hometown stuff. Sky'a commentary was oblivious to Kovalev's jab.
Watched the fight at 6 am (+2 GMT). Slept after and had this dream it was all a stitch up. 2 guys looking to make money with the rematch to boot. Woke up thinking, "maybe that's why Kovalev slowed up so much".
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Yeah, but Kovalev's the more politically involved fighter. I think the right man won tbh, would need to watch it again to be sure.
*facepalm*
Rounds 7 and 9 are the only 2 where Ward conclusively outlanded Kovalev and was rightly scored 10-9's by all 3 judges. As for the rest of the "close" ones, if they were Ward besting the champion by over a 2 round deficit then I don't know what to tell you about the sport of boxing anymore. It was definitively not even a technical clinic exhibited. Marketing and hometown favourite over performance.
What? He is, and that's usually more important that the Nationality of the boxers when it comes to the scorecards.
In case you missed my point. American fighter won a shady decision, courtesy of american judges in an american city against a Russian opponent. Not to mention that on the same card a Cuban fighter was robbed as well against an american fighter.
So basically no matter if you win it inside the ring when all judges judge is your political affiliation?
I don't think it was a huge robbery. I can see why people though Kovalev won but it was a close fight. It's not like it was some disgraceful decision. I had Kovalev winning by 1 round but even then it was close.
Ward did well after the knockdown and you've got to give him credit, to come back from a huge lay off and put on that performance. There is a rematch clause apparently but I see Ward winning again personally and probably easier now. He improved as the fight went on and seemed to be reading Kovalev much better.
Again, don't think it was bias judges or a huge disgrace, it was a hard fight to score. It wasn't like that 1 judge who gave Canelo vs. Mayweather to Canelo for example.
Ward did well after the knockdown and you've got to give him credit, to come back from a huge lay off and put on that performance. There is a rematch clause apparently but I see Ward winning again personally and probably easier now. He improved as the fight went on and seemed to be reading Kovalev much better.
Again, don't think it was bias judges or a huge disgrace, it was a hard fight to score. It wasn't like that 1 judge who gave Canelo vs. Mayweather to Canelo for example.
"Shady decision"
What exactly was shady or underhanded about the decision?
Kovalev slowed down considerably in the last few rounds. Even if he did win, say, the first quarter of the fight, he lost the last quarter and the middle rounds are far from certain for either fighter.
Ward landed a lot to the body and obliques... are people accounting for that as well as the head-pointing?
What exactly was shady or underhanded about the decision?
Kovalev slowed down considerably in the last few rounds. Even if he did win, say, the first quarter of the fight, he lost the last quarter and the middle rounds are far from certain for either fighter.
Ward landed a lot to the body and obliques... are people accounting for that as well as the head-pointing?
As a modern day Rocky Balboa myself I coach kids not to leave it to the judges.
I had it Kovalev by 3. No way in my eyes did he lose that fight.
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