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Clearly the last shot was square on the balls (the first three being borderline low as Kov said).
Just notice Kov's bum jolting back; that's definately not a body shot. As someone said, it looked more like resignation and I think it's because of all the stuff Ward was getting away with. (One of the first low blows he complained about was just laughed off by the ref).
I think ward seemed to be getting an edge during those rounds anyway.
Not only were the blows quite low, but I also think that Kovy would deserve a count and not get a stoppage right away. Just my 2 cents, but I think that the issue of these last 2 fights are pretty controversial and will do nothing to improve boxing's image :(
Dear lord people. Over and over "I think he deserved a count"
The fight was fought under the unified rules of the boxing commisions. That means no standing eight count. He CAN NOT give him a standing eight count. If we're going to ignore what was happening in the fight for details let's get the details right.
I agree, I think Kov was hurt bad and Ward may have kept the pressure on and may have forced the stoppage, unfortunately we will never know because the ref took that option away from Ward.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Swanson
He couldn't have have a standing 8 count but he could have gave Kov a 5 minute count following a low blow, I mean hell he could have gave him a total of 30 minutes if you added the 6 low blows together.
Is a moot point, really. Kov was wilting at the time of the stoppage. He was exhausted and frustrated, so the stoppage was literally the best thing for him. He can convince himself he was robbed and didn't have to suffer an extended beating. I thought his trunks were high so while a couple of the shots were under the belt, they still looked borderline/legal to me. I like Kov, but Ward is too much for him.
The fight was better than their first fight.
Kov fought better and was ahead.
Ward starting putting the pressure in the second half of the fight and was coming on strong.
Kov did quit or gave the ref a reason to stop the fight as he was complaining but the punches were low and the ref should have called it as such.
The fight fans were cheated out of a legitimate ending.
Hope Kov comes back.
Ward is quality and the best p4p boxer.
Couldn't make it through the video because the guy has the rules wrong. It is not decided low or not low by the beltline. And Weeks pointed that out to them before the fight because Kovalevs trunks were high. If trunks are high they say "this is fine....this is low" pointing out where it will be decided because it is not decided by the beltline. If people get the rules right they will be far less frustrated.Quote:
Originally Posted by Freedom
Also there should be no further rematches as Ward had Kovalev number and I am sure Kov does not want to fight Andre again no matter what he says.
I think that Kovalev was visibly distraught after the fight. He shouldn't fight Ward again. As long as this fight didn't totally ruin him, there are still great fights at LHW for him. He can still rule the division if Ward actually does move up to cruiser
That's being GENEROUS to Ward. Ward was smacking Kov repeatedly in the balls. Being more realistic, a halt should have been called, Ward warned, and five minute time be called. A harsher man would say dock a point from Ward as it wasn't the first time he had done that. Instead the ref stopped the fight and ruled it a stoppage. It was bollocks.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Swanson
Kovalev has outboxed Ward twice now and yet look at HBO salivating over Ward. It's topsy turvy land.
A couple points. If Weeks had halted the action ruling a low blow I would have no issue. I'm just saying you can't change the rules with "I think he should have". It wasn't an option to give a standing 8. I personally hate no standing 8. I think champions always deserve a chance to recover. But I understand the reasoning. Standing 8 opens too many things up to judgement and also would often steal fighters option to finish.Quote:
Originally Posted by GandalfThat's being GENEROUS to Ward. Ward was smacking Kov repeatedly in the balls. Being more realistic, a halt should have been called, Ward warned, and five minute time be called. A harsher man would say dock a point from Ward as it wasn't the first time he had done that. Instead the ref stopped the fight and ruled it a stoppage. It was bollocks.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Swanson
Kovalev has outboxed Ward twice now and yet look at HBO salivating over Ward. It's topsy turvy land.
In this instance no standing 8 count robbed Ward of the opportunity to finish him clean.
What's hilarious in all this is everyone wants to talk about what didn't make the outcome to avoid what did. Outboxing, I agree. But it's irrelevant because Andre broke him. He was not going the distance.
Low blows, there were some. But it was the hard legit punches that hard Kovalev gassed and had him ready to be stopped.
Here's John David Jackson(I really don't like this guy but if he's right he's right) on point about the fight
https://youtu.be/Yk4Dr61QwS0
If the punches were low Kov took it like a bitch.
Millions of dollers on the line and he coward like a girl, he barely moaned about it as the stoppage happened.
Case and point, he was happy the fight was ended and decided that his victory was going to be his ability to claim low blows
That's was his whole win in that moment.
You can moan all you want guys but in that 25 seconds of being chased after that right hand landed he accepted that "low blows" was his argument. He was in trouble and we could all see that he was in danger... low blows or not, even before the "low blows" Ward was all over him and he folded.
He is a warrior and he trained everyday for months, a punch in the balls is hard to take yes but they wear full protective gear, almost everyone takes a shot that may be considered low IN EVERY fight you've ever watched. It's not like the shots where massively low, even after watching 10 replys (and wanting Kov to win ) they didnt seem obviously low.
Fair victory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLxlV5C4KHY
Clear as day, a completely illegal punch and then the ref jumped in to finish it off. Ward cheated and the ref screwed up.
Kovalev beat Ward twice. That was not a loss. Ward had one dominant round and squeaked two others in a fight he was LOSING.
I think people get so caught up in the scoring of a fight that they miss what's happening to the fighters in the fight. You can win rounds and take the worst of it. Some examples
Chavez vs Taylor. Taylor was winning the rounds. But yyou'd have be blind to not see Taylor was taking a beating.
Brook vs Spence. Brook was winning the rounds but Spence was doing the lasting work that was breaking him down.
Toney vs Jirov. Close fight but it was clear Toney was breaking him down.
You can list example after example like this. Kovalev started off sharper. But after 6 rounds I think everyone could see if there was going to be a stoppage it was Ward that was going to stop Kovalev. Kovalev was getting weaker and more ragged every round. It wasn't from the low blow in the 2nd, the 3rd was Kovalevs best round probably. It wasn't from the low blows at the end. It was because of the legit body shots. The hard left hooks that were beginning to land. Even live I was saying "it' strange, Kovalev is landing more but Ward is landing the harder punches. Seems backwards"
It sucks how it ended but Ward had broken him down. Take the low blows away and we have a 9th or 10th round KO instead of an 8th round TKO.
I actually feel a little bad for Kovalev because, as Roy said after the fight, the Eastern European fighters have 28 years of pro experience. They are very skilled in the amateur style but they haven't caught up on the pro tricks. If you think the guy is hitting you low you hit them low back. Like Hatton did to Tszyu. It's not Kovalevs fault where he was born. But if he had grown up in a country that had a long professional history he would know this.
But in the end low blows were part of the ending, not part of the outcome. The outcome was decided when he began to gas out. And it was far too early.