Will the referee be fair to Kovalev against Hopkins?

[holmcall]

Perhaps I've been asleep for the last 20 years but I certainly dont remember Hopkins being a referees pet. Smoger lost the plot in the Morat fight but that's on Steve's shoulders. He blew it. As far as tactics, Hopkins will get his sneaky side in no matter who the ref is because he knows where he is at all times. Its Kovalev that is being touted as the best lh to come off of that continent since Dariusz and both HBO and Showtime are frothing at the mouth about possible future dollars. Not only that I'm sure they would both like the old man to just go away already. The Orgs as well. Anyone with concerns about the bottom line in today's market would most likely prefer him gone. The deck could just as well be stacked against Bernard.

Yes, Smoger did "blow" it all right.

Maybe Kov should request him. He's supposedly a punchers ref.

He is the "Patron Saint of Morbid Standbyers" The list of fighters who were almost killed by his over tolerance is getting longer as he is getting fatter, older, and weaker. The guy is flat out dangerous, but your point is taken. He is a punchers ref. In this regard, his latest was the Ola Afolabi vs. Anthony Caputo Smith on July 26, 2014 in which the now aging, overweight, physically weak, and slow SS allowed the overly-game Smith to take way too much punishment and bloodletting. The announcers roundly criticized Smoger for allowing Smith to be used as an uppercut bag, but finally the doctors advised the overly tolerant Smoger to stop the butchering.