In what other sport would this be even CLOSE to being acceptable??

[Ron Swanson]

Watched it again, but with the sound off (thanks for the YouTube, Batman).
The robbery is even more obvious than ever.

Round 1: Hard Kov jab rattles Ward. Not much else. 10-9 Kov
Round 2: Knockdown. 10-8 Kov
Round 3: Not much actually connected from either side, but gave the edge to Ward. 10-9 Ward
Round 4: Ward does precious little except for meaningless pawing. 10-9 Kov
Round 5: Close round, but gave edge to Kov. 10-9 Kov
Round 6: Clear round for Kov. Ward going backwards and grappling (I hate grappling). 10-9 Kov
Round 7: Could call this one even, but I'll generously give it to Ward. 10-9 Ward
Round 8: They BOTH did a lot of missing, not just Kov. 10-9 Ward
Round 9: 10-9 Kov
Round 10: Ward bolo'ed..... Kov jabbed him in the face. Clear round for Kov. 10-9 Kov
Round 11: One of the better rounds of the fight. Good exchanges. Ward lefts and Kov rights. 10-9 Ward
Round 12: Close round, but 10-9 Kov

116-111 Kovalev


Several things.

Ward missed just as much as Kov.
I absolutely HATE Ward's style with a passion. Grappling is Ward's style. To Kov's credit, he was drawn into it, but refused to be pushed around.
Kov was the aggressor all night long. He was the defending champion. How the hell do you lose three belts like that?

It's official.... it was highway robbery, and HBO are accomplices.

I don't mean to be rude but anyone that scored round 9 for Kovalev is blind. That's absurd and calls everything else you said into question. Gowatch round 9 again and come back and admit your bias.

Watched it again just for you.
Kovalev won a close round. I'll go ahead and make the appointment with the optometrist.

You really should stop commenting on this fight then. You normally have an even keel about anything that isn't Mexico/PR but in this situation you have lost the plot man. That was an easy easy Ward round.

[Ron Swanson]

For the record, i think anything from 7-5 Ward to 7-5 Kovalev is fair. The word robbery has no place being attached to this fight. And is harmful to the sport to suggest it is a robbery because then when actual robberies happen people just say "that's boxing". Save words for when they fit.

[TitoFan]

Watched it again, but with the sound off (thanks for the YouTube, Batman).
The robbery is even more obvious than ever.

Round 1: Hard Kov jab rattles Ward. Not much else. 10-9 Kov
Round 2: Knockdown. 10-8 Kov
Round 3: Not much actually connected from either side, but gave the edge to Ward. 10-9 Ward
Round 4: Ward does precious little except for meaningless pawing. 10-9 Kov
Round 5: Close round, but gave edge to Kov. 10-9 Kov
Round 6: Clear round for Kov. Ward going backwards and grappling (I hate grappling). 10-9 Kov
Round 7: Could call this one even, but I'll generously give it to Ward. 10-9 Ward
Round 8: They BOTH did a lot of missing, not just Kov. 10-9 Ward
Round 9: 10-9 Kov
Round 10: Ward bolo'ed..... Kov jabbed him in the face. Clear round for Kov. 10-9 Kov
Round 11: One of the better rounds of the fight. Good exchanges. Ward lefts and Kov rights. 10-9 Ward
Round 12: Close round, but 10-9 Kov

116-111 Kovalev


Several things.

Ward missed just as much as Kov.
I absolutely HATE Ward's style with a passion. Grappling is Ward's style. To Kov's credit, he was drawn into it, but refused to be pushed around.
Kov was the aggressor all night long. He was the defending champion. How the hell do you lose three belts like that?

It's official.... it was highway robbery, and HBO are accomplices.

I don't mean to be rude but anyone that scored round 9 for Kovalev is blind. That's absurd and calls everything else you said into question. Gowatch round 9 again and come back and admit your bias.

Watched it again just for you.
Kovalev won a close round. I'll go ahead and make the appointment with the optometrist.

You really should stop commenting on this fight then. You normally have an even keel about anything that isn't Mexico/PR but in this situation you have lost the plot man. That was an easy easy Ward round.

Now I'm intrigued about this famous 9th round. I'd watch it again but we'd be back to Square One.
There were some nuances in there that may have swayed you.

Was it Kov's head going through the ropes?
Was it the one and a half bolo punches Ward faked?
Was it the two or three good right hands Ward missed as Kovalev leaned out of harm's way?

The round was close, but you're making it sound like a one-sided beatdown.
We ARE talking about round 9, right?

Trying to be helpful here...... I actually watched it a THIRD time.
I hope you feel flattered.

[Batman]

I have only watched it once at about 5am with no sleep, I can't believe how controversial the decision has become, I'm gunna have to watch it again with the sound off and see if I come up any different

[palmerq]

Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev - CompuBox Punch Stats - Boxing News

punchstats, 10 more landed for kovalev

ward outlanded kovalev in 6 of the rounds, kovalev outlanded in the other 6.

There were 7 rounds where there was a difference of only 2(some only 1) landed puches between the two of them

Kovalev landed more power punches, ward lands more jabs..

Depending on how much stock you put in these stats I think you can spin it either way, I think the fight was pretty much a draw but the knockdown decided it in kovalevs favour by one point but I don't think there can be big complaints about ward winning, it's a shame kovalev losses all the belts in such a close manner but that's the game I guess :S. I don't really consider either one a loser here, kovalev looked great and fought against one of the best out there, ward started badly and came back really well. Kovalev has a rematch option I believe so I think it's mostly irrelevant who won or lost here and hopefully they do it again and we get a clearer result.

[Spicoli]

Very much a tale of two fights in some respects with Ward clawing his way back in after being hurt couple time early. People remember what you've 'done for them lately'. Break the round into minutes or may sound odd by take fights like this if you do a rewatch and try to watch rounds out of order, or 12 to 1 .

[p4pking]

I just watched it for the 8th time and I think Ward was screwed out of a stoppage victory, I hope his Kovalevs family don't sue the Nevada athletic commission if he slips into a coma in the next few days, horrible negligence by Robert Byrd and John David Jackson. 118-109 Ward, there was no need for the fight to continue after he survived that flash knockdown.

[TitoFan]

I just watched it for the 8th time and I think Ward was screwed out of a stoppage victory, I hope his Kovalevs family don't sue the Nevada athletic commission if he slips into a coma in the next few days, horrible negligence by Robert Byrd and John David Jackson. 118-109 Ward, there was no need for the fight to continue after he survived that flash knockdown.

Would've been 120, were it not for that flash knockdown in the 2nd.

[Ron Swanson]

IMG_7864.jpg

Someone resorted to lifting their leg to try to stop body punches. People can act like they didn't matter but the evidence disagrees

[Gandalf]

It was a close fight. Kovalev won the first half and Ward won the second half. In a close fight you have to give it to the man who gets the KD point. Most are saying how great they fought and what a great fight it was, but I disagree. I thought both fighters showed serious limitations in how they fought. Ward once again resorted to clinching and fouling the show up and Kovalev seemed to completely switch off at times. For the biggest fight of his life he was almost too relaxed about it all and in the process Ward outworked him by doing little more than wrestling and throwing the odd punch or two while in close. I do not see the best two P4P fighters in Ward or Kovalev. I thought Kov edged it, but I am a bit disappointed in his showing. I expected more from him.