Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev II on June 17

[TitoFan]

I read that Ward had declined a request for neutral judges.

He cited the worlds hatred of America would translate to the judges wanting the American to lose.... as the reason..

Translation: He wants the loaded dice and is not willing to give them up.

[powerpuncher]

That's pretty messed up if he declined the neutral judges.

[J_Undisputed]

Usually in these cases, you have that option of one Russian judge, one American judge and one from neither.... or you could have all 3 neutral. Like one from Canada, one from the UK, and one from say Japan? The thing is Kovalev fought in both Canada and the UK. Maybe the foreign judges had a chance to see him live. Ward, being in a super 6 international tournament was the only one "lucky" enough to fight every match at home, though there were international judges mandated as part of the rules. Don't see why its a problem now.

[Gandalf]

I want Kov to win by a spectacular knockout. However, I thought he was limited in the second half of the fight with a very low output in a fight that wasn't exactly high tempo. He can throw a mean jab and a good one two and then maybe a 3 punch combination, but that's where he seems to stop and Ward seemed able to predict it more easily as the fight went on. It was quite mechanical. That's where I think a really good fighter like Calzaghe would make a mockery of both of these guys. Prime Hopkins too. I struggle to be impressed by fighters who huff and puff on 20-30 punches a round. Great fighters throw a lot and don't get tired over 12. So, I think Ward has the brains to do it better this time, but I hope he gets caught as there is nothing worse than a self proclaimed Son of God. Stick him on the cross and make him go away and none of that chocolate bunny nonsense.

[powerpuncher]

I want Kov to win by a spectacular knockout. However, I thought he was limited in the second half of the fight with a very low output in a fight that wasn't exactly high tempo. He can throw a mean jab and a good one two and then maybe a 3 punch combination, but that's where he seems to stop and Ward seemed able to predict it more easily as the fight went on. It was quite mechanical. That's where I think a really good fighter like Calzaghe would make a mockery of both of these guys. Prime Hopkins too. I struggle to be impressed by fighters who huff and puff on 20-30 punches a round. Great fighters throw a lot and don't get tired over 12. So, I think Ward has the brains to do it better this time, but I hope he gets caught as there is nothing worse than a self proclaimed Son of God. Stick him on the cross and make him go away and none of that chocolate bunny nonsense.

Coming over to this thread with your calzaghe love too?

This guy who calls undisputed top 5 p4p fighters limited. He has jokes.

[Gandalf]

I want Kov to win by a spectacular knockout. However, I thought he was limited in the second half of the fight with a very low output in a fight that wasn't exactly high tempo. He can throw a mean jab and a good one two and then maybe a 3 punch combination, but that's where he seems to stop and Ward seemed able to predict it more easily as the fight went on. It was quite mechanical. That's where I think a really good fighter like Calzaghe would make a mockery of both of these guys. Prime Hopkins too. I struggle to be impressed by fighters who huff and puff on 20-30 punches a round. Great fighters throw a lot and don't get tired over 12. So, I think Ward has the brains to do it better this time, but I hope he gets caught as there is nothing worse than a self proclaimed Son of God. Stick him on the cross and make him go away and none of that chocolate bunny nonsense.

Coming over to this thread with your calzaghe love too?

This guy who calls undisputed top 5 p4p fighters limited. He has jokes.

Yep, I thought both guys were a bit stodgy in the last fight. To be fair both guys have been looking stodgy for a while. Maybe age also playing a part. I have never really rated Ward. Kovalev did look much better against the Cleverly types, but since Hopkins he hasn't been that impressive. Everyone beats Pascal including old Hopkins. It is a shame there are few high ouput, speedy, intelligent southpaws out there to really put it all into perspective.