Ward/Kovalev 2...who wins?

[Freedom]

The Americans will not permit a Russian to win against one of their most highly-regarded boxers.

Once again, all four officials are from the USA.

The ref will permit Ward to use his ugly, illegal tactics: deliberate head butting (Kovalev dealt with it in the first fight by putting his arm around Ward's head), pushing, holding, bending at the waist, arm-clamping, wrestling, etc.

The ref will help Ward survive the distance, and once again the judges will be there to rob Kovalev.

[Primo Carnera]

The Americans will not permit a Russian to win against one of their most highly-regarded boxers.

Once again, all four officials are from the USA.

The ref will permit Ward to use his ugly, illegal tactics: deliberate head butting (Kovalev dealt with it in the first fight by putting his arm around Ward's head), pushing, holding, bending at the waist, arm-clamping, wrestling, etc.

The ref will help Ward survive the distance, and once again the judges will be there to rob Kovalev.

Not a Ward fan then ? 😂😂

[powerpuncher]

Ward showed that he can adjust well. It's tough for me to see ward not starting out where he left off. He is a great fighter. I regard Kovalev very highly also, but I just don't see Kovalev being able to adjust as well as ward can.

I think ward wins in the eyes of the fans but the judges will score it for Kovalev to force a trilogy

[Hulk]

As others have already said, Ward is the smarter boxer and will likely make the adjustments to avoid the early ass kicking he took in the first fight. It will resemble Barrera vs Juarez 2 or Mayweather vs. Castillo 2. The smart boxer usually plays it safe in the rematch. That said, Kovalev is a hellacious puncher and no dummy himself. I'll be rooting for Kovalev to right the wrong decision in their first match.

[Spicoli]

All in on Kovalev stopping him.

[powerpuncher]

I honestly used to be a huge ward fan, and I am still kind of a fan but he is such a diva. He had potential to be an ATG easily. I think that he could have been known as the best SMW ever.

Now, being a Kovalev fan, I want Kovalev to knock him out to maybe make ward less of a diva.

[Fenster]

What's all this Kovalev racist stuff about? I remember the monkey t-shirt Stevenson thing, but assumed it was most likely a cultural misunderstanding, Russia doesn't do PC. Many fans/media/reporters talk about him like he's a Klan member or something, is there evidence of him openly hating black bods?

[Kirkland Laing]

All in on Kovalev stopping him.

If you were putting money on it you'd be betting on Ward though. I think Kovalev had his chance in the first fight when he floored him but he couldn't finish it. I don't think Ward gives him another chance and will bore his way to a decision.

I was going to give it a miss as I'm going away for a few days but now it looks like I can't go till Sunday so I'll now spend twelve rounds hoping Kovalev manages to land something and almost certainly being disappointed.

[Freedom]

Why Andre Ward is unpopular:

1. He is a very privileged boxer. He was given home advantage for all his Super Six fight, and was even awarded points when he skipped a round in the tourney. Everyone else had to travel.

2. He sued his dying promoter, Goossen was a Christian who did everything he could for Andre.

3. Ward is a dirty fighter, and has home refs who permit him to use illegal tactics while admonishing his opponents for the slightest reason (sometimes for no reason). He hit Mikkel Kessler with obviously deliberate head butts, and Kessler's eye was damaged.

4. Hypocrisy. He pretends to be a Christian, while lying a lot and being an extremely selfish, hateful person. Calls himself the "Son of God" with a smug arrogance and an egotistical smirk. Would a real Christian deliberately injure another boxer with illegal head butts?

5. He has a feeling of entitlement. He seems to believe he's God's gift to the sport of boxing.

6. He demands all the advantages including home advantage for every fight. He's a poor sport, will use anything he can to win, because he doesn't really have world-class power, speed, and technical skills.

7. Whines and bitches about racism and all the disadvantages he's had, while being the luckiest and most privileged boxer in the world. Will not be honest about how his "arm-clamp, wrestle and clinch" style turns people off.

8. Corrupt judges gave him an undeserved decision win in Ward-Kovalev I.

[Dark Lord Al]

If Kovalev uses his jab a lot to set up his power shots he will win.
He threw to many single shots from range last time , you don't beat Ward winging single power shots.

[Master]

FORMER light-heavyweight world champion Sergey Kovalev sensationally swept out of the final press conference ahead of Saturday’s rematch with Andre Ward. But his promoter Kathy Duva feared it could have been a lot worse.

“I wasn’t expecting it but I wasn’t shocked either,” she told Boxing News. “He’s really just reached that point where the kettle is about to overflow. The pot’s been boiling and it’s just about to go over. He went over. It’s okay. I’d rather him do that than have this turn into some ugly experience which I think might have happened if he’d stayed. I’ve learned with Sergey knowing him for a long time, when he gets really angry he just walks away. Except in the ring.

“It’s gotten so personal.”

Due to the Russian’s early exit the two fighters did not go head-to-head on Thursday. But they are due to face off after the weigh in at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas tomorrow (June 16).

“I always worry but he’s made it through this many fights without having an incident, so it’s his 32nd fight so hopefully he’ll do it again,” Duva said.

She does however believe the tension will help Kovalev come fight night. “They’re trying to get under his skin and they think they’re succeeding. They in a strange way are but it’s not going to end well for them. But they don’t understand the more you get under his skin the more efficient he is at his job. He channels it,” she said.



Duva felt he wasn’t angry enough ahead of their first fight. That will not be a problem this Saturday. “I was concerned at the last fight because Sergey was not angry, he was way too respectful and he was on edge. This time up until late last night Sergey was not on edge at all. He is not respectful, he is angry. Those are generally the things that will predict he’s going to be at his best. I think what happened today, you bring these guys to a point where there’s so much talk and there’s so much talk, think about a guy who has to do all this in a foreign language,” she said.

“There comes a point where they’re just done and they shut right down. If we’re lucky, if we do it well, they shut down after today. Unfortunately it happened a day early. But I don’t think that’s going to affect his performance at all.”

http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/fear...days-weigh-in/

[Vendettos]

I called it for Ward in the first fight (despite changing after a rewatch).

I stick with it this time, however I believe it'll be a bit more one sided than it was before.

[Master]

I am going for a Kovalev win.

[Batman]

I ordered a pizza and asked for it to be delivered between 9 and 9:30pm, it's arrived 2 hours early and they have thrown in free pepsi, chicken wings and chicken pakora

Looks like I'm having a little feast tonight lads.

[Batman]

Or if not a feast then at least a mild heart attack