Ward/Kovalev 2...who wins?

[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?

[Master]

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?

They used John David Jackson as proof he was not racist.

[TitoFan]

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?

They used John David Jackson as proof he was not racist.

If only racism were that easily defined. I'll bet a lot of subtly racist people deflect their own racism by pointing to someone like Kov.

[wanderingfighter]

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?

They used John David Jackson as proof he was not racist.

Actually Kovalev trained at a community 'hardcore' boxing gym, which I believe is funded by the PAL (or the city of Fort Lauderdale) in Fort Lauderdale, FL when he first came to the states. The gym is right in one of the public parks inside of a public housing project on I95 on either Oakland Park Blvd or Sunrise Blvd (I forgot to be honest with you) It's been a few years since I lived in South Florida. But how do I know? When I first got interested in training I trained there. It's a boxing gym that when you run your rounds you see gangs of people smoking weed and drinking quarts of malt liquor on the benches. The place is full of low income African American and Latino American people.

Jackson would work with Kovalev out of there as far as I can remember, and there was one other eastern European or Balkan prospect there co-existing without any problems with the other 20+ fighters, but he might of come at a later time than Kovalev in the late afternoons. I actually found out about that gym by asking Nate Campbell for a gym recommendation a long time ago when I had interest in getting started. Though I never really stuck with it and my mind was not in the right place to put in the work required at that time. Plus that gym was dirty as hell, and I even got a nasty ringworm (that I had a lot of trouble getting rid of) there a few months into training which was the nail in the coffin for me and I left. I let little things get in the way of me getting good training and that's something I'm trying to make up for now that I picked up the sport again as a hobby. But anyway some people there and around that neighborhood are stuck at the lowest point possible in American society, and I just don't really see how a racist can choose to be in that environment with so many options in South Florida. I mean like really nice options where you can train by the beach and with other types of people in clean environments.

As far as I remember no one had anything bad to say about Kovalev and he willingly trained there and it was his choice to be surrounded by this type of people, so that tells me he is not uncomfortable. This is why I think he's not a racist. Though he is probably prejudice, but most people are prejudice anyway in the type of society we live in due to the way things are. So I just say just let him be.

[Master]

It's perhaps a compliment to the health of boxing right now that the mouthwatering rematch between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev has approached with so little ballyhoo.

In a year where fans have already enjoyed a heavyweight battle for the ages between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko and are looking forward to middleweight supremacy being settled in September by Gennady Golovkin and Saul Alvarez, the rematch between the best two light heavyweights in the world has attracted far fewer column inches than you would have thought.

Perhaps we've come to expect a constant flow of great matches, although frenzied reaction this week to the announcement of a twelve-round 'boxing' match between the sport's most famous figure, Floyd Mayweather Jr, and the UFC's Conor McGregor in August only served to bring the low-key nature of the Ward vs Kovalev 2 build-up into sharper focus.

When the duo met in Las Vegas last November they delivered a fascinating, momentum-swinging fight between two of the very finest boxers of their era at the right weight (should I say right sport?) and in their primes.

During a high-level technical bout, both men were pushed into revealing qualities they'd never had to show before - Kovalev demonstrated that his pulverising power was effective at elite level during a ruthlessly efficient first half in which he hurt and floored the American challenger.

Indeed, Kovalev swept all five of the opening rounds on my card, which - with a knockdown in the second - meant Ward had to win every remaining session to claim Kovalev's WBA, IBF and WBO light-heavyweight titles. In my view - and many observers won't agree - that's exactly what he went on to do.

I had the impression Kovalev won most of his early rounds clearly, with Ward 'stealing' his by much thinner margins (the sixth, for example, was an excellent round for both fighters) which mathematically, of course, register exactly the same number of points.

It seemed to me that Ward - relatively new at the 175lb weight and certainly facing his most formidable opponent to date - took time to become accustomed to the sheer firepower and intensity of the visitor, in particular the Russian's stun-gun of a jab. In the face of this pressure and following this adjustment period, Ward resoundingly reacted as great champions do. "This is what greatness is," as trainer Virgil Hunter told Ward, rallying his man between rounds three and four.

The unbeaten American certainly went on to display that greatness, coming into the fight until by rounds nine and ten Kovalev had noticeably slowed and the power of his punches seemed diminished. After twelve rounds all three American judges scored the fight 114-113 to declare Ward the new champion.

Compubox numbers show that Kovalev both threw and landed more than Ward, with 474 against 338 and 126 (27%) against 116 (34%) respectively. Power shots thrown and landed also favoured Kovalev, but again it is worth emphasising that these numbers are tabulated over an entire fight and don't necessarily reflect who won individual rounds.

One question going into the rematch at the smaller Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas is whether it was Ward's adjustments or some weakening on Kovalev's part which most contributed to the bout being a contest of two such distinct halves. The Russian has argued that he over-trained, telling media: "What I remember most is that I lost energy in the second part of the fight; I mean, the fifth round and after this, Andre Ward started to be more active, busy, inside the ring."

The Ward camp counter that his own persistent body attack - like that of countryman Errol Spence when recently annexing the IBF welterweight title from Kell Brook - paid dividends as the bout wore on. Ward appeared superbly conditioned having hired Mackie Shilstone as part of his team, a man with a rich history of sculpting fighters scientifically to perform at heavier weights, including Bernard Hopkins prior to his own light-heavyweight championship winning performance against Antonio Tarver.

Rematches usually favour the more cerebral fighter, the one who is most able to adjust to the experiences gained from the first fight. Floyd Mayweather, for example, one of the smartest in-ring fighters of his generation, improved significantly in his two championship rematches with Jose Luis Castillo and Marcos Maidana. Most would suggest the smarter fighter here is Ward, particularly given how well he adjusted after such a torrid start to the first fight.

It's worth noting, however, that Kovalev has proved very effective thus far in rematches, having brutalised both Darnell Boone and Jean Pascal in return fights. One might see mental parallels with the Pascal rematch, given a lively war of words and clear dislike for his opponent on Kovalev's part. Despite the brutal beating Kovalev gave Pascal second time around, the Russian was noticeably sloppier and easier to hit when angered and looking to finish his Canadian rival. This kind of emotional approach may play into Ward's skilled hands.

Kovalev regrets not connecting more cleanly with the right hand which floored Ward and points to the parallels with his rivalry with Pascal. "I wasn't surprised that he got up. I would have been surprised if he didn't get up, because I hit him with these [lower] knuckles of my fist, these fingers. It wasn't a straight punch. My arm was extended," Kovalev explained. "I want to kick his ass like I did with Jean Pascal in the rematch. I want to have fun in there.

"When I see his face, I want to punch it. I will get this opportunity on 17 June and I'm very happy for this opportunity to smash his face. I don't like this guy," added Kovalev. "He and his team are liars. He said that he gave me this rematch as a present for the boxing fans. Don't lie. It was in the contract that you must give me [the rematch] or you retire. Jay-Z [President of Roc Nation, the lead promoters here] pay him like $7 million so of course he gives [the rematch]," Kovalev explained before adding threateningly: "I don't want to do any business with this team anymore, after this fight...only Ward is going inside the ring. They will pay for everything that they say and they do."

Ward has never rematched a professional opponent until now and has responded to suggestions from Kovalev's camp that they won the first fight.

"You got to look at the other side of the coin, there’s a lot of people that thought I won the fight and he got what he asked for. Now after this, we don’t want to hear any excuses, " Ward said this week. "In this sport, I have very little room for error. I always have the pressure on my side – no matter if I’m the challenger or the champion.

"I come here looking forward to bringing back everything that I brought, including those belts. I’m excited. All of this talking is getting ready to be over. We’re getting ready for my favourite part, which is the fight. June 17. It’s about business, so I did what I had to do the first time. I’m looking to turn it up this time."

There's nothing to suggest this won't be another excellent fight. I tend to believe there is more upside and improvement to come from Ward's side and expect he'll have benefited tremendously from the 'gut check' he passed last November.

Kovalev is fired up and will surely have his moments on Saturday but my pick is for a slightly clearer Ward victory to retain his titles in another absorbing contest.

http://www.boxingmonthly.com/stories...alev-2-preview

[Master]

Shall we do the round by round here for the Paddy Barnes v Silvio Olteanu and Simth v Zuege here or make a new thread?

[Batman]

Shall we do the round by round here for the Paddy Barnes v Silvio Olteanu and Simth v Zuege here or make a new thread?

I was thinking that earlier, may as well just keep it in here I reckon

[Master]

Steven Ward battering the fat Hungarian

[Batman]

I'm going to read my book for a bit, no interest in this whatsoever

[Kirkland Laing]

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?

http://www.boxingscene.com/roc-natio...emarks--116923

I knew I'd read something recently. I'm sure he actually said something similar about another black boxer too.

[powerpuncher]

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?

http://www.boxingscene.com/roc-natio...emarks--116923

I knew I'd read something recently. I'm sure he actually said something similar about another black boxer too.

I'm sure that Kovalev is a bit racist but a language barrier is always a problem. Coming from somebody who learned a second language, a lot of vulgarities don't have the same meaning to me and seem a lot less harmful. I'm guessing that in russian he wouldn't be as harsh. That's just my opinion though

[Ron Swanson]

I think if people traveled to Russia they would understand that none of Kovalev's racism is by accident. And there is far far more going on than is being talked about.

[J_Undisputed]

Ward put on muscle for this fight. Presumably to try to up his punch resistance (neck and shoulder exercises) and bull Kovalev around the ring once he clamps on to him. He's hoping that looking like the stronger fighter during the hugs makes him look like the aggressor and not like hes hiding from kovalev in the clinches and somehow swing the rounds more in his favor without actually doing any more work than he did before. Look for Ward to start the hug and slug early and play a carefully orchestrated but seeming aggressive all out ambush early (he'll throw big shots on the inside and from safe angles). Presumably at the last 20 seconds of the 1st (only if he feels hes confident in believing he has an accurate sample of kovalev) or 2nd round to try and make the statement to kovalev that hes not afraid and set a tone. Only in the last 20-25 seconds (so if he gets clipped, he'll hopefully make it to his feet and then be walked back to his corner to collect himself.) So he ties up Kovalev early, leans on him and pushes him back and tries to work him over in the clinches and try to wear him out early (and conserve his own energy). Kovalev gets most of his offense smothered this way (as his strongest punches tend to be his long straight punches) and unless he learns to get nasty in the clinches, won't deter ward from coming in and spend most of the rounds trying to break free from the Kraken.. The worst will be seeing ward hulk up just to go back to the same tactics.

Kovalevs plan for this fight is to probably grind ward to a halt the way he feels he should have in the first fight. Not a bad plan if Ward was a stand up fighter, but he's not and often times works off of a jab out of a crouch. Kovalev should have spent his time concentrating on fighting while backing up. That is... using his feet to pivot or sidestep to offset wards feint to the body then jab up top and throw to wards body and ribs behind the jab instead of trying to come over the top and head hunting. Stepping back and switching his stance (he does it enough going forward to throw a straight left and then straight right in succession) and throwing the uppercut would also improve his chances.

Still with all of this.. somethings don't change. One of those things is Ward doesn't like to get hit. Seems terrified of it at times, actually. And that alone will still make the rounds close for Kovalev as long as he keeps throwing. The other thing is that Kovalev feels like fighting harder is better than fighting smarter and will try to force it rather than listen to his trainer. I'm not sure i'm interested in watching the next chapter of this clusterf*ck but if Krusher pulls off the improbable and lays out Ward and takes the air out of his fluff, i'll probably watch it on repeat for a solid week.