Kovalev v Shabranskyy~ Gamboa v Sosa..HBO trilple header.

[Gandalf]

Kovalev looked very good. Think his opponent was an obvious level down though. It will be interesting to see how Kovalev plays out his career now. A sneaky part of me still wants to see him KO Andre Ward, but Ward knows he cheated and rode his luck.

[palmerq]

I think there is a fairly Good chance ward will make a comeback, I think Ward is great but I don't think he wants to take on all of the current wave of Russian destroyers that are coming up in the lhw division or take on the standard contenders . I think he will wait it out a bit and see how beterbiev and bivol do v kovalev and then take on the winner of all of them in what he hopes will be a superfight. I don't think Ward made that much money in his career (relatively speaking of course).

[powerpuncher]

I honestly think Ward is done. He doesn’t strike me as someone who will comeback. He has talked about retiring early for years. It’s good and bad though. Good because it opens the division up and allows them to fight each other to prove who is the best. Bad because Ward could have proven how good he was by beating them all.

[Alpha]

I can see the potential for both scenarios playing out. Ward can rest on the sidelines until someone emerges as the man of the division and then return for a big fight. I can also see him being content in retirement and not wanting to ruin his unbeaten record. It really depends on how big a fight is available I guess. By 2019 we should have a better idea of the light-heavy landscape.

[J_Undisputed]

The ref did Gamboa a favor every time he told him not to hold. Gamboa would just catch Sosa coming with those t-rex punches and then bolt. I still dont think it earned him the fight. Sosa was no marvel but you can tell him crowding Gamboa was just wearing him down and making him work when he didn't feel like it. Gamboa getting gifted the decision makes him an option for Loma or Rigo should anyone drop out.

The Barrera fight was just super sloppy and I figured we'd see Barrera get sharper by this point but i think he's probably topped out or this trainer isn't really teaching him much.

Kovalex looked a little cold at first and like he was shaking off some early nerves. Once he let his hands go, Shabransky was in mental shock after the first knock down and never quite settled in. I cringed when Shabransky was frozen with that one shot like he was waiting for a mortal kombat fatality and Kovalev closed in. Kov did seem to show some mercy on the final knockdown with some half pulled shots while Shabransky was accordion-ing on the final knockdown. I have to see how Kov progresses under the new trainer, the pre fight mitt work looked rather crude but we have to see the gym work. Barreras doesn't seem to like the money for a kovalev bout but may warm up to it after his fight...

[powerpuncher]

Barrera is mandatory to Bivol. I don’t see any reason that fight doesn’t happen. I doubt Barrera gets a better fight. He already turned down Kovalev. Barrera is a solid fighter but it seems like he will become a gate keeper within the next two years and getting beat by a few top guys in the division.

[TitoFan]

Was able to catch just the Kovalev fight... and was pleased to see the same Krusher we had all become accustomed to see. Which makes the Ward fights all the more bewildering. Not up to speed on Ward's plans, but I must assume that now that he doesn't need to fight Kov anymore... his road to retiring undefeated is as relaxed as a straight and wide open country road on a sunny day. Undefeated or not, Ward's a fighter I'll never miss. His style never did it for me. I wish Kov all the best moving forward, though he'll surely always have that annoying thorn in his side.