Quote Originally Posted by powerpuncher View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Gandalf View Post
It seems the consensus is that Kovalev was up by between 2 to 6 points with a few arguing it was even. Nobody had Canelo up. I still think Kovalev fought a strange fight and something about it all felt a bit off for me. I can understand wanting to use a jab, but only the jab and not jab to the body more and not to use it with any degree of force at all?

Something about it doesn't sit right with me. Was Kovalev gun shy after being hurt again in the last fight and being stopped a year before that too? Was he scared about his stamina? If so it is strange as Canelo has stamina issues and if pounded to the body or head would have had to take note himself. I won't say fix, but it was odd and even with that oddness Kovalev was still winning the fight handily by sparring and seemingly not trying to hurt his opponent.

He seemed too happy before and after and maybe he is at peace and was happy with the payday and knows his time is up. I hope it wasn't the case, but it would have been nice to see some intensity and to try a few different looks. It was a weird latter day Wlad style showing. Effective, but kind of underwhelming.
I don’t want to sound like a complete Canelo hater or conspiracy theorist, but this whole thing has seemed fishy. When I first heard people talking about this being rigged, I completely dismissed it. I’m not claiming anything definitive, but I do agree that this whole thing seemed a bit strange.

I’m honestly trying to be neutral, but I’ve never felt like this for any other fight. There are so many oddities surrounding it.
I agree. Even the fight being made sounded strange. Then we hear that Kovalev had little preparation time, had just had a tough fight. A few days before we hear about the weight clause. Then Kovalev comes to the ring first. The strange card they kept popping up. The awful commentary. The peculiar style from Kovalev. Something seems off.

Maybe not a set up, but there are indications of it. Kovalev was winning by just staying away, yet he always at least tries to land something big and why wouldn't you at least when fresh against Canelo. There was every chance Canelo could be put down like Hopkins or Ward. There was none of of that from Kovalev. Surely he saw that GGG rocked Canelo several times and had him retreating. Just very weird, then the card on screen that made no sense to me and Kovalev just seeming so....happy.

Who knows, maybe he got hurt in sparring or something and with the damage in the last fight felt on his last legs, but it was strange. Don't get me wrong, I had him up and keeping a dwarf at bay as one should, but there should have been some hurt with it. Canelo hasn't been stopping anyone and Manny only went up and stopped Oscar with accumulation and output. Canelo had no output at all.

Just weird.