Kovalez-Ward 3 Days Away (11-19-16)

[sheredia]

Re: Kovalez-Ward 3 Days Away (11-19-16)

wasn't there this unwritten rule in boxing, the contender must be the more dominating and aggressive fighter if the fight ends in an 'unclear' decision in order to win the belts? or is this a rule from the 'old dayz' ?!

apparently, this is a rule from the 'old dayz'.....

[TripleJay_X]

Re: Kovalez-Ward 3 Days Away (11-19-16)

apparently, this is a rule from the 'old dayz'.....

...i think their judging system in common is not modern anymore. you rate round by round and at the end you need to give another overall judgement.

Who was dominating in those 12 rounds? +1 Point

But i don't prefer this kind of system at all, where just 3 people judge about a fight. Perhaps the referee can give +1 to someone and some 'experts' (decision by majority) can give a +1 to someone.

[redsrule]

Re: Kovalez-Ward 3 Days Away (11-19-16)

I scored it 114-113, Kovalev.

Sorry, I'm not buying the cries of "robbery." That was a VERY close fight. I scored it on the fly, and there were about four rounds that were toss-ups. I could see the judges go either way.

Agreed 100% with the cries of robbery, but at the same time Ward had to win every single "toss up" round to win this fight. I don't know if I could say he did that.


I feel like a rematch would be a lot more one sided in Ward's favor. He has had a lot of ring rust and is facing his first dangerous opponent in 5 years.

I'd love to see a GGG/Ward fight, though it would play out similar to Kovalev/Ward imo.

[JayBee74]

Re: Kovalez-Ward 3 Days Away (11-19-16)

Ward rallied with strategy and guile in the second half of the fight. He went inside and committed himself to the body, which neutralized Kovalev's aggression and forced him to be uncomfortable, as Sergei prefers to fight at a distance.

And he held a lot particularly in the "first half of the second half", but this was going to be Ward's strategy from the outset. It wasn't like he adjusted on the fly- he just regrouped and fought better.

Sorry, I'm not buying the cries of "robbery." That was a VERY close fight. I scored it on the fly, and there were about four rounds that were toss-ups. I could see the judges go either way.

Unfortunately none of the judges saw fit to give Kovalez ANY of the close rounds. For two judges to give the last six rounds to Ward and one of them seven of the last eight clearly shows that at best there was no bias AGAINST Ward. The "seven of eight" judge even gave Sergio the last round after guaranteeing Ward a victory barring Kovalez getting a knockdown.

[JayBee74]

Re: Kovalez-Ward 3 Days Away (11-19-16)

I'd love to see a GGG/Ward fight, though it would play out similar to Kovalev/Ward imo.

Not predicting a winner but GGG is a far better inside fighter then Kovalez so if the inside tactics of Ward are met with short powerful punches and a devastating body attack instead of frustration it wouldn't play out the same. In the second half of Saturday's bout Kovalez was not the stronger fighter in the clinches-I saw a few times where he would throw non effective punches when clinched with Ward, and I saw a few times where Ward would body shot out of a clinch. I'm not saying Ward couldn't beat GGG, I'm just saying he'd have to do it differently. That being said the fight won't happen unless serious money is on the table and I think Ward's catchweight compromise would be 172 or none at all (175).

[pk500]

Re: Kovalez-Ward 3 Days Away (11-19-16)

Is it negotiable for a fight in Nevada? I'm asking because I don't know, but I do know that the Nevada State Athletic Commission assigned the referee and three judges for this fight, and even if there was some contractual wiggle room an out of country judge would have to qualify under the guidelines of the NSAC.

And foreign judges are discouraged to even apply:

4. An ideal applicant:
a. for a boxing judge license is familiar with the American Boxing Commission (ABC) scoring criteria and is a registered USA Boxing Judge and/or is currently licensed with their state’s boxing commission and working regularly as a Professional Boxing Judge.

Good point. I'm not sure. But one would think Duva had some contractual leverage to insist on at least one foreign judge.

[pk500]

Re: Kovalez-Ward 3 Days Away (11-19-16)

I'd love to see a GGG/Ward fight, though it would play out similar to Kovalev/Ward imo.

That fight would need to be made at 168. But I doubt if either side would want it.

Ward was a big super middleweight, while Golovkin is a small middleweight. Ward won the Olympic gold at 178 and looked very comfortable at 175. He may not want to torture his body to reach 168 again.

GGG already is talking about dropping to 154 to fight Canelo. So again, I think you're talking about two fighters headed in different directions in their careers.

[sheredia]

Re: Kovalez-Ward 3 Days Away (11-19-16)

at this point, do they go immediately into a rematch into the next fight? or does stevenson get a shot at one of them?

[allBthere]

Re: Kovalez-Ward 3 Days Away (11-19-16)

at this point, do they go immediately into a rematch into the next fight? or does stevenson get a shot at one of them?

I want the rematch, screw stevenson lol ... I really think they'll do it again, I'm just not sure when although for some reason april is popping into my head.

[JayBee74]

Re: Kovalez-Ward 3 Days Away (11-19-16)

I want the rematch, screw stevenson lol ... I really think they'll do it again, I'm just not sure when although for some reason april is popping into my head.

The rematch clause prevents Andre from fighting anyone else unless Kathy Duva lets him. Reportedly the PPV buys were only 160,000 so maybe boxing should take another look at their pay per view price point.

[pk500]

Re: Kovalez-Ward 3 Days Away (11-19-16)

at this point, do they go immediately into a rematch into the next fight? or does stevenson get a shot at one of them?

Stevenson is nowhere near the class of Ward or Kovalev. He would get destroyed by either. Just another protected, overhyped PBC fighter.

Bring on the rematch next - on regular HBO or even a network.

[JayBee74]

Re: Kovalez-Ward 3 Days Away (11-19-16)

Stevenson is nowhere near the class of Ward or Kovalev. He would get destroyed by either. Just another protected, overhyped PBC fighter.

I hear you, but I wouldn't mind seeing that fight on free or reduced PPV.

Another observation-I don't think Ward goes never Beterbiev-Andre would have to fight him on the outside.

[sheredia]

Re: Kovalez-Ward 3 Days Away (11-19-16)

The rematch clause prevents Andre from fighting anyone else unless Kathy Duva lets him. Reportedly the PPV buys were only 160,000 so maybe boxing should take another look at their pay per view price point.

not surprising considering neither fought on ppv before to even build up to this fight.....

[sheredia]

Re: Kovalez-Ward 3 Days Away (11-19-16)

I hear you, but I wouldn't mind seeing that fight on free or reduced PPV.

Another observation-I don't think Ward goes never Beterbiev-Andre would have to fight him on the outside.

reduced ppv would be their best bet.....however, it would boost boxing as a sport (and both fighters exposure) to put it on pbc. and it would improve ppv sales for both fighters in the future going forward. they should have had the first fight on hbo and the second would have been an easier ppv sell with bigger numbers.

[sheredia]

Re: Kovalez-Ward 3 Days Away (11-19-16)

saw the lomachenko-walters fight on free hbo preview weekend....lomachenko was impressive, to say the least. he put on a boxing exhibition. strange ending, however, with walters quitting or no mas (a la duran). his explanation was not enough fights and he wasn't ready. REALLY? why not postpone the fight? why fight him at all knowing this? makes no sense, but whatever. lomachenko should go with a rematch against salido next (to avenge his only loss) and then maybe go up to fight manny. IF he beats manny, does he have a legit shot against floyd? i actually believe the loss against salido made him an even better (and motivated) fighter than he was already. taking on an experienced fighter like salido, in addition to all those low blows, was a tall order. he definitely learned from that fight and looks much better now as a result.