Sergey Kovalev thread.
>Fighting since age 11.
>Brilliant technique honed by over 300 amateur fights.
>Death Bringer: achieved a professional fatal TKO (FTKO) on fellow Russian, Roman Simakov almost 5 years ago.
>Steps into every single punch with both feet.
Discussion questions:
- Will he defeat Andre Ward?
- What makes him such a powerful fighter?
- What did you think of the last fight against Chilemba on Monday (12 round victory)?
>>69531694
>Fighting since age 11.
>still gets slapped around by issac chumbawumba
ward 2g
- I like Ward a lot, but I think Kovalev will stop him. I think the fight will go similarly to how his fight went against Chilemba. He's not a miracle worker, Ward will give him problems with his excellent boxing, but Kovalev has too much power for anyone in his division. We're looking at a fighter who can stay on top for basically another 10 years. Ward is too small and doesn't have the natural size to make someone like Kovalev break down.
- He uses his feet so well, and he really darts his body forward into every punch. He never just punches with his arms, it's really a full body shove/thrust. Even his jabs just demolish people. He does excellent bodywork, and he is deceptively quick on his feet and not the fastest, not like a Mayweather or Ali, but still extremely quick handed. He works good angles and tends to put too much pressure on the other fighter for them to come forward.
- He dominated Chilemba, but Chilemba had a very nice jab, well timed, fast, accurate. It worked as an excellent defensive tactic for him. He jabbed into space so that Kovalev had to really stay outside more than usual, and he also stayed evasive. Chilemba showed what you can do to survive against Kovalev, basically following the gameplan of Hopkins. You stay on the outside, keep moving, work your counters, and showcase punches that will let Kovalev get a taste of your leather. You're not going to hurt him, he's an invulnerable motherfucker, but he's also an excellent boxer and he knows enough not to just walk onto a KO. Hopkins and Chilemba showed that Kovalev will respect your punches if you put leather on him, and he won't go in over eager. That being said, he still knocked down Chilemba badly in Round 8, and nearly again in Round 9. Just surviving against Kovalev takes incredible courage and toughness. Chilemba should be commended for his survival, but Kovalev showed he's on another level, extremely dominant and overpowering fighter.
>>69531694
OP here, couple of notes:
More commentary on the recent fight here:
http://www.badlefthook.com/2016/7/11/12150588/kovalev-vs-chilemba-results-sergey-kovalev-retains-titles-by-decision
Also, I don't really know shit about boxing, but love the sport and really interested in learning more. Would appreciate any helpful analysis or tips to help learn more about what makes Kovalev so fun to watch.
>>69531840
>We're looking at a fighter who can stay on top for basically another 10 years
Artur Beterbiev might have something to say about that. Interesting times ahead at light heavyweight. On another note, its a shame Pacman is coming back to start this whole mega-fight sweepstakes shit again, where fighters are too pussy too fight each other encase they lose out on the being his b-side.
>>69532150
I've heard about Beterbiev, what is his best fight you would recommend watching?
With Kovalev, he definitely has that 10 year kind of power. I think his technique is right up there as well. He's not someone like a Mayweather or Ward who really has an obviously special technique, it's more understated. I think that always tends to be the case with an offensive fighter, as going forward and being aggressive tends to make you look a little more dirty and silly. But if you watch the way he moves, he's just as evasive and crafty as anyone. If he wanted to be more defensive he could probably never get hit and still destroy opponents who had to try coming in on his power.
>>69531694
>Will he defeat Andre Ward?
Nobody knows how good is Ward this days.
>What did you think of the last fight against Chilemba on Monday
He was very slow and predictable.
>>69532254
Yeah hes boxing skill is very underrated. Anyone who outboxes B-Hop has to be a top level boxer.
As for Beterbiev, he was on the same famous Russian amateur team with Kovalev, Korobov and Chakhkeiv. Kovalevs rivalry with Beterbiev got so fierce that after Beterbiev beat him during a Russian National Chamionship, Kovalev had to leave the national team and went pro, turning down a chance at Olympic gold. Beterbiev is actually quite similar to Kovalev in that he can walk you down and box yours ears off. He hasn't taken a clean punch yet during his short pro career so that question still has to be answered.
In terms of fights to watch:
His 6th pro fight against former champ Tavoris Cloud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT6ORS4jNvI
And 8th pro fight against former champ Gabriel Campillo
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2m2xvu
He actually became number 1 contender for one of Kovalevs belts after this, but had a real bad injury that put him on ice until recently. I have to say I'm liking this trend of Russian/Former Soviet fighters like Golvkin, Kovalev, Beterbiev and Lomachenko with balls of steal who are willing to fight anyone, anytime, anyplace.
>>69531694
- At this point i have to pick ward.
- Power comes from genetics and technique.
- Chilemba gave him some problems with his jab. Also, kovalev needs to use a greater offensive variety. that weakness showed vs chilemba.
He can't even stop the double leg
Nick Diaz had to go to school in Brazil to learn that shit
Kovalev is going to get punched out by Ward and Ward almost never gets big meaty KOs.
>>69531840
The fight won't be anything like the Chilemba fight this is Ward we are talking about! Kovalev is one dimensional he showed that again against Chilemba. Ward is too clever and too good to get caught by a power punch. Ward wins every round against the meat head russian.
Its been a pretty lameduck year for boxing, it would be great if they did a Pac/Crawford-Kovalev/Ward co main event PPV to see out the year.
http://www.boxingscene.com/kovalevs-trainer-on-chilemba-performance-fighting-andre-ward--106644
I think the Chiwaka fight is an outlier due to all the oddities around it. We'll see a top Krusher in November, and that makes it a 50/50 fight for me again.
Now that I read JDJ's assessment, I'm 100 % sure they are going the right direction.
Has Kovalev fallen for his own krusher meme? Check out his speed and workrate in this 2012 fight and compare to his performance against Chilemba. Albeit not the same class of opponent but the difference is astounding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izS2E5j9jh0
>>69538912
this is not really excuses, since he actually won the fight rather convincingly, but
>fight in the same ring he killed a man before
>fight at home, had to spend time with relatives all the time
>fight at home, in a welcoming crowd which he's never used to, because he goes to opponent's backyards usually
>pressure to look very good
you can see how all of this combined with Chilemba being a solid top 10 LHW and a bigger man than Kovalev made it not the best night
I really don't think that he had a proper training camp for his last fight. He'll have a better training camp for the Ward fight
profile of Kovalev and the boxer he killed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okjr5O29JJo
>>69538978
>>69539114
in either case, he looked shithouse and I hope he improves his condition before he meets ward
Fat Dan ranks Stevenson ahead of Kovalev at LHW.
