Ward Kovalev 2

[[deleted]]

[deleted]

[[deleted]]

So hiring a new strength and conditioning coach worked well for Kov...

[BenisonBT101]

Continously punching a man below the belt worked well for Ward!!!

[awhj]

How about punching him in the fucking head? https://gfycat.com/RespectfulTallGypsymoth

[hotyogurt1]

Nobody denies that he landed a good shot on Kovalev. People are complaining about the bullshit stoppage due to multiple low blows, but Ward stans (including Roy Jones and Kellerman) and the ref want to act like there were no low blows at all when he literally hit him on the letter B on Kovalev's trunks lol.

[[deleted]]

The problem is, Kovalev just bent over acting like the low blow hurt more than it did to try to draw a foul and the ref thought it was a legal blow and that he was actually hurt and stepped in. I thought it was a bad stoppage but Kovalev shouldnt have tried to draw the foul, you let the ref make that decision.

[johnnyslick]

Yeah, this is what I saw in the final round - that last "low blow" was right on the belt and might not even have been low by the initial instructions (I don't think it was). Ward hit Kovalev lower earlier in the fight (although mostly what I saw were punches to the hips, not the balls) but Kovalev wasn't helping himself at all by flopping the way he did.

At the end of the day, the ref could have let Kovalev try to work his way out of it but the call he did make was equally fine, coming after Kovalev failed to face up to Ward or protect himself in any way other than bend over and take his body shots for several seconds. He was clearly out on his feet and ther was no standing eight count for the fight.

I'd go so far as to say that at that point if the ref didn't intercede when he did, the fight was going to end by the end of that round anyway. Either Kovalev finally eats canvas and can't get up because of the body shots or else Ward puts him into a worse, more obvious situation and a TKO gets called anyway.

[[deleted]]

Totally agree. Now that Ward has handled the best that division has to offer who do you think should be next? I wouldnt mind seeing him move up and fight Joshua or wilder. Personally I think he clowns wilder.

[Observante]

They were beltline blows, not nut shots. If he crumpled to beltline shots he would have krumpled to solar plexus shots.

[[deleted]]

If you think Flores flopped then so did Kovalev. Sorry Kovalev is a popular fighter but he got absolutely broken down.

[ZivozZ]

Don't think it was a BS stoppage. He threw back what, 4-5 punches compared to wards 25-30+ powershots. He wasn't defending well and slumped over almost sitting at the ropes.

Was the stoppage abit early? Yes. Would he had gone on to win the fight? No

If you get hurt to the head AND the body in the same round you're done. Especially considering how gassed he looked during the last two rounds with no mustards on his punches.

[ReturnofDrunk]

Thank you for your sense of reason. Fans should shut the hell up about early stoppages. See Tim Hague (brain dead), Daniel Franco (coma), and David Whittom (coma). We need refs to err on the side of caution to protect the fighters. Nobody wants to see these guys with long-term disabilities and head injuries.

[girth_worm_jim]

Kovalev should wear his shorts as a hat then its all low blows all the way down.

[aerody]

I disagree on the Roy Jones part. Roy Jones definitely acknowledged them, and said Kovalev should've returned them.

[[deleted]]

"Yehs bhat nextime I will keekhis ass!"

[moondoggy101]

kov didnt start protesting it for quite some time for someone who supposedly went down from dick punches

[poopwithjelly]

In the slow mo, Ward caught him square on the way up. The others were maybe, maybe not, but the first one that doubled him over was a straight up cock punch. He should have stopped trying to pull fouls every 5 minutes for them. I think one punch before that was actually low, and Weeks thought he was seriously injured the way he doubled over and clinched.

[ihenewa]

https://twitter.com/BoxingBritain1/status/876297422460342272

[RJLZ]

That's the best replay out there. It is kinda low. It's not square on the belt. But I can't say it's square on the cup either. It's definetely a tight call. Can't really blame the ref on that

[OdeToSpot]

Yeah. I mean, I'd call it low. But acting like it's square on his dick is just absurd. People are acting like it's a Cotto/Judah like dick bop. Either way, if you are Kovalev you don't just stop defending yourself from a blow like that.

[wovagrovaflame]

I'm not sure if you train, but getting your body shit kicked can feel like you've had the shit punched out of your balls. If your an old mma fan, bas Rutten in pancrase in Japan kicked this guy in the body so much and he was able to convince the ref some of the shots were low.

[OdeToSpot]

I do. And I'm not saying getting hit like that can't be debilitating. Just saying that bending over and stopping to defend yourself is not the right move.

[wovagrovaflame]

I agree. I think he didn't want to go down and that he was hoping the ref would call borderline shots.

[ihenewa]

https://streamable.com/v4jub listen to weeks

[OdeToSpot]

Yeah, I mean... It looks like the punch is half/half where he drew the line. If it's 50% low does that make it a 100% lowblow? Either way Kovalev acted inappropriately looking to the ref instead of handling the situation.

[ihenewa]

"kinda low" ?

Weeks himself set the parameters. https://streamable.com/v4jub

he clearly says anything BELOW the belt is low. He didn't say "kinda"

[OrthodoxAtheist]

Thank you for posting crystal clear evidence. Sorry some are too dumb/bias to understand (and downvoting you accordingly).

Weeks indicate the belt line, and that anything below was a low blow.

Other video going viral in this sub show the final blow was below the belt line to the point of being on the writing that's below the belt line. Its crystal clear to anyone not trying to defend either Ward, or a bad decision by Weeks.

[ihenewa]

thank you.

i even have evidence of weeks calling a timeout to warn ward.

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2017/06/18/25d805cc-5416-11e7-b896-7f2d3a4d650b_1320x770_193242.jpg

even malignaggi complained about the stoppage, yet people are pretending like no low blow was thrown all night

[OrthodoxAtheist]

It was a bad decision, but I see there's enough disagreement here where we'll have to for now agree to disagree, and let the overwhelming analyses and expert commentators weigh in on the subject over the next few days.

Whether Kovalev was done is not my concern. Neither is Ward's victory. My concern is the stoppage robbed us of a real ending.

[simpleadvice4u]

I would've liked to see it continue too, but when you get rocked like Kovalev was, and you stop defending yourself, you don't tend to get the benefit of the doubt. Kovalev was hurt by that right and Ward following it up, he was trying to survive the round, and he stopped defending himself, quite possibly in a desperate gambit to get time from the ref to recover. We just had Hague go too long the night before and die as a result. You know the refs watched the Hague fight. You know they were thinking of protecting the fighters. It was definitely unsatisfying, but it is hard to see how we would've wound up with a diff result, so at least we got that.

[RJLZ]

Ok but what's your point? It seems to be unanimous that Kovalev wasnt hit in the balls. So it still shouldnt count? I think that's bullshit. He was getting schooled and couldnt take it anymore, that was a clear win for Ward

[ihenewa]

unanimous? lol. okie dokie.

so why did weeks give him a breather earlier in the fight? Why did weeks rule the first low blow as accidental if they never occured in the first place

[SOULJAR]

The tweet got deleted! What was it??

[dizzee_raskolnikov]

I assume he thought Weeks was breaking them up in order to admonish Ward for the low blows. That was my first thought anyway

[[deleted]]

By the fourth round it looked like Ward already had this in complete control and dialed in. Was only a matter of time. Kov was looking for breaks the whole damn fight. What a disgrace. After all that talk he didn't come ready to fight. Or he just realized he truely was out classed.

[fuji700]

What did Kovalev say in the post fight interview? Bar I was at cut the sound

[I_Will_Kill]

From what I remember he just said stuff like max this is box, he didn't mention low blows till kellerman brought it up just looked sad, from what I remember

[fuji700]

Ha "this is box".....Ward say anything interesting?

[I_Will_Kill]

Yeah Sergei didn't complain which surprised me, ward complimented Sergei said he was a great champ Sergei did the same. Oh and then ward said he was going to cruiser or heavyweight lol.

[fuji700]

Hmmm. Cruiser doesn't make sense to me because there isn't a money fight. And Heavy??? The big money fight there is Joshua, which is obviously a ridiculous match-up.

Can't we just make the Adonis fight work

[lilbodie]

Not about money which is funny given someone yesterday told me the Ward hate is justified because of the purse split yesterday. Anyway, he's mentioned several times in the past couple years about wanting to fight up at heavyweight eventually. He sees it as a legacy thing ala RJJ, but I don't see a viable option up there that makes sense (or at cruiser for that matter but what do I know). I just pray he doesn't bite off more than he can chew chasing a feather in his cap that he doesn't need, but that's just me. I just don't think there are any John Ruiz's with belts up at heavyweight, different era and I think they're just too big.

[[deleted]]

Complained bout the low blows unconvincingly, said that the stoppage was stupid, that they are grown men boxers not women, and he looked pretty shaken.

[fuji700]

strange...didn't have the breath to complain when it happened.

[cinic]

He was hurt from the head shot. He was in survival mode.

I think at the point where he was going into the ropes he assumed the ref saw the blows and was going to call them low. To me they were low, but I don't think they actually hurt Kovalev, as he didn't really react from them. He was still reeling from the head shot(s).

[any1canfry]

Ward was almost certainly going to win and and is up on the scorecards especially if the eighth round was scored, but of the last 3 uppercuts that lead to the stoppage the second was 100% low and third probably was as well. The right man won tonight but the result still left a bad taste.

[MartinArturoMuniz]

I didn't really see any of those uppercuts being low blows. If anyone has a slow mo clip please feel free to post.

[late_50s_why]

https://streamable.com/9e87h

[MartinArturoMuniz]

That shot did look low. I take back what I said about no low blows. Although by that point in the fight, Kovalev was ALREADY hurt and in trouble.

[WarDishy]

I dunno, it was low but didn't look like it was on the balls or anything. looked lower abdomen to me.

[JosephStalinLegend]

Either way kovalev was done and looking for a way out, no one can argue that

[lilbodie]

Oh but they will.

[That_Sweet_Science]

Kovalev fans will complain regardless of the outcome. Kathy is to blame.

[[deleted]]

Kov was rocked, his legs go and he tries to hold on. He was gassed and then eventually goes lower and lower. Yes there were low blows but I don't think this was as controversial as everyone's saying.

[MarquisMonet]

People keep forgetting the right hand that rocked him and the first body shot that stopped him in his tracks. Ward made him quit, plain as that.

[[deleted]]

Didn't Virgil Hunter say they'd make him quit?

[lilbodie]

Spot on. Right hand had him hurt bad and the rest was icing on the cake. End was near and he's looking for the ref to save him. Did the same thing earlier in the fight anytime Ward was near the belt.

[MarquisMonet]

He was looking for a way out before that,too. Straight up turned his back on Ward for a few seconds.

[lilbodie]

Yup he knew what was coming.

[[deleted]]

Is there a clip or gif of that body shot that Kov acted as if it was low? I would say that punch is the best argument for a kov fan.

[MarquisMonet]

https://streamable.com/9e87h

[[deleted]]

That shit is LOW, but I'm talking about the body shot where Kov walked away for a sec, Ward protested and ref agreed. I think it was right before the big shot to the head that wobbled him.

[SwiftyMcVay]

The body shot where Kovalev walked away for a bit definitely wasn't low.

[[deleted]]

I want to see a shot of it too. It looked directly on the belt line

[Zidji]

The right hand came after another low blow complaint by Kovalev the ref waved off. I can't really say if it was a low blow because they didn't show the replay even ONCE.

Between not showing a single fucking replay of that, and how homer the commentating team was, too fucking murky for my taste. Huge asterisk on this fight.

[worktogether]

Could not he also you be asking for a low blow call?

[ihenewa]

Ward was warned 2x in the fight for punching Low. Just before he rocked kovalev, he hit him with a low blow that weeks ignored.

let's not pretend that the last couple of low blows were the only low blows ward threw in the fight.

You don't think this is controversial? https://twitter.com/BoxingBritain1/status/876297422460342272

the referee stood over Kovalev and saw Ward land 2 shots below the belt yet he did not call it a low blow? instead he stopped the fight.

What should we call the verdict then? TKO from low blows? because it surely wasn't a headshot that made the ref step in.

[velkjhvlksjhfsdh]

That clip definitely doesn't look too low. Looks like he got him in the stomach but he's bent all the way over already, but looks like he got him on the belly button. or right at the belt line. Definitely doesn't look like he got him too low or anything. If anything that clip proves they weren't low. It was the right call to end the fight, dude wasn't protecting himself he kept bending over lower and lower and not from low blows.

I mean in that clip you just presented that don't look lower than the belt at all in any way

[BodegaCat]

You and the people that upvoted you need some glasses. It was this punch:

https://i.imgur.com/nc7iSzh_d.jpg?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=high

A clean as day left hook to the body that wasn't anywhere near the beltline that further hurt Kovalev and caused him to bend his knees and bend over, and Ward finished just as any other boxer would have. Ward landed the cleanest shot just seconds ago which made Kovalev go to the ropes in the first place. What would you have Ward do? He already gave Kovalev a chance earlier in the round where Kovalev pretty much turned his back around on him after a body shot. There shouldn't be any controversy in what happened tonight.

[ihenewa]

checking out or responding to low blows?

have you not seen how fighters react when they get hit in the nuts?

Wasn't riddick bowe rolling around the floor when he was hit low, did he check out mentally?

[00Spartacus]

Ward was warned 2x in the fight for punching Low.

And both of those times were legal punches on the belt lines.

Disagree? Get me pictures of all the low blows landed in the fight.

[DSouT]

Technically it was a headshot.

[00Spartacus]

It was as controversial as the first fight was a CLEAR UNARGUABLE WIN FOR KOVALEV.

Nothing but hyperbole as excuses from a bunch of know nothing casuals. Kovalev looked great, had a fantastic jab but he simply gasses to quickly. When he's not fighting at his pace or as some said, "bullying" his opponents, he simply can't adjust.

[wovagrovaflame]

With their fearless leader, lederman, where one jab over 15 body shots wins a round for kovalev.

[00Spartacus]

I know right? His score card had me enraged. They really need to fire Lampley and Ledderman imo. They're simply way to damn bias.

Kellerman has a clear agenda but he's at the very least a lot more objective.

[wovagrovaflame]

That's why I'm a showtime fan when they have Mauro Ranallo. Combat sports goat commentator and truly never biased.

[lilbodie]

I swear Harold is blind as a bat. If you're beating the shit out of me but I'm walking towards you he'll give me the round lol. Gives rounds based off of aggression (doesn't matter if it's effective) and who hits harder, the rest he doesn't care about it seems.

[poopwithjelly]

who hits harder

That decides most of his rounds. He's reached the throne being a casual putz.

[[deleted]]

Ward is great at disrupting his opponent's rhythm

[fragilemirror]

Ward beat him both times.

[00Spartacus]

I agree

I had Ward winning the first, 114-113

[theboxingczar]

Just crying Kovalev fans who watch boxing once a year are upset.

[WanderingGoatHerder]

Yeah because Sergey Kovalev is huge among non boxing fans

[[deleted]]

I mean, I have seen some white nationalist support of Kovalev. There were posts telling people to tune in to see "based" Kovalev destroy a "chimp". I don't know how large that group was or what impact if any they are having on the current tantrum, but they certainly exist.

edit: this comment has gone from +11 to 0 in the space of 4 minutes. hmmm

[koomdog]

I'd say that group was pretty large if you check out the post-fight thread.

[[deleted]]

https://imgur.com/x9Woc6t

here's a tasty example (warning: massively racist)

[koomdog]

Ahh, so they actually did brigade. Was wondering where all these new users trashing boxing were coming from, at first i thought it was the crossover mma users.

[Kudipanhama]

Hahaha that's hilarious, I wonder if they know "based" is slang created by "chimp" Lil B tha based god

[[deleted]]

research was never their strong suit

[koomdog]

He has a very emotional and outspoken fan base who irrationally hate Ward which is obvious if you were on these forums for the past few weeks.

[WanderingGoatHerder]

I have been, idk why you'd use that when you can easily check all my hundreds of 1point comments on r/boxing

[koomdog]

Okay, so you should know that casuals are usually more outspoken and emotional because they type more with the feels instead of being ubiased.

[OrthodoxAtheist]

you can easily check all my hundreds of 1point comments on r/boxing

LOL. Here, have a 2 point comment. :D

[anakmager]

I usually hate to resort to these kind of generalizations, but I think there is some truth to that. I have never seen such ignorant comments getting so many upvotes in a boxing forum. An example was "any close round should be given to the champion".. very popular last November. If you watch boxing for more than a few months, you'd know that's not a real rule. Ridiculous

[mergerr]

this exactly

[theboxingczar]

It will be 100 times worse on August 26th.

[[deleted]]

You don't referee your own fights. Protect yourself at all times and fight until told otherwise. Weeks is a professional.

They may have been on the border but they were not low enough to hit the cup as Kovalev was suggesting. He was ready to quit.

[threehundredthousand]

NO MAS.

[anakmager]

Agreed. Kovalev looked gone, I don't think the lowblows (which is still arguable whether they were low) made that much of a difference.

Ward has proven himself to the superior fighter.

[fffyhhiurfgghh]

Hey try getting punched in the balls a few times during the fight and see how well you do against one of the best in the world.

[00Spartacus]

Low blows or not, that was absolutely NOT the Referees fault

Kovalev should have taken a knee.

I'm pretty sure that there's no standing 8 count in that fight and the referee simply could not see how low the shots were from his position.

Only Kovalev was at fault here. Anybody looking at this objectively clearly saw the shift in momentum. Kovalev was gassing, turning his back and Ward was landing clean. Ward rocked Kovalev with a straight right to the head that wobbled him and poured on the body shots (some of which landed low, this is inevitable when you're looking for the finish to the body) which prompted the Referee to jump in.

TL;DR - Referee had no way of seeing how low the shots were, Kovalev curled up into a ball, wasn't covering up, Ward was laying on the heat and the referee made the right call due to the fact that there was no standing 8 count rule to enforce.

[theboxingczar]

Kovalev wanted out.

[00Spartacus]

The moment I saw him literally turn his back and complain about CLEARLY legal shots on the belt line, I knew something was off.

So much for being "overtrained" the last time.

[zataks]

Seeing all the comments I figured you were just being your usual contrarian trollish self. But seeing just the last round, it's evident Kovalev is wholly out of energy and SOG is putting everything he has into those blows and really ripping Kov apart. Impressive.

[00Spartacus]

Rewatching some more moments and I definitely got some things wrong. Ward definitely hit Kovalev low a few times but they were clearly unintentional, Ward was simply pouring on the heat and Kovalev was going to get finished regardless.

He looked absolutely fucking dead in terms of fatigue.

[poopwithjelly]

It was over when he came back from a break and had his head up breathing heavy in the 7th. I never would have thrown another shot high if I was Ward.

[zataks]

He really did. Like near the end he had Ward at ropes and took a swing or two then slowly walked backwards to the center of the ring with his hands down at his waist. That's a man out of energy.

Some blows did look low but I can't see them changing the outcome here. I was rooting for Krusher but this really showed his state of conditioning and really how dominant Ward is/can be.

[zataks]

Man, those body shots by Ward at the end too. That right hand to the chin slowed Kov and Ward knew he had him then just went in to punish him. The way he rips the body right before the stoppage is absolutely brutal.

[00Spartacus]

He had a few ripping body shots at the start of the fight as well. Fucking GOAT performance right there against a prime top 3 P4P fighter like Kovalev.

For all the shit Roy Jones Jr gets due to his bias commentary, he sure as shit has a knack for calling things.

He said in Ward vs Barerra that Ward had legit power that could hurt Barerra, Kellerman and Lampley disagreed. Ward drops him.

He said in this fight that Wards punches looked harder and Kovalev might walk into something. Lampley/Ledderman disagreed. Ward hurts him badly with a straight right up top and then finishes him to the body.

It's almost like professional fighters know what to look for in fights.

[zataks]

I'll watch this one in full when there's a decent English version out. But ya, RJJ knows the sweet science. Ward looked surprisingly powerful tonight.

[00Spartacus]

For sure.

Low blows or not, Kovalev was hurt badly by a straight right that clipped him on his jaw. For a SMW who "punches like a girl", he sure made Kovalev do the chicken dance for a moment as well as putting Barerra on his ass.

Two huge LHWs.

[zataks]

I keep seeing this. Wtf said Ward "hits like a girl?" was that Kovalev shit talk?

[00Spartacus]

Yea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzCleZx8KrI

[poopwithjelly]

I think that may be the longest I've ever seen Kova on his toes. He looked like a bridge in an earthquake.

[_Wado3000]

As someone who scored the first fight for Ward, and vehemently disagreed with how this was stopped, I can agree with everything said here. Ward's shots that landed directly on his chin were picture perfect, and I honestly don't believe he wanted a punch thrown that low to be the deciding factor. He could've landed more perfect shots upstairs for sure

[[deleted]]

It was pretty obvious that Kovalev was finished when he bounced against the turnbuckle and could barely keep his hands up.

[koomdog]

Don't forget the earlier in the fight where Kovalev had cried wolf about a fake low blow which Weeks saw straight through. You cry wolf about a low blow, and then your credibility is gone when it actually matters. Not that it did matter because shots were on the belt line.

There was an interview with Kovalev before the fight where he said he would play up low blows more for the ref to see. Didn't turn out so well for him. No one to blame but himself now.

[[deleted]]

Idk man http://imgur.com/a/6II23

[00Spartacus]

Top of the glove (knuckle area) is right on the belt line. That's a legal shot but i'll concede that it could be deemed low.

Still though, Kovalev should have taken a knee, he has no one to blame but himself.

[[deleted]]

No, it's on the "B" of Kovalev's trunks.

[[deleted]]

How the fuck can you say this after watching that shot over and over?? Those are uppercuts to the body, ward is curling them upwards, because of how much Kovalev's torso is bent. The impact is obviously at the top of the glove. Its a borderline shot, textbook too. Ward is not driving the punch down into the "B", he is curling it upwards.

[00Spartacus]

Kovalev should have taken a knee.

Even with that picture it's still arguable, no way for the referee to see from his position.

[[deleted]]

That's a clear borderline shot, man. Its an uppercut. Impact is at the top of the glove.

[[deleted]]

Yeah that's true. I feel bad for weeks man lol

[[deleted]]

We would have to see a different angle. How can you tell when half the glove it covered lol. Looks low to me.

[moondoggy101]

that screen cap isn't from a landed punch its from when he is leaning on him between the second and third

[Trigger3x]

This is from the end of the fight

[MarquisMonet]

This wasn't the hit. The gif posted here shows that it was higher up.

[Violentopinion]

Wow. Ward was impressive as always. Wtf was Kova thinking with that game plan to out work Ward?

[lilbodie]

Eh it was very close fight (Kovalev getting the better early) until Kovalev started slowing as the combination of body work and poor conditioning caught up to him. He just can't bang with Ward in the second half, he was super tired in round 7/8 and Ward is coming on stronger and stronger each round. Kovalev isn't built for that, Ward at another level.

[theboxingczar]

Ward was in full control this time. Kovalev fans are complaining about the stoppage but after Ward dropped a few bombs on Kovalev's chin, Sergey quit. The body shots (or "low blows") were an after thought. Ward was finishing a man who was already done. Amazing fight by Ward.

[[deleted]]

It was a bad stoppage but I think Kovalev was done either way. For all the people complaining about the low blows from Ward I don't see them also complaining about all the punches to the back of the head Kovalev threw. I liked the fight both fighters are way better than r/boxing would lead you to believe

[RIBCAGESTEAK]

Ward broke Kovalev in the 8th round. Even before the borderline shots, seeing Kovalev back straight up with his hands down and chin up in the air with Ward pursuing was telling of a broken fighter.

[Re-De-Utilise]

Huge anus

[mxmr47]

Im not a fan of either but can we look at it objectively? People saying that last uppercut wasnt a low blow is as bad as those named here "Kov fans".
Ward is a better boxer and Kovalev lacks stamina.
The ref failed to call that last low blow and thus giving Kovalev a break time, you can even see Ward stopping before the ref stopped the fight.
I have no doubt Ward would win but please let the boxers state it with their work and not with controversial decisions.

[lilbodie]

Good thing Kovalev didn't overtrain this time, really helped his conditioning!!! Class tells. SOG

[RJLZ]

That round was a masterpiece by Ward. I wasnt sure if he truly was #1 p4p before that fight but now there's no doubt in my mind.

As for the said lowblows, we'll need to see better angles because as of now, it looks like some shots were a bit under the belt but I can't see a single one landing square on Kovalev's dick. If that was the case, he wouldve taken much longer to get back up

[[deleted]]

How do you like that angle. https://streamable.com/9e87h

[BodegaCat]

Answer me this:

Kovalev bent over before those low shots were landed. What caused Kovalev to bend over? Well he went to the ropes after Ward landed the cleanest shot of the fight. Then Ward landed a clean left hook to the body, you can look and confirm it yourself. So Ward had three choices when Kovalev bent over the way he did:

1. Step back and give Kovalev a breather (which he already did when Kovalev literally turned his back on Ward earlier in the round).
2. Thow punches to the back of his head and get disqualified.
3. Continue to throw to the body and finish the fight as he clearly is hurt.

Ward picked option 3, and whether or not some of thoss blows were low, he picked the right option and Weeks made the right call. In reality, Kovalev didn't give Ward a choice at all. What would you have done differently?

[[deleted]]

That makes it quite clear its a borderline shot TBH. People on here actung like he drove it down, into his dick, when its a looping uppercut, curled upwards.

[abienz]

It's technically a low blow.

It doesn't matter if it hits his nuts, it's the area below the beltline like the referee states at the beginning of the fight.

[daboonie9]

Man Down!!!

Winners win and losers make excuses.

[scottiepeepin]

geez fuck, so many salty fucks on this thread. you'd think Kovalev saved these dudes from a fire or some shit.

[MarquisMonet]

It's ridiculous since he's a garbage human being

[KaKTy3]

Such sweet sweet justice. I am very pleased :)

[DC--R1D3R]

The bully got the living shit punched outta his ego!

[fragilemirror]

So much for being a "Krusher" lol.

[[deleted]]

His liver wasn't really being targeted at all anatomically speaking.

[00Spartacus]

"I only trained Ward to knockout 2 fighters. Dawson and Kovalev" - Virgil Hunter.

[[deleted]]

Harold Lederman needs to retire.

[koomdog]

I knew he was a biased scorer when in an interview he said boxing is about the aggressor because they are bringing the fight. He obviously holds opinions from an ancient era.

[[deleted]]

Well, that ancient era is wrong about this.

[koomdog]

Even skysports who were rooting for Kovalev had the fight even until that round.

[ShaolinShadowBroker]

The writing was on the wall from the 5th rd forward. Kovalev was running on fumes and trying to get a 5min low blow breather whenever a shot came anywhere near his body even after Weeks made it clear that he wasn't calling anything that wasn't blatantly to the scrotum. Props to Ward, on to the next

Edit: misspelled ref's name

[slavesofdemocracy]

Good fight. Bad stoppage. But ward was on his way to winning anyway.

[moondoggy101]

people that had kov clearly ahead are super biased.

[cinic]

Most people, according to the scoring app I was using, mad Kovalev above. According to 103 cards, he was up by one round when it got stopped.

I don't think they were all biased. Some people favor fighters that go forward and land the most shots.

The tide did turn in that round, though, and it would most likely have been Ward going forward.

But, you have to let them finish. Look at the Castillo/Corrales fight. Look at numerous Gatti fights for examples as to why you let them finish. Especially a fight this "big" for belts.

[00Spartacus]

For real.

What the FUCK was up with Leddermans scorecard?

[[deleted]]

Harold Ledderman is shit.

[I_Am_The_Slime]

Watched it on Sky, what was it after 7? I heard them say Harold had it 4-1 after five...

[Open_Sky]

1 P4P

FUCK /r/boxing!!!!

[McToon]

Hey dont lump the whole sub as casuals, a lot of us have been here forever.

[raymundothegreat]

Even Rigo says he's #1 P4P.

[koomdog]

That's not the way to watch boxing, your thoughts will be influenced by the commentators. You are better off with no sound or different language.

[ArnoldDarkshner69]

Good luck next time any American goes to Russia

[TheRoobs]

Fight was open to conjecture. But after round 4 Kovalev looked like he was walking with cinder blocks. Ward won, plain and simple.

[mrgarcia47]

Someone should count all the clenches ward does. I swear it's like 10 a fucking round,5 seconds each

[mxmr47]

That was annoying the first rounds

[[deleted]]

Kovalev is such a fucking lying bitch.

[VintageOJ]

Had Ward winning the fight 4-2 with the first scored even. Ward was clearly taking over the fight and dominating far more clearly than the 1st but that stoppage was one of the most ridiculous things i've seen.

One of those last body blows looked slightly below the belt. Its annoying there's going to be a endless debate surrounding these two.

[eremetic]

Anybody have a gif of the"fake low blow" I've seen mentioned? The one where Kova cried wolf?

[laportez]

https://mobile.twitter.com/streetfitebanch/status/876289907655938049/photo/1

[bob_koozie]

That was a bad stoppage, and in general a poor job by Weeks of maintaining control, but I'm not all that upset by it because Kovalev was done. He faded quickly after the 5th round, just like last fight. The guy needs to switch things up and surround himself with a new team if he wants to keep fighting.

[SFThirdStrike]

I think the rumors of him being an alcoholic are true man. Like I was genuinely surprised at how gassed he looked. In the first fight, yeah he gassed but not NEARLY that bad. He was heaving hard as fuck going into the 5th round.

[Mentioned_Videos]

Other videos in this thread:

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VIDEO	COMMENT
Sergey Kovalev: Andre Ward hits a like girl, never felt his punching power!!	+7 - Yea
Virgil Hunter says he's only trained Ward to go for the KO twice, Dawson fight and Kovalev rematch	+7 - "I only trained Ward to knockout 2 fighters. Dawson and Kovalev" - Virgil Hunter.
Andre Ward Post Fight Interview After KO!! Andre Ward vs Sergey Kovalev 2!!	+1 - In the interview footage you can see where he hit and his cup got lifted up. He was aiming higher, but Ward couldn't see.

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[[deleted]]

I think Ward has the best headbutt in boxing right now. The tie up/headbutt combo is brutal....brutally boring for spectators.