{"id":64855,"date":"2016-11-19T15:11:31","date_gmt":"2016-11-19T20:11:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=64855"},"modified":"2016-11-19T15:11:59","modified_gmt":"2016-11-19T20:11:59","slug":"sergey-kovalev-andre-ward-one-more-look","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=64855","title":{"rendered":"Sergey Kovalev \u2013 Andre Ward: One More Look"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"maxresdefault\"<\/a>By Jeffrey \u201cItalian Medallion\u201d Cellini<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tonight from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, WBA, WBO, and IBF Light Heavyweight champion Sergey \u201cKrusher\u201d Kovalev,30-0-1, 26 KO\u2019s finally faces two-time world champion Andre \u201dS.O.G\u201d Ward, 30-0, 15 KO\u2019s in a clash between the two of the top three pound-for-pound fighters in the world.<\/p>\n

Darnell Boone is the only fighter to have fought both Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward during their professional careers. In 2005, Boone is best remembered for flooring fellow American Ward during their six-round contest, before losing via unanimous verdict. In October 2010, Boone dropped a split eight-round decision to the Russian, and suffered a 2nd round technical knockout loss in the rematch in June 2012. Boone shared some of his thoughts on tomorrow night\u2019s Superfight.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndre Ward is a great fighter. He\u2019s worked very hard to get where he is today. He\u2019s smart, cagey and real crafty. Sergey Kovalev is a great fighter too. He can do more than people give him credit for. Some people look at his high knockout percentage and just think he can only punch, but he can box a bit too. Sometimes he can be a bit overzealous and clumsy when he rushes in to attack, which leaves him off balance. He can\u2019t afford to let this happen against an intelligent fighter like Ward.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, I don\u2019t think Ward is used to light-heavyweight yet \u2013 he doesn\u2019t look comfortable carrying the extra weight. When he was fighting at super-middleweight, he\u2019d move around the ring a lot. At light-heavyweight, he seems less mobile, and he\u2019s staying in the pocket too long. I can\u2019t see how you can beat a puncher like Kovalev if you stay in the pocket too long. That\u2019s why I\u2019m going with Kovalev to win this fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWard\u2019s recent opponents have been nowhere near the caliber of Kovalev \u2013 they haven\u2019t even been a similar style to him. Whereas Kovalev has got experience against good fighters like Bernard Hopkins and Isaac Chilemba, who also share similarities to Ward. The momentum is with Kovalev, as he\u2019s been consistently active, while Ward hasn\u2019t. When you think about it, Ward hasn\u2019t really been hit properly since I knocked him down [in November 2005]. You have to wonder; how will he react to being hit by the type of power that Kovalev has? I think it\u2019ll be tough for him to handle. That\u2019s why I\u2019m going for Kovalev to win by late stoppage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kovalez was named 2014 Fighter of the Year by Ring Magazine. He has a record of 9-0,7 KO\u2019s in world championship fights and a record of 5-0, 4 KO\u2019s against former or current world champions.<\/p>\n

Andre Ward was named 2011 Fighter of the Year by Ring Magazine. He Has a record of 7-0,1 KO in world title fights and has a record of 5-0, 1 KO against former or current world titlists.<\/p>\n