Kovalev vs Ward: Johnny Nelson is backing Andre Ward to win inside the distance
Sunday 20 November 2016 07:17, UK
Johnny Nelson is never one to sit on the fence so he explains just why he thinks Andre Ward will beat Sergey Kovalev, inside the distance...
Live Fight Night International
I am going to say it right now... Andre Ward stops Sergey Kovalev.
There, I've said it. It might not be a knockout but I can only see Ward either stopping him later on, or even being pulled out. I just see Kovolev trying what we expect and later rather than sooner, he walks into a shot and that will be the deciding factor.
Andre Ward's skill isn't a secret of course and his knockout ratio is far from great but every single fighter he's faced, he's sussed them right out.
Kovalev knows he can bang and knows if he hits Ward he canget him out there, so he is going to commit more and he'll not be settle for being beaten, so he will be his own downfall. He will come rushing in, caught with a counter and that will see Ward win
Of course, Kovalev is the complete opposite. He is probably a more effective fighter, who will come forward and rely on brute force and that is how he fights. He is a bit cuter than he gets credit for but there's no way he is going to out-box Ward.
When he realises that for himself, that is when he will get desperate, try to rush Andre Ward and that is when he will take risks.
He will know he is behind on points due to Ward's superior skill and that is when he will take even more risks - and that is when he is in real trouble. Ward is the perfect punch-picker and he will take Kovalev.
It might seem a silly example but remember when Muhammad Ali took on George Foreman? His shots were slowly taking his gas away because they were so accurate. Kovalev might well have a bit more to his game than just brute force like Foreman, but he just got more and more frustrated, then desperate and I can honestly see something like that happening here.
It is going to be a rough ride for Ward but as long as he stays cool and sticks to the game-plan, he will surprise everyone and not need the scorecards.
I might be going for Ward stopping him but the one thing he won't be able to do is nullify Kovalev, spoil it, turn it into a boring fight. I love Kovalev's character, he is going to push this fight from the beginning and try and knock Ward out.
Kovalev knows he can bang and knows if he hits Ward he can get him out there, so he is going to commit more and he'll not be settle for being beaten, so he will be his own downfall. He will come rushing in, caught with a counter and that will see Ward win.
He wants to go out and get Ward out of there but look at how he got on against a fighter well past his sell-by date in Bernard Hopkins.
Yes, he bullied him and beat him but Hopkins should not have been going the distance with Kovalev, but had the brain, the smartness to out-fox him and take him the distance. He was 49 years-old. Andre Ward is a year younger than him, not 18 years older. How does Kovalev get rid of this guy?
I am looking at Ward stopping him even as early as the ninth or 10th round, certainly not going the distance.
