Boxing schedule for March

I know, I'm just saying Ward's performance against Barrera tells me absolutely nothing on how he would be able to deal with Kovalev. I see a LOT of people all over the place talking about how Ward schools Kovalev but I wasn't seeing any of this chatter pre Barrera and I'm wondering how the hell people make that connection based on this performance against Barrera. If anything, I would have thought the opposite just on how hittable Ward seemed and a little more flat footed or stationary than normal.

Just think he took Barrera a bit more lightly than he would take Kovalev. Ward would be at the top of his game with a specific gameplan for the Punisher and I think while it would be a competitive fight, but Ward wins 9-3 or 8-4 with no "controversy" as Prince would say. Got Em!!

It would definitely be interesting to see what kind of gamelan Ward would use. He has like three base styles, whether he smothers his opponent and is super aggressive like against Alan Green or more traditional boxing and hit and don't get hit like we've seen more frequently. I just don't think he can use his smothering technique against someone so big and so powerful as Kovalev, who almost had to go to cruiserweight at one point but altered his diet/training to make 175, and Kovalev is very rangy with a great jab so boxing on the outside would be a struggle as well. Again I would never count Ward out, phenomenal fighter but I think people focus so much on Kovalevs power they neglect to see his athletic ability and boxing skills. He's the real deal. I don't doubt Ward can win rounds but there will be pain, something different when a jab is just as strong if not stronger than say, Carl Frochs hook.

I didn't see Ward get hit with anything that bothered him much, he's got a great chin to begin with and the weight gain doesn't seem to make that worse.

He can't afford to get hit at all by Kovalev. He had some marks after the Barrera fight. Sanchez was saying how the punches Barrera landed would destroy Ward if Kovalev was behind them, maybe so.

He'll have to be defensive against Kovalev in close range while timing him with that quick hook when Kovalev reaches in. I think Ward can outlast an early assault by Kovalev, and use his superb stamina to come on strong the second half of the fight. Especially if he can get in some good body shots....and he's sure to clinch a lot.

^ Great chin is stretching it a bit imo.

In this fight I would be fully behind Kovalev, but he would struggle big time to land anything meaningful where the complexion of the fight could change in an instant. Ward would be able to come up with angles Kovalev hasn't seen before, which I imagine would be discouraging for him (similarly to Pac-Floyd). Question is what IF Kovalev clocks him ala Boone? That can spell only disaster for Ward. However, even then Ward is quite elusive and smart to survive. So I dunno, it's quite intriguing matchup. I can only foresee a great tactical battle ensuing and who will be the first one to crack under pressure.

I didn't mean to imply Ward was bothered by anything Barrera landed; Barrera didn't seem to have much behind his punches at all. I was just speaking on the perception people had after this performance about how people are saying Ward would school Kovalev, where in my mind I'm thinking more on the lines of Sanchez in that if Ward is that open against Kovalev, he's in big trouble. For the record I don't think he'll fight Kovalev the same way, he's smart and he knows Kovalev can hurt him.

Kovalev is more versatile than people realize. I've seen him hurt people with small, short shots on the inside when the opponent is clinching. That kind of power is rare; the type of power that isn't necessary to have range and load up on a shot, just a short little inside shot that causes real damage. And his boxing ability was enough to make Bernard Hopkins praise him, which is even more rare since Kovalev is the only fighter who Hopkins lost to that he actually gave props. Speaks volumes imo.