Kovalev vs. Ward: Keys to the Fight

By KenWoods123 - 10/20/2016 - Comments

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By Ken Woods: The light heavyweight championship bout between Sergey Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) and Andre Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) is approximately a month away (Nov. 19, HBO pay-per-view) and is one of the most anticipated fights of the year. The keys to the battle are detailed below.

Andre Ward

Smother, smother, smother

Ward is a competent inside fighter and stronger than he appears. We have seen his ability to smother his opponent’s punches and invade their space in the Mikkel Kessler fight and the Carl Froch contest. He will need to do more of that in this match. Kovalev is very adept at keeping the contest on the outside, counter punching and setting traps. So, in order to nullify that strength, Ward will have to get close, restrict his punches and create angles for hooks and uppercuts. Also, stifling him will not allow him to get off with his power, which is his best asset.

We have yet to see Kovalev in that position, which means that it will initially make him uncomfortable, and when you make a fighter uncomfortable, you can expose weaknesses. Ward is good at not only getting inside and bullying the other boxer, but he is also skilled at throwing punches and not receiving return fire. He will need to do this with Kovalev from the first round. Both combatants are great at establishing the distance. If Ward can get inside by jabbing to the body, timing Kovalev’s jab while slipping under and forcing him to the ropes, he can have success in disrupting Kovalev’s rhythm and forcing him to fight at a space that is foreign to him.

Go to the body

Kovalev has never been targeted to the body consistently. If Ward can attack his body, he could break him down in order to dominate in the later rounds. Bernard Hopkins was head hunting, Jean Pascal was as well. If Ward can shift his focus to the lower flank and get Kovalev to respect his midsection attack, he can begin to open up opportunities to the head and dictate the pace of the fight.

Ward has an excellent body jab, and that can open up hooks to the stomach and potentially uppercuts to the head. Going to the body is another thing that Kovalev will have to adjust to, which makes it a particularly attractive strategy to implement.

Right hand counter

Ward is left handed; however, he fights in a conventional, orthodox manner. Because of this, he is mainly left-hand dominant in his fights. He has a great jab and left hook; but in this fight, he will need to consistently land his counter right hand. Kovalev has a good jab, but at times he is lazy with his left hand and keeps it low when he is attacking. Because of this, Hopkins and Pascal were able to time him and land overhand rights to counter his jab repeatedly. These punches stunned Kovalev and created momentum for both.

If Ward can correctly time Kovalev with the right hand, he can have sustained success. Ward has exceptional timing, so it can be a useful tool if he chooses to unleash it on his adversary.

Sergey Kovalev

Keep the fight on the outside

Ward is adept at inside fighting as mentioned above, Kovalev has yet to show those skills in a professional fight, so Kovalev’s best option is to keep it on the outside and use his reach. Kovalev has a good jab and a great right hand that he sets up from long range. If he can dictate the distance and keep Ward and the end of both punches, he can have success.

Even though Kovalev is a powerful puncher, he has good footwork, and because of that, he is able to get into range and move out with swiftness and regularity. His greatest strength would be to keep the fight on the outside and counter with the right hand and commandeer the real estate with his length.

Jab with Ward

Both fighters have a good jab. Ward’s is slightly better, but both are extremely formidable. So, in order to combat Ward’s jab, Kovalev has to jab him at the same time. Timing is vital with this strategy. Ward has shown with Sullivan Barrera, Arthur Abraham, and Froch that he can be tagged with the jab, but it is even more effective if you jab simultaneously. He has gotten hit flush with well-timed jabs from the previous opponent’s, and with Kovalev’s power, it could really wear him down.

Ward is elusive, so timing him when he jabs is essential to negating that elusiveness, and it could perhaps make him second guess using his jab so frequently, which will create openings for “the Krusher.” Also, the jab to the body is a great weapon for Kovalev, similar to Ward. But Ward is usually on the giving end and not the receiving. So the jab to the body could really disrupt Ward and cause him to reset and rethink his approach.

Let Ward lead

Ward is a good counter puncher and he likes to set traps. However, Ward can lead as well. If Kovalev sets traps for Ward to initiate, he can run him into counter shots. We saw in the Pascal and Hopkins fights that Kovalev can return punches, is patient and is accurate. If he can get Ward to over-commit, which he does at times, he can potentially run him into a big shot. And with Kovalev’s power, a couple big shots are all he needs to dramatically change the outlook of a bout.

Ward is excellent defensively, but he is open to be countered when he engages. So if Kovalev can set traps along the ropes, in the middle of the ring and on the outside, he can time Ward and keep him guessing.

This fight will be an intense chess match with two elite light heavyweights. Ultimately, the fight will come down to who can consistently control the distance. That’s what makes the fight so intriguing. Fight fans will get a real treat on November 19.