June 2017 -

Ward vs. Kovalev II Recap

Andre Ward’s rematch with Sergey Kovalev resulted in a strange ending. The fight was competitive through seven rounds.

Although the HBO broadcast team of Jim Lampley, Roy Jones and Max Kellerman did their best to convince us that Ward was ahead, I was more inline with Harold Lederman in having Kovalev ahead 5 rounds to 2. Ward however was certainly having his moments.

Ward had been warned by referee Tony Weeks for a low blow. In the eighth round, Ward was clearly coming on. Kovelev appeared to be bothered by the low blow. More borderline body punches came his way.

He was clearly fatigued, uncomfortable and looking for a breather. The American landed a right hand to the head that had Kovalev hurt.

He then turned the pressure on landing continuously to the body. Some shots were borderline; some including the last shot were clearly low.

The Russian sat back into the ropes after the final low blow; it looked like his version of taking a knee and granting Ward a knockdown or just reacting to a low blow. However, Tony Weeks stepped in and stopped it giving Ward a TKO victory.

I have always liked Weeks as a ref. He lets guys fight on the inside unlike Mayweather alter boy Kenny Bayless.

But Saturday was a bad night for him. He should have seen that the final punch from Ward was low and given Kovalev time to recover; Ward should have also been docked a point.

Even if Weeks couldn’t see the low blow, it should have been ruled a knockdown when Kovalev sat back into the ropes. There should have been a 10-count.

It’s a shame because it leaves ambiguity on another Ward victory. Ward may very well have been on his way to stopping the Russian legitimately. Let him!

After what happened in the first fight, boxing needed a clear winner here. But one thing is crystal clear. ANDRE WARD IS A WINNER!

Say what you will about his likeability factor or what questionable situations have gone his way. That happened for Sugar Ray Leonard more than once too.

But just like his fellow gold medalist, Ward seized the opportunity. I think Ward’s deep faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ which he points to regularly has given him a steel will and unbreakable belief in himself. He has been through 20 hellacious rounds with a devastating puncher and came out the other side the victor.

A rematch could certainly be justified, but don’t hold your breath. Ward now has two victories over Kovalev regardless of what anyone feels about them. He can look to unify the light heavyweight title if Adonis Stevenson is willing, or move up and grab a cruiserweight belt.

As for Kovalev, it’s simple. Get back into the knockout business. Maybe this loss will give Stevenson the will to fight him after running away from him to Showtime a few years back.

However, at age 34 the clock is ticking on the Russian badass. If Kovalev is drug-free (no guarantee with ANY athlete today) he doesn’t have many years left of his prime, though his power will keep him relevant past it.

Sometimes in life things just go right for winners. But winners also will things to go right for them. Talk soon.

-Marksman

Ward vs. Kovalev II Preview and Prediction

Tonight two of the top 5 pound-for-pound fighters in the world hook up for the unified Light Heavyweight Championship of the World on HBO Pay Per View. This fight is not for the unified title because WBC strap holder and lineal champion Adonis Stevenson is still content to be spoon fed opponents not named Ward or Kovalev by Al Haymon.

The new champ, Andre Ward (31-0, 15 KO) meets former champ Sergey Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KO). I will not go into detail about their background or the first fight. Please refer to my articles in November for that.

What I will reiterate is that their first fight ended in a controversial unanimous decision for Ward. I along with everyone I was watching with agreed with HBO’s unofficial scorer, Harold Lederman that Kovalev won the fight.

Ward looked as surprised as us when the decision was announced in his favor. But it was a good fight which would have warranted a rematch even if the judges had gotten it right as Ward did an outstanding job of getting back into a fight in which he was getting clearly whipped early on.

The first fight did a terrible PPV number and I expect no better in this fight, which is a shame. Andre Ward should be disgusted with his promotional company, Roc Nation’s (Jay-Z has a piece of the company) ineptitude in promoting him and this rematch.

This fight has all the makings for a successful PPV. You have two top fighters in their prime, a disputed decision, a black American Olympic Gold Medalist vs. a surly white Russian who is far from PC and the don’t like each other.

However, most casual sports fans don’t even know this fight is happening or who the hell these two fantastic fighters are. Mr. Z should stick to making music which he is allegedly good at (though from what I understand his music is about calling his own people n***ers and whores).

Everything he touches in sports from the Nets, to Miguel Cotto, to Andre Ward seems to underachieve on a promotional level. This week’s announcement of the circus coming to Vegas on August 26 has also made this fight completely non-existent in sports news.

Let’s get to the keys to victory for the combatants. I will start with the challenger.

Though Kovalev put Ward down with a right hand in the second round, the most impressive thing about him in the first fight was his jab in the early rounds. It was long, heavy and powerful.

He was literally knocking Ward off balance with it. The problem is, he stopped throwing it as consistently and seemed content to cruise to a victory that never came.

He also showed fatigue later in the fight. He attributes this to overtraining. I wasn’t there in camp, so I will take his word for it.

One thing a fighter has full control over is his conditioning. Kovalev simply needs more stamina to keep that jab pumping for 12 rounds. This will allow him to control the distance and set up his power punches which could introduce the American to the canvas again.

I would also like to see Kovalev put more water in the basement as Teddy Atlas likes to say. Kovalev is the bigger guy and the harder puncher. We saw Ward’s body attack wear Kovalev down later in the fight.

Give Ward a taste of his own medicine. Most guys who go to the body don’t like to be hit to the body.

Now on to the new champ. Also, establish the jab. Ward also has a very effective jab though it’s different from Kovalev’s. It’s not as long or powerful, but it’s quicker and very accurate.

Also like Kovalev, use that jab to establish the distance at which the fight is fought. Ward wants to get inside, make it ugly, roughhouse, score and get out. He showed in the second half of the fight that he has the tools to do just that.

Most important for Ward is to get started early. Had Ward established his distance earlier on, there is no rematch.

So, on to my prediction…first off, let me disclose I am rooting for Kovalev. I was basically neutral in the first fight.

I respect both guys. However, the poor decision and Ward’s diva-like attitude leading up to negotiations put me off. As good a fighter as he is, Ward is just NOT a star, but he sometimes acts like one.

I will be scoring at home and just like I gave Kovalev the really close rounds in the first fight because he was champ, I will now give Ward that same respect. He is the champion now weather I think he should be or not.

As for what I think the outcome will be, I am once again going with Ward in a competitive decision. I expect a similar fight, but I think the fact that Ward survived Kovalev’s power once gives him a psychological edge.

In addition, Kovalev is fighting angry and I think he believes he needs a knockout to win. He is talking about ending Ward’s career. That is a recipe for desperation.

I could see Kovalev getting easily frustrated and sacrificing his underrated technical skills in route to punching himself out. Just ask George Foreman how wanting to end Muhammad Ali’s career in Zaire worked out for him.

I think both will have their moments and a trilogy may be warranted. However, if Ward gets his hand raised again, I think he will want to turn the page from the Kovalev. It would not be the end of the Russian’s career, but getting another shot at Ward will prove elusive.

Either way, I am looking forward to tonight’s continuance of what so far has been a very solid year for boxing fans. Talk soon.

-Marksman

Russia: The Left’s Boogie Man

I remember growing up as a kid in the last dozen or so years of the Cold War when the left seemed to sympathize with the Soviet Union. They would question why we needed so many nuclear arms; we heard how terrible and scary it was that President Regan was putting arms in Space.

Television would paint Soviet civilians as sympathetic figures who were victims of bigotry from flag-waiving Americans. The message was that the Soviet people were no different than the Keatons on Family Ties.

Eventually Regan’s ideology of peace through strength paid off. The Berlin Wall and Eastern European communism fell. St. John Paul II was also instrumental with his unapologetic exposition of communism as a Godless evil (as opposed to the current fraud in the Vatican).

Russia today, while far from perfect is a free market and Christianity is growing at a rapid pace. But the left now sticks to the narrative which paints Russia as our greatest threat. No, it’s not radical Islam, not North Korea, not Iran, not Saudi Arabia (who funded 9/11/01). It’s Russia!

They are running with the lie that Russia “hacked the election”. I am not saying that they did not want President Donald Trump to win; I think they did. Vladimir Putin is a shrewd guy.

He doesn’t want war with the United States. But, he was continuously being provoked by the beta males and twisted sisters during Iatola Barry’s second term. This sparked Putin’s ego to flex his muscles (sometimes literally while riding horses).

I think he views Trump as a guy he can have a peaceful rapport with. But the left cannot accept Crooked Hillary Clinton’s (who sold uranium to Russia BTW) defeat, so they de-legitimize Trump by pushing the idea that he and those around him colluded with the Russians.

If anyone has ever spoken to a Russian, they are treasonists (soon they will convince South Boston that Russia was in on the Babe Ruth trade). As far as I ever knew, people in high places of major world powers do speak to one another.

If we are to believe the possibility that Russia hacked the DNC leading to the exposition of undisputed truths, does that qualify as “hacking the election”? No.

Unless Russian operatives rigged the voting booths, Russia did not effect the voting. I suspect illegal voters had a much greater role giving the popular vote to Crooked Hillary.

Even if Putin had openly campaigned for Trump, would that be any different than the Iatola from Honolulu and John Kerry openly campaigning against Bebe Netanyahu? I am not saying Putin is to be completely trusted. He is former KGB.

However, we have a common enemy in ISIS. As Michael Savage (http://www.michaelsavage.wnd.com) points out in his recent books, it makes sense to have a civil relationship with Russia. However, the left knows that the majority of the uninformed public who is caught up in pedicures and fantasy football does not really differentiate today’s Russia from the former Soviet Union.

These dips***s still associate Russia with Ivan Drago and sending innocent people to Siberia. So it’s easy to push the lie that “Russia hacked the election”.

We saw another senatorial dog and pony show this week when former FBI Director James Comey testified. He confirmed that Trump did NOT obstruct justice. He also confirmed my suspicion from a prior article, that yes, he is a p***y.

In addition, he implicated himself as a felonious leaker of classified information and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch as a true justice obstructionist. She pushed this coward to call the Clinton email investigation a “matter” so as to not interfere with her Arizona tarmac buddy’s wife taking her rightful place in the Oval Office.

The witch-hunt will continue when current Attorney General Jeff Sessions goes before the senate to address his supposed ties to Russia. BTW-Mr. Sessions seems to have an awful lot of powerful felons on the left to investigate and indict.

But he seems too busy recusing himself and testifying to live up to his hard-ass reputation. I don’t recall this type of passive behavior from Obama’s first DOJ henchman, Eric Holder!

So, why has the left found such distain for Russia/Putin as opposed to the former Soviets for who they had so much empathy?

1-Russia is white and not in line with their globalist agenda. Putin, like Trump (but in a more cartoonish way) is also unapologetically masculine. This is a big no-no for white men as far as the left is concerned. Strike 1!

2-Russia is no longer the communist stronghold that the left thirsts to be. Strike 2!

3-Growing Christianity. The Satanic left wants God removed from society. Possibly the most Godless civilized nation in history is no longer in line with this. Putin also supports the traditional family. Strike 3!

Is it not logical to wipe ISIS out side-by-side with Russia? Not to the death cult they call the Democratic Party which quietly enjoys seeing Christians and Jews slaughtered, and not to the Republican establishment who doesn’t want to leave the money generated by more ground wars with dictators who pose no threat to us on the table.

So, the satanic left will keep telling us about this Russian boogie man until the sheep accept it. Don’t buy into it. Talk soon.

-Marksman

Good Week For Trump

After a rough month, President Donald J. Trump seems to be on the rebound. This is what Trump has always done best whether going bankrupt, or being hit with a seemingly insurmountable campaign scandal.

Trump rebounds well when he gets knocked on his ass. He had a strong overseas trip (though I strongly disagree with making arms deals with Saudi Arabia). Then, this week he got back to catering to his base.

It sounds like Steve Bannon has regained prominence in the administration. Bannon is the strongest voice of the Trump base in the administration. When those who oppose Bannon have Trump’s ear, things seem to go poorly.

Corey Lewendowski among others who were instrumental in Trump’s campaign have also been brought back into the fold; this is a good thing. While Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner can be useful to Trump, they don’t speak for those who got him elected.

Michael Savage (http://www.michaelsavage.wnd.com) often points out that we voted for the wall, jobs, etc. We didn’t vote for well-intentioned borderline New York liberals.

I find no coincidence in Bannon’s star rising again and Lewendowski’s presence preceding Trump pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord. Fantastic move!

The more the left is in an uproar, the better the direction of the country. These climate pacts do nothing for the United States but cost us money and keep the middle class out of work or underemployed.

Factory workers and coal miners who were taken for granted by the Democrats shifting to Trump put him over the top. Moves like this speak directly to these people that Trump is with them.

The left and establishment Republicans will always be out to get Trump throughout his presidency; there is little to no common ground with them. When Trump tries to play ball with these globalists he weakens himself. Trump needs to do some house-cleaning.

Making Reince Priebus his Chief of Staff may have been an attempt to build a bridge with the Republican establishment. It may have been an attempt to keep enemies close. Either way, this guy has been a snake since Trump began his run.

Never forget that Priebus wanted to steal the nomination from Trump leading up to the convention. He needs to go!

As Mike Cernovich (http://www.dangerandplay.com) has reported, General McMaster, Dina Powell and other Deep State operatives are leaking information and attempting to sabotage the administration. They must be derailed!

I don’t have all the answers of who should replace whom, but one Washington insider that has been loyal to Trump pretty much from the beginning is Newt Gingrich. Gingrich is a fighter but also has that political savy that Trump lacks.

He seems hungry to get back in the game and could be a major asset. Could he replace Priebus?

The left also did Trump a favor this week. Some unfunny Seinfeld extra took a picture holding the president’s severed head.

Cernovich was right on about this. When the left pulls this s**t, do something about it rather than sit and regurgitate cliches about what would happened if someone held up a severed Obama head.

We know the double standard! That double standard exists because the left has fought by a different set of rules for decades.

Instead of bitching, boycott the sponsors and call the networks demanding they disavow and/or remove this trash. Cernovich immediately called out CNN to disavow this broad who never had a right to be famous in the first place. Sure enough, they did.

Bill Maher then made a joke over the weekend calling himself a “house n****r”. We all know what would happen if any non-liberal used this lingo.

Be a doer, not a sayer. Call HBO and demand Maher get the same treatment that Don Imus got for calling some basketball players “nappy headed hoes”.

That is how we do our part. Tired of the double standard and PC culture? Do your part while demanding that Trump stay true to you who voted for him. Talk soon.

-Marksman