This was a high level fight with two of the best fighters in the world. A robbery in my mind is when it is so clear that literally everyone agrees a fighter was robbed.
This isn’t what happen in Kovalev-Ward, it was a controversial decision, not a robbery.
It was clear that Kovalev dominated the first half of the fight and scored a knockdown. In the second half of the fight Ward took control with body punching and clinching. Kovalev who isn’t use to going 12 rounds a lot (only 9 times in his career) gassed out.
Where the controversy came in was exactly how far was Ward behind and how many rounds Ward won going down the stretch. The answer to that was found in the scorecard.
The official #KovalevWard scorecard pic.twitter.com/Tr91b8aqNe
— Robert Littal BSO (@BSO) November 20, 2016
Boxing scoring is subjective, so when you don’t have a knockout or a very clear decision someone is going to be upset. I find it hard to believe that Kovalev only won one round after the 6th round, but that is what the Judges saw. I thought at minimum Kovalev won 2 of the last 6 rounds, but there is no doubt he slowed during the second half of the fight.
Being the champion Kovalev has a rematch clause and because of how close this fight was, look for him to exercise it. Ward didn’t seem that eager to fight Kovalev, so don’t book your hotels yet.
When the best fight each other, this is what happens. The fact people are talking about is good for boxing, a little controversy ever hurt anyone.