What happens in a playground ass whipping is simple.  In Kovalev Andre Ward II  the outcome was just as decisive. On the playground one kid beats hell out of the other. The victor dominates with the loser knowing he just isn’t as tough as his opponent.

This was not a low blow. Andre Ward proved he could hurt Kovalev to the head, then finish him with crushing body punches that left Kovalev defenseless. Andre Ward inflicted an indisputable playground ass whipping to a terrific fighter, leaving no doubt as to which man is king of the ring. I contend that at 75 kilos, Ward, would take apart any prize fighter, regardless of his size

Andre Ward vs Sergei Kovalev 1.

The Second fight

Which one is the Alpha Male?

Playground fighting is the same thing that occurs in the animal kingdom. Two male wolves fight for dominance over the pack, and once the issue is decided, there’s no question which wolf is the meanest, strongest animal. Or two bull moose lock horns to determine which male moose is going to be subservient over the other. Whether it’s in the animal kingdom or the playground, there’s no tabulation of points or 6 month rematches. Or penalties imposed for low blows. One male wins, while the other loses.

Which fighter will impose his will on the other?

And so it was in this epic rematch between the two finest boxers in the world.  One could already see it during the weigh in. With Kovalev and Andre Ward doing the obligatory stare down. But if you caught the tail end of the stare down, you would have caught Ward shrugging indifferently. Not once, but twice.   The body language spoke volumes as if Ward were saying, “okay, lets cut the crap. I’m winning this fight. Kovalev’s mine.”  (the subtle shrugs start at 3:31 in the weigh in video below).  Ward’s supremely confident here.  Now I knew who would win this fight.  If you caught it during the weigh in, there would be no room for doubt of  the playground ass whipping to come.

The fight started just as Kovalev–Ward 1 had, with Kovalev,  the aggressor, throwing out a lot more punches than his opponent. Trouble was, most of them didn’t land, and those that did failed to land with the same authority they did in Kovalev-Ward 1. Early on, Ward,  demonstrated a dazzling arsenal of defensive boxing skills of slipping and ducking punches.  This display of awesome talent no doubt convinced Kovalev that Ward was 100 percent certain  that there was no way the Russian could hurt him.

A playground ass whipping means total physical and mental domination over one’s opponent

Next came step II in Ward’s game plan of psychological dominance. Which was, “I ‘m now going to show you something that you totally never suspected”. Although he didn’t throw many, the punches to Kovalev’s head showed a snappiness and force that Kovalev had never seen before. And that he never suspected to exist. With only a 50 % knockout percentage, Ward’s never been known to have a knockout punch. Until now. The replays on you tube show Ward snapping Kovalev’s head back as the surprise registered in his Kovalev’s eyes and the Russian  could feel the pain.

I never knew that Ward can really punch

For the first time, Kovalev must have suddenly realized, “This man can really punch. I can easily be knocked out by this man.  I need to be very careful from now on.”

Kovalev already knew about step III in Ward’s game plan expecting Ward to impose his inside game of clinching, holding and body punching.   But Kovalev was ready for that.   He had learned Ward’s inside tactics well  from Kovalev Andre Ward I.  What he did not expect this time was for Ward to be able to deliver so many hard effective body punches. He expected Ward to be intimidated by his own powerful offense which he would continually slow down by holding and clinching to nullify the Russian’s powerful punches. Instead the American turned an inside game that had been mostly defensive into a very dangerous offensive weapon.

Fighting Dirty????  Nope.  I am only fighting to win

Throughout the fight, Ward would deliver one excruciating blow after the other into Kovalev’s midsection.. In my opinion,  Kovalev already expected a lot of effective body punching from Ward so he decided to impose his own mind game upon Ward.  I thought Kovalev was wearing his shorts substantially higher than they normally would have been worn.  In my opinion Kovalev had been hoping that the Ward would be thinking that he was delivering below the belt low blows and that the referee would severely penalize Ward for being a dirty fighter.  I think that at the very least Kovalev was hoping that this would discourage Ward from relying on his excellent body punching skills. And if the referee should disqualify Ward, so much the better.

The Russian’s strategy backfires

Unfortunately for Kovalev this did not work. To me, it seemed obvious that Ward was onto this trick, and that he decided to turn it against the Russian. Instead of tentatively punching Kovalev to the body out of fear of what the ref might do to him, Ward, went at Kovalev with reckless abandon. Throughout the fight Kovalev kept looking back at the referee to get him to do something about all those illegal dirty punches to the groin. And the referee, who was equally aware as Ward, to Kovalev’s strategy, kept ignoring the body blows, some of which might actually be considered as questionable.

But as the fight continued into the later rounds, Ward started to exhibit an ever increasing display of dazzling boxing skills that must have convinced Kovalev, I’m very fast, I have a great jab, I’m a terrific puncher and I have great boxing skills, but all of this, I cannot begin to match.” Ward continued to duck punches and to slip those that he didn’t duck. But when Kovalev did connect, Ward would hardly flinch at all, as if to say, “Is that all you got?” And then he’d snap Kovalev’s head back or deliver a punishing “low blow’ that might seem to cause Kovalev to crumple up in pain. But was Kovalev really only acting while trying to get the attention of the referee?

Kovalev finally faces the Inevitable

But it really didn’t matter. Either way, Kovalev was getting hurt. And if some of Ward’s body punches actually were illegal low blows, by then Ward had convinced Kovalev that there was nothing he could do about it. And by this time I could see that the Russian was becoming very frustrated by his own powerlessness.

The playground ass whipping is sealed and delivered in the 8th round.  And to ANYONE who’s suggesting that Ward won because he’s a dirty fighter, I say, bullshit.

But to be certain, I downloaded the full fight from You tube.  Then I imported it into my video editing program, and ran key portions of it at 10 percent of the normal speed.   Especially the 7th and 8th rounds.

How Ward  dominated Kovalev

• At 6:24 in the video, Ward clinches while picking Kovalev up off his feet, demonstrating, “I am stronger than you.”
• 8:00 into the video, it is evident to the crowd that Ward is giving Kovalev a boxing lesson  which starts the crowd crowd chanting, “SOG, SOG, SOG (Son of God which Ward has embroidered into his shorts)
• At 10:51 Ward delivers a body punch above Kovalev’s beltline.  Kovalev goes into a big song and dance protest hoping the referee will penalize Ward.   The crowd boos.
• At 13:30 the crowd is enchanted with Ward’s incredible display of boxing talent as it cries out “Ali, Ali, Ali”.
• At 14 minutes into the fight (on the you tube video) I’ve linked to, Kovalev is strong, but Ward’s snapping his punches with a force and speed Kovalev’s not seen before.  This has to be a nasty surprise from a man Kovalev believed lacked punching power.
• At 17:00 Ward motions to the referee that Kovalev has been rabbit punching him to the head.  The video shows 3 rabbit punches inside one minute.  So much for all the protesting from Kovalev partisans and camp about “Ward’s Illegal low blows”.
• By 19 minutes into this video, it’s pretty evident that Kovalev is not t going to be able to put Ward away unless he gets extremely lucky.

Ward takes control

At this point the scorecard is pretty even.  Kovalev is throwing more punches but Ward is displaying an awesome tool kit that’s thwarting Kovalev’s offense at every turn. Ward is also throwing the stronger blows.  It is evident to me that Ward will soon take complete control of this fight.

• At 26:30 Kovalev turns his back on Ward.  (a complete no no in boxing)
• At 28:21 Ward goes to Kovalev’s body twice.  Then he rabbit hits the Russian to the back of the head.
• At 30 minutes into the video Ward clinches and pulls Kovalev around.  Disorientated, Kovalev turns his back on Ward while shielding his head from further attack.  His body language is of man who’s temporarily frightened and cowed.

• By 30:30 Kovalev is looking tired, dizzy, and rattled from Ward’s offense.
• By 30:52 into the 8th round Ward’s delivering a series of body punches (not to the testicles from my vantage point).  None of the punches appear all that hard yet Kovalev’s cowering down.   A look of pure disgust registers in Ward’s face.  In my opinion Kovalev’s  trying to get the referee to judge against Ward.

Andre Ward proves he’s a terrific finisher

•  31 minutes into the video, Andre Ward’s eyes become those of a killer predator.  At 10 percent speed, the video shows that Ward is 100 percent focused on utterly destroying his opponent.
• At 31:30, the American pummels Kovalev with body shots.  There is no fight left in Kovalev
• At 31:45 Ward’s hitting Kovalev at will.

• At 30:55 Ward punches Kovalev solidly to the midsection.  Then he rabbit punches him and follows up with another left to the midsection
• At 31:32 Ward hits Kovalev with a devastating punch to the head.
• By 31:35 Ward’s taken total control of the fight.  At this point Kovalev can do virtually nothing against the American.
• By 32:02 Ward’s hitting Kovalev with three devastating body punches.  Kovalev’s almost on his knees now.  He won’t, or can’t defend himself.  The referee calls the fight a TKO for Ward.

Back to my playground ass whipping Analogy

In my own memory as a 12 year old, a much stronger boy who was 2 years older than I  is pummeling me to the ground.  There was no way I can beat this other kid.  I end up going home with two black eyes.  But most of the time I won, from the time I was six until I was fifty.  There was none of this, “Let’s fight again so I have a chance to beat you up when we meet again.” You either had the other guy or he had you.

Sergei Kovalev finally gets his playground ass whipping

And so it was with Kovalev vs Ward.  Kovalev was the bull, being larger and stronger. While Ward was the matador being completely aware of his total superiority over his opponent. With fifty seconds left in the 8th round, Kovalev knew that by then he had no chance whatsoever. The matador had his sword that amounted to a fantastic repertoire of both defensive and offensive weapons. By then, Ward had imposed both psychological and physical dominance over Kovalev. Ward would knock him out, if not this round, certainly the next.

Two magnificent fighters but only 1 is to be the best of the best

Kovalev is clearly a magnificent fighter.  Unfortunately, Andre Ward is an incredibly talented fighter without weaknesses.   Andre Ward Kovalev II proves to be a virtuoso performance from a man who doesn’t make mistakes.  By the time  Ward finally brings him to his knees , there is no longer any fight in Kovalev.   The final scene reminds me of a fighting bull waiting for the final thrust of the sword. Kovalev, is facing the finality of  ignominious defeat.   Like the kid being pummeled to the ground on the playground, there is no escaping the final outcome. One of these two great fighters had to lose.  While Andre Ward had finally emerged to become the undisputed champion of champions, and the el primo alpha of all alphas.