by Cliff Rold

Anyone who was looking forward to a clash between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev before last weekend is probably even more interested now.

Part of the fun of big fights is the build up. Part of the build up is the comparing and contrasting of well-matched professionals. For anyone who likes the former super middleweight champion Ward over Kovalev, they’ve got to like that snappy counter left and the way he got harder to hit as the fight wore on.

For anyone who likes the unified light heavyweight titlist Kovalev, they had to see how often the long jab of Barrera was getting home, had to notice some of the right hands that got in behind them.

We’re on our way to a clash between two of the best fighters in the world, both still undefeated, both still in their prime.

How soon we’ll arrive at the destination, and whether there are any stops along the way, remains to be seen.

Let’s go the report card.

Grades

Pre-Fight: Speed – Ward A; Barrera B/Post: Same

Pre-Fight: Power – Ward B; Barrera B/Post: Same

Pre-Fight: Defense – Ward A; Barrera B/Post: A-; B

Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Ward A; Barrera B/Post: Same

A full recap of the fight was available Saturday night and after a few days to reflect, here are some additional post-fight thoughts.

Ward left the fight nicked up more than we’re used to seeing. The cut was incidental. The bruising underneath his eye was not. It was the result of the leather Barrera got home. Barrera wasn’t quick enough, or good enough, to beat Ward.

His sound fundamentals didn’t leave him embarrassed. He showed himself a capable pro. He could have gone into a shell after the knockdown in the third. He didn’t. He kept fighting, if harder in some rounds than others. Ward has seen fighters with good jabs before (Mikkel Kessler) but it was Barrera’s more varied offense that allowed him some success in spots.

Kovalev sets everything up off the jab and it’s one of the best at light heavyweight in a long time. It’s one of the best in boxing period. Kovalev’s knockout numbers get him too easily labeled a puncher. He can hit like hell. No denying that.

But what makes Kovalev special is that he boxes to set up his power. He’s a smart, skilled destroyer with a nasty in-ring disposition. Kovalev doesn’t just hurt foes. He seems to like watching them suffer.

HBO’s announcers tried to sell Barrera as a power threat before and during the fight. Anyone who had seen much of Barrera knew they were overselling. In the case of Kovalev, the danger doesn’t have to be sold. It’s apparent.

Ward also isn’t what he sometimes gets labeled as. While he does sometimes hold, Ward has shown in plenty of fights that he can win without muddying the waters. He’s an excellent boxer with impeccable timing, comfortable at range and inside.

On Saturday, one could see him timing get better as the fight wore on. Two fights in almost four years are going to mess with anyone. It took Ward a couple rounds to start to get into full gear and a full fight to really start to look like the better version of Ward again. His head movement and sense of distance, his subtle feints, were working against Barrera.

They might need some more fine-tuning before Kovalev. We’re on the road to a showdown. Ward may want another fight in the interim. Kovalev seems to have some plans before a Ward fight too.

That’s good for everyone, including the fans.

This is the sort of pick ‘em fight where seeing both fighters enter at their best possible form should be desired. It doesn’t matter who one is rooting for because if the outcome is a special fight we all win.

Kovalev-Ward might just be special. This is going to be a fantastic road to travel.   

Report Card and Staff Picks 2016: 11-5 (Including staff picks for Brook-Bizier, Eubank-Blackwell)

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com