How does Kov fare versus the following golden age lightheavys? Spinks Qawi Saad Eddie Mustafa Galindez Marvin Johnson John Conteh Yauqi Lopez I say with confidence that I think he loses to Spinks and Qawi. Some others I'm kinda undecided about. I think Eddie Mustafa on his A game would beat Kov, but he's not always guaranteed to be on his A game. But the version of Eddie who beat Marvin Johnson and Jerry Martin would beat Kov. But I also think Kov does very well and beats a few guys on this list, like Johnson, Lopez, and possibly Saad.
The fuck he does! Stylewise, Qawi is possibly THE worst matchup for Kov. He beats the Hell outta Kovalev.
I figured that . But I do see Kov actually matching up better with Spinks than Qawi. Spinks was a slower starter, and kinda vulnerable early. I envision Kov hurting Spinks in the early rounds. Once Spinks recovers, and settles in, I think he gradually takes control. As opposed to Qawi, who would be problematic for Kov from the start. Kov would have a hard enough time nailing Qawi cleanly. When he does, Qawi had an excellent chin. I think Qawi's underrated jab would be throw Kov off big time, and his compact combinations would beat Kov up. Kov has the classic bully mentality. Qawi was a better bully.
I can't see Kovalev beating Spinks, but the rest is up for debate. Yes, beating Pascal s different from beating Qawi but then again nobody is saying that Kovalev would win every round ans score a stoppage before eight rounds. I can see Qawi swarming him but Kovalev seems to be such a huge puncher that not even Qawi would walk through his shots
Nobody is saying Qawi would walk through Kov. The guy wasn't Brandon Rios where had to eat a thousand shots to walk a guy down. Qawi had an excellent defense and was hard to nail clean. I'd be more concerned about Kov handling Qawi's power. Qawi had that sneaky right hand that came from an odd angle that he often nailed and hurt guys with. He had very quick hands and put together beautiful combinations.
I'd definititvely pick Qawi againts Kovalev. As X said, even if SPinks is a better fighter, I think Kovy has a better chance against him. I think I'd pick Kovalev against all the others
