I really dont see your argument.
Ward went the distance with Miranda, Bute knocked him the **** out.(i was 20 feet from the ring)
Ward struggled with Bika in the early rounds and eventually grinded out a victory, Bute had no trouble with Bika and cruised to a decision.
Bute has KO'd 6 out of his last 7 opponents all credible opponents, Brinkley, Miranda, Andrade, Berrio, Zuniga, Joppy, Bika
Ward has KO'D 2 out of his last 7 opponents against arguably lesser competition Miranda, Pudwill, Buchanan, Green, Kessler, Camou, Bika
Both being home fighters Bute's KO power holds more weight P4P because when he fights in hostile city's he has more ways to win than Ward does because he doesnt just beat people he stops people.
Also you may say Bute got saved by the refs count in the first Andrade fight, but what happened when they rematched a year later, Bute KO'D Andrades face in 3 rounds.And Andrade was 27-1 vs excellent competition when he first faced Bute.
Ability to bounce back strong from adversity is something Bute has shown, yet Ward has not shown that ability yet. And you KNOW Ward is gonna get into a REAL fight one of these days.
I think its pretty clear if Ward is in front of Bute at this point its not by much, I have them neck and neck with Ward the slight edge for his extremely high level of technical skill.
If Ward gets by AA and Froch/Johnson, (which I think he will), he will have far more top level experience than Bute and should be the favorite.
Also, I disagree with the notion that Bute's style is more wide ranging. I think Ward is a very difficult fighter to solve. We've never seen Ward in the kind of trouble Bute was in against Andrade.
Bute does lack the experience of fighting someone who can present him with more than just pressure. No one knows how he can adjust to a crafty boxer like Ward. Ward's lack of power is worrisome to me though.
Exactly what I said above.
You can "think" Bute could beat Ward but there is nobody on Bute's resume that gives you any idea how he would fare against a classy defensive boxer like Ward.
Also, I agree Ward's lack of power could catch up to him, but I see Bute with his wide open and sometimes careless offensive style as being more likely to get caught by a precise counterpunch and stopped than Ward is of being clipped and stopped.
Bute rushes in with that left handed uppercut from the outside and the competition he has faced has been so limited he has gotten away with it to this point.
I don't think you can throw uppercuts from across the ring against Ward and be as successful as you are against Andrade and Miranda.
Bute does lack the experience of fighting someone who can present him with more than just pressure. No one knows how he can adjust to a crafty boxer like Ward. Ward's lack of power is worrisome to me though, but as a result he goes into fights knowing they will likely last the entire distance and prepares accordingly.
A hard hitter runs the risk of falling in love with their power, preventing them from becoming a complete boxer.
Bute's style makes for more exciting fights but Ward's style works the same way against pretty much everybody. He grinds down a win, no matter how boring a fight it ends up being, reminiscent of Bernard Hopkins.
Ward is far from unbeatable though. His lack of punching power should eventually catch up to him. There will be someone who can deal with his style, and Ward won't have the chance to put them out or discourage them from doing what they want. It remains to be seen whether it ends up being Lucian Bute or someone else.
Styles make fights man, easy example, Hatton KTFO of Castillo, with whom Mayweather had 2 really close fights, yet Mayweather KOd Hatton. Another, Ali went life and death with Frazier, Foreman ANIHALATED Frazier, Ali Kod Foreman. etc etc. Comparing common opponents isn't that great basically.
Styles...styles.
In Ward's case we have seen him beat boxers like Kessler and Green along with brawlers like Miranda.
In Bute's case he has never fought anything but Miranda types.
There is no evidence whatsoever that Bute would be anywhere near as impressive if he were to actually fight a highly skilled opponent who understood the concept of defense.
Bute has not beaten one single opponent who is anything more than a face first brawler.
Andrade, Zuniga, Berrio, Brinkley, Bika, Miranda...
His resume is like a who's who of fighters with 0 defense and 0 head movement.
I can't deny that Bute's style has been more aesthetically pleasing than Ward's but if Ward would fight opponents like Brinkley, Joppy and Zuniga he would have a lot more opportunities to look good.
What it comes down to though is Ward has beaten a better caliber of opponent, and he has beaten more well rounded opponents.
There is no evidence that Bute can beat a world class boxer/puncher who knows how to move, fight inside or out, and can actually get out of the way of a punch. He's never fought one, never fought anything even close.
The fact is I enjoy watching Bute fight, Ward on the other hand has one of the dirtiest and disastrously boring fighting styles = not pretty or clean punching fighter.
Ward has great heart and that's his great attribute. I give the Kessler beat down his best win. He always stinks out the joint. I wish Bute would Ko him
15y ago
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