Andre Ward and Guillermo Rigondeaux boxing artists.

The argument I'll make for Rigo for being better is the following. Mayweather didn't even have Rigo's footwork when he was at 130. Rigo's footwork by far better than both of them. It's not even close. Speed - goes to Rigo. Precision and technicality - Rigo. Two gold medals at the Olympics alone ain't a laughing matter. Rigo's resume and competition with only 12 fights is insane. These two guys were moved carefully. Rigo was ready to fight the best of the best in his first fight as a pro. He's off to a good start, but this best in the world stuff is extremely premature. You say Floyd didn't have his footwork at 130? Um, not true. You must have forgot what Floyd was like at 130. Its just Floyd would opt to do other things also, like stand in the pocket, rope a dope, or walk his opponent down. He even has exceptional footwork at the higher weights. Check his Baldomir fight.. He won that fight with footwork. His footwork is on par with Rigo's, even better in my estimation because he can do so much more with it. I was sort of in the school of thought that May had lost his legs a bit now, but he proved everybody wrong with his performance against Guerrero. Floyd is also more economical in his movement but he can jump across the whole ring if he needs to, he showed that in his last fight! Rigo I may give more footspeed to, but footwork is different than footspeed. Ward and May are overall more well rounded. And Rigo doesn't make it through May's resume either the same way so just stop.... Rigo already been down twice...in 12 fights. And you dare to compare him to Mayweather who hasn't been down in over 40 fights except from a measly glove touch and a hurt hand 8 count? gtfo! lmao I KNEW y'all nsb cats would be tryna say Rigo better than May...

boxing != hit-n-hold boxing != potshotting both hit-n-holding and potshotting = boring you != smart

yep, rigondo don't hit-n-hold and headbutt like Ward does. And Rigondo fights all over the world, not just in his backyard People act like that's all Ward does. Ward is well rounded he does fight a bit dirty at times, but he has skills. He beat Dawson with hardly any clinching at all, just timing and distance control. Ward can fight on the outside, the inside, and from mid range.. He can leap in with leads, or rough you up inside. He can tie up, he can clinch, and he has good/great footwork. My least favorite fight would definitely have to be the Kessler fight. He really felt a need to lead with his head and tie up a lot in that fight, jumping in with singular shots from outside. I was steaming after that fight, but I have seen some of his other fights and he really is brilliant from a technical standpoint. The point is he's more versatile than someone like Rigo, who basically just uses his foot and handspeed to outclass opponents. And he's very cautious, so what. Rigo's output is dwarfed by either May or Ward, and that's the major problem here in any kind of honest comparison. I cant honestly say Rigo gets through Ward's resume on a p4p basis, but I'm pretty sure Ward could handle a Nonito type of fighter p4p. That should be the barometer. Y'all off in la la land or something. Pretty soon you gonna be saying Rigo is better than Mayweather.

Some people like slow-paced dramas, some people like action flicks, some people like suspense and some people like dirty movies.

totally agree. Few people understand all the subtle things that ward, rigo and floyd do in a ring. People who have boxed in their life usually understand how hard it it to do what they do. However it takes all kinds to make a world, fighters like ggg, stevenson and matthysse are also important and bring other things to the table. Problem on this site is that it's full of fanboys who chose one type of fighter and b1tch about the other types because theyre insecure child... chuch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But Today's Boxing Fans Are Very Fickle Minded and STUPID! They don't fully understand boxing, they think two guys going out and just swinging away until someone goes down is "BOXING". So those stupid fans will never appreciate the Boxing Skills of Rigondeaux, Ward or Mayweather so they are the first to call those fighters "BORING" especially if those fighters DESTROY a fighter they like they are really going to hold a grudge much like Donaire fan base holds a grudge against Rigondeaux as well as Froch and Kessler fans are still bitter over the fact that Ward dominated their favorite fighter. To show you he stupid casual fans are, it was just a poll on ESPN about wanting to see GGG fight against "YES OR NO" way more people voted NO then YES which again shows you how STUPID Casual Boxing Fans Are. They are the ultimate Bandwagon Jumpers, they like who HBO TELLS THEM TO LIKE!

kessler, froch, dawson, abraham is a solid resume. i wouldnt say "elite", but they are definitely VERY close to be considered as such. IMO, all the work ward did in the super 6 > anything rigo has done at this point. although, i agree rigo beating donaire is greater than any single ward victory. I hear you on the collective argument, but I would say all of those guys Ward has fought are a step in class below Donaire. And in boxing, guys can dominate many opponents within a certain class, then step up to the next level and look completely different. Even Dawson, who was weight drained and I think is very mentally weak is NOT an elite fighter.

Yea except, Rigo is better than Ward, has real power and doesn't headbutt and clinch every 5 seconds while draining fighters and trying to force others to come up and fight him in his back yard. Rigo >>>> Ward in almost everyway possible Ward shouldn't be in the same sentence as Rigo and I don't even like Rigo I was gonna say something but now I don't need to.

I stand corrected. I hadn't seen that before. It was a good shot tho. I'd still say Ward more durable than Rigo. Rigo has been hurt with much less but it definitely brings Ward down a notch a bit in my eyes in regards to this comparison. I still want to see Ward in with an elite fighter. With only 12 fights, Rigo fought Donaire, a greater opponent than anyone Ward has faced IMO. kessler, froch, dawson, abraham is a solid resume. i wouldnt say "elite", but they are definitely VERY close to be considered as such. IMO, all the work ward did in the super 6 > anything rigo has done at this point. although, i agree rigo beating donaire is greater than any single ward victory.

Mayweather, Rigo and Ward the 3 best boxers in the world clearly! They aren't the best until they conquer the heavyweight division.

12:27 Ward hurt and dropped. It happens, but as long as you respond like a champ it's no problem. I stand corrected. I hadn't seen that before. It was a good shot tho. I'd still say Ward more durable than Rigo. Rigo has been hurt with much less but it definitely brings Ward down a notch a bit in my eyes in regards to this comparison. I still want to see Ward in with an elite fighter. With only 12 fights, Rigo fought Donaire, a greater opponent than anyone Ward has faced IMO.

Rigo and Ward are different, but both (along with Mayweather of course) are masters of hitting and not getting hit. They just do it in different ways. Rigo - Uses stupid ridiculous foot and hand speed to get in and out on opponents. Fights on the outside exceptionally well. Has strong, KO power. Ward - Modest speed and power, but a master at controlling distance. He's usually either too far or too close. He hits you then smothers you or steps out of range. Mayweather - Can pretty much do allovdatshiet above You can say Ward is better than Rigo because he CAN fight on the inside. But Rigo is so damn quick that he can whoop a$$ without HAVING to fight inside thus far in his career. BTW, people using Ward and "brutalizing" in the same sentence should be smacked. Rigo the "runner" as you guys claim him to be still has a higher KO % than Ward. If there is a legit case to say Ward is better than Rigo, is because we've never seen Ward hurt. 12:27 Ward hurt and dropped. It happens, but as long as you respond like a champ it's no problem.

Rigo and Ward are different, but both (along with Mayweather of course) are masters of hitting and not getting hit. They just do it in different ways. Rigo - Uses stupid ridiculous foot and hand speed to get in and out on opponents. Fights on the outside exceptionally well. Has strong, KO power. Ward - Modest speed and power, but a master at controlling distance. He's usually either too far or too close. He hits you then smothers you or steps out of range. Mayweather - Can pretty much do allovdatshiet above You can say Ward is better than Rigo because he CAN fight on the inside. But Rigo is so damn quick that he can whoop a$$ without HAVING to fight inside thus far in his career. BTW, people using Ward and "brutalizing" in the same sentence should be smacked. Rigo the "runner" as you guys claim him to be still has a higher KO % than Ward. If there is a legit case to say Ward is better than Rigo, is because we've never seen Ward hurt.

btw i have to say that i feel mayweather is still a full level above both ridondeaux and ward. at least based on the evidence available

It's commendable but the pros is almost an entirely different ballgame, so I don't care. I have nothing against beating your opponent by predominantly boxing, Mayweather did that against Guerrero, Rigondeaux did it against Donaire, both great displays. The difference is, Ward can approach you in many different ways and still beat you. Same goes for Mayweather, he could have approached Guerrero the way he did Mosley but choose not to. This is why I find them to be more versatile, better ring generals. I'm not saying Rigondeaux should take unnecessary risks, of course not, but it's commendable when your opponent can beat you whichever way he likes. That's all I'm saying...... I agree with most of that. I rate each individual skill; for example, I think P4P Mayweather and Rigondeax are the two who could outbox anybody else, I don't think Ward could. Whereas I think Ward is better than both on the inside, because he needs to use it more than they do. I don't think versatility can be fully shown until plan A isn't working, so far Rigondeaux hasn't had to put it on display because nobody has been able to deal with plan A; whether plan A is countering, ala Donaire, or just straight beatdown, ala Kennedy.

Rigondeaux puts it all together. You seem to completely dismiss the amateur background, you don't win multiple gold medals without facing good competition. Then he's come to the pro's, hasn't fought a fighter with a losing record, has already unified titles and runs the divison in 12 fights and will simply beat anyone he faces. The counter punching has been renowned for years, against Donaire all he did was show it's just as easy for him to do it against what was a top 5 P4P guy. I'm not knocking Ward who's in my top 3 P4P, I just think Rigondeaux is a better fighter. I don't have to be one of those who wait years to be able to look back and say this stuff after the fact, I've already seen him for many years and I already know. It's commendable but the pros is almost an entirely different ballgame, so I don't care. I have nothing against beating your opponent by predominantly boxing, Mayweather did that against Guerrero, Rigondeaux did it against Donaire, both great displays. The difference is, Ward can approach you in many different ways and still beat you. Same goes for Mayweather, he could have approached Guerrero the way he did Mosley but choose not to. This is why I find them to be more versatile, better ring generals. I'm not saying Rigondeaux should take unnecessary risks, of course not, but it's commendable when your opponent can beat you whichever way he likes. That's all I'm saying......

I notice a trend in many boxing fans where they believe defensive fighters are automatically great boxers and "artists". That's not true, a true boxer is a combination of defense and eye catching offence. Guys like Leonard, Ali, Robinson and Charles were artists in the ring. I reckon, out of the two you have mentioned, Rigo is the closest to being an artist, his defense is slick and his offense is better than that of Ward's. Ward fights ugly, there is nothing beautiful about what he does, he comes in behind a jab, grabs, butts and moves out again. His best performance was against Froch and even then his inside work was ugly (I know he had to do that to win) but there wasn't exactly any artistry there.

Opposition needs to be looked at, that's a deciding factor in how comfortable one is in the ring. You put Ward in there against Rigondeaux's level of competition minus Donaire, one can only expect him to look like a monster. Not a knock on Rigondeaux, he is looking to face the best but as we can see the sport is full of shit right now. yeah but donaire is ****ing good though. better than anyone ward has beaten, for my money. he has one of the best résumés in the past ten years . . . and rigo made him look like a schoolboy.

I hope you understand the meaning of 'putting it all together, right? That's exactly what Andre Ward has done continuously. I brought up the fact that he can neutralize your offense while sitting in the pocket simply because that isn't necessarily the case with Rigondeaux. Ward is more of a ring general simply because he can beat you at your own game. The bold, insanely stupid comment considering the only high caliber opponent he beat was Donaire. Ward's defense has been tested against the best SMWs, and he hardly ever gets touched. His defense may not be highlight material but it's exceptional nonetheless. "his countering also might be the best in the sport" Yeah, another stupid comment, Mayweather is the far better counter puncher, as is Juan Manuel Marquez, again...tested against consistently better competition. Rigondeaux puts it all together. You completely dismiss the amateur background, but you don't win multiple gold medals without facing good competition. Then he's come to the pro's, hasn't fought a fighter with a losing record, has already unified titles and runs the divison in 12 fights. The counter punching has been renowned for years, against Donaire all he did was show it's just as easy for him to do it against what was a top 5 P4P guy. I'm not knocking Ward who's in my top 3 P4P, I just think Rigondeaux is a better fighter. Better pro resume? Of course not. Better fighter? I believe so. I'm not going to be one of those who wait years to be able to look back and say how good Rigo was after the fact, I've already seen him for many years and I already know.

Now? He always was. We haven't seen it. This is all theoretical and I think Rigo fans are getting carried away. Pretty soon you will be trying to claim he is number one, if you haven't already. He beat Nonito with his feet and the left. He lucked out there because Nonito is a counterpuncher by nature, he is not good at cutting off the ring. So a fleet footed foe with handspeed will always be Nonito's kryptonite. Due to his shallow professional record we haven't yet seen how Rigo would fair against a top level swarmer with an iron chin, that can cut off the ring. Not so with Ward. His level of opposition is so much deeper and he is so much more tested at a professional level. He's fought all types. To say Rigo is better at this point is absurd. And don't bother with the am stuff... Amateur is a different style from Pro. We are talking about which is the better PRO fighter and that is clearly Ward at this point. You may be able to make a case that Rigo was the superior Amateur fighter, I'm not sure. Two gold vs ward's one. But Pro? Nah...