Andre Ward is a solid fighter, but he has a questionable chin and minimal power. The only advantage he has is that he is bigger (which is a definite advantage), but people are acting like Ward has some unbeatable combination of skills, which is ridiculous. If not for the Super Six, nobody would have cared if he had beaten who he did. It was the fact that all these guys were in a tournament on Showtime that made it special. The six competitors were not all beasts.
Who has Andre Ward beaten that is elite? Froch - who should have about 5 losses by now? Kessler, who's only claim to fame is losing to Calzaghe, and who was headbutted by Ward repeatedly?
His best wins:
A drained Chad Dawson, who had a good run for a little while at LHW but had no business being at super middleweight and who has been discovered to have a glass chin.
A blown up Arthur Abraham, who had a good run at MW against nobodies but had no business being at super middleweight. He also lost his previous two fights in the Super Six before losing to Ward.
Allan Green a B- fighter at best, who has lost every time he's even come close to stepping up.
Edison Miranda - another fighter who has lost every time he stepped up, and was dominated and stopped by Pavlik at 160 which Ward couldn't do.
Carl Froch - the best win for Ward, but it wouldn't be considered as good if Froch had another two or three losses like he could've easily had. This guy has had a bunch of lucky wins. He should've lost to Jermain Taylor but pulled a lucky punch out of his ass right before the end. He should've lost to Groves in the first fight but probably paid off the ref to call it at the first excuse. He could've easily lost to Dirrell in a disputed decision. He barely beat an ancient Glen Johnson. He did lose to Kessler in the first fight, and the second was questionable.
Mikkel Kessler - a good win for Ward, although Ward headbutted him into submission. Kessler is a solid fighter, but nobody is putting him into the hall of fame. Kessler is most famous for losing the fight to Calzaghe.
Nobody is going to see how good he is because he is wasting his career hiding in the weakest division imaginable whilst fickle fans justify it, claiming everyone is scared of him.
Any of other fighter its a case of whats the point, move up, dare to be great.
''Oh hes a small MW'' So? It was only 5 minutes ago your backtracking ass was telling everyone he clears out 168 and 175 now hes too small?
He hydrates to 173 which is as much as Froch and Kessler!
Go up forget Ward! Fight Andre Dirrell should he win this weekend. If no Dirrell his brother or DeGale.
That would be my whole issue with Golovkin, he can hang out at 160 if he wants I guess but waiting around for Cotto and Canelo to fight then hoping the winner finds time to see him. How long is all this taking (if it takes place at all) for a guy already well into his 30's, who has a lot of rounds under his belt (a lot amateur).
The better division his whole time at 160 has been 68, and in those situations guys normally don't hang out in the junk division unless there is a reason (think big fish, small pond).
Now that doesn't have to be true but those thoughts do creep in the longer he languishes at 160 waiting for a decent opportunity.
Ward is an extremely athletic, skillful and instinctual fighter. Not to mention very experienced and a Gold medalist for a reason.
He's the only fighter at 168 or under that I think would beat GGG.
The threat is legitimate and I think that's why GGG is in no rush to make that fight. (not that he's scared, it's just not time yet)
Nobody is going to see how good he is because he is wasting his career hiding in the weakest division imaginable whilst fickle fans justify it, claiming everyone is scared of him.
Any of other fighter its a case of whats the point, move up, dare to be great.
''Oh hes a small MW'' So? It was only 5 minutes ago your backtracking ass was telling everyone he clears out 168 and 175 now hes too small?
He hydrates to 173 which is as much as Froch and Kessler!
Go up forget Ward! Fight Andre Dirrell should he win this weekend. If no Dirrell his brother or DeGale.
You are high.
Nah just really drunk at the time. I still stand by what I said though. Soon enough we'll start seeing how good and dangerous he really is.
Ward is a difficult fight for anyone. If the fight were to ever occur, his inactivity would be the main issue. Ward is truly skilled but his main problem athletically would be his power; which he has none at all! Ward has many talents but lacks activity and that would pose huge problems against a very skilled fighter in GGG.
At this point I would go with Golovkin by Decision. If Ward had some come back fights, then it would be a much closer fight with either a Clear Decision Win for Ward or a KO by a aggressive Golovkin.
GGG is 345-5 at the amateurs. World champion and Olympian.
He can box, but he likes to fight and has ridiculous fire power and great punch selection. He is feared among pros.
Ward dominated in weak division, but nobody fears him.
if ward dominated in a weak division, what the hell do you call what ggg is doing right now?
I call it dominating a weak division
GGG is 345-5 at the amateurs. World champion and Olympian.
He can box, but he likes to fight and has ridiculous fire power and great punch selection. He is feared among pros.
Ward dominated in weak division, but nobody fears him.
I like ggg over any middleweight in the world. but at 168, ward would make ggg look like he doesn't belong. ward is the bigger man, and he is too skilled. good jab, good defense, great inside fighter, good foot work, good speed, and last but not least he is a dirty fighter. ward knows every trick of the trade and all these things spell doom for golovkin.
im a huge ggg fan, but its a difference between ward and geale,rosado,rubio,adama,proska,ishida,macklin
Ward will use his weight advantage and smother Golovkin, same way as Gaydarbekov did to Golovkin in the Olympics final. This fight will be ugly wrestling match to watch. (probability 60%)
If it is clean boxing match, then GGG will KO Ward or win by UD. (probability 40%).
GGG is better than Ward as a boxer and as a fighter, but Ward can still pull that smothering trick on him. Same as what John Ruiz did to better boxers than him back in his days or Vitaly and Wlad doing to better boxers nowadays.
GGG is a better boxer than Ward???? Now I've heard it all. How did you come to that conclusion? Watching GGG knock the crap out of the second raters on his resume. Not now, not ever
Ward will use his weight advantage and smother Golovkin, same way as Gaydarbekov did to Golovkin in the Olympics final. This fight will be ugly wrestling match to watch. (probability 60%)
If it is clean boxing match, then GGG will KO Ward or win by UD. (probability 40%).
GGG is better than Ward as a boxer and as a fighter, but Ward can still pull that smothering trick on him. Same as what John Ruiz did to better boxers than him back in his days or Vitaly and Wlad doing to better boxers nowadays.
... Well said: Ward is "handling" opponents...
... After Golovkin recently asked his opponents to take extensive drug testing, Andre Ward suddenly stopped calling him out...
Did Ward speak since then? Any link?
He is considered a scary fight because we dont know how GGG will handle excessive clinching and butting. My suggestion would for GGG to make proper preparations for this by taping his arm to the heavy bag and his trainer repeatedly hit him in the head with a bowling ball while he tries to work with his free arm.
ward would probably beat golovkin - golovkin is world class at one range, and ward will take that range away from him - but kovalev would batter ward, imo. that's the fight ward fans should be demanding if they really want to see him in competitive legacy fights.
one thing Ward fans (that's an oxymoron isn't it? lol) forget to ever mention about a fight between Ward and GGG is the weight, they just assume it's at 168.
sure, Ward should be favored at 168, but I know a lot of people would favor GGG at 160.
the weight is a huge factor in who you favor in this fight
correct.
wards primary advantage over golovkin at 168 is size. different styles but similar ability levels. ward is reluctant to go to 175 because he would have no size advantage over kovalev.
the refusal to sign up to random testing is suspect too!
You must be new to boxing....
Ward would handle ggg
... Well said: Ward is "handling" opponents...
(After Golovkin recently asked his opponents to take extensive drug testing, Andre Ward suddenly stopped calling him out. Why that?)
Assuming this layoff hasn't dulled him too badly, Ward would almost definitely beat Golovkin IMO. And with Ward's own trainer saying he wouldn't come back and jump right into a Golovkin or Kovalev fight, there's no chance of seeing the fight anytime soon.
Until Ward actually fights again, why bother with him?