Honest opinions about ward & kovalev...fanboys welcome too.

Does either ward or kovalev have the feel of the best p4p fighter in the sport? I know one of them will have earned it, but they both lack something for me. I know p4p doesn't really even mean much, but compared to p4p#1 fighters of the past...neither of these guys are very captivating. Ward is basically past his prime, he's a bit boring, has no personality, uses smothering tactics and doesn't even seem that interested in the sport. Kovalev is a bit raw, is a little reliant on power, struggled with a good mover/jabber and lacks personality himself. Kovalev is the kind of fighter i could picture losing or having bad performances against many fighters...ward is the kind of guy i could picture holding the p4p#1 spot hostage and not fighting the fights everyone wants to see. I know it's not possible to win them all in spectacular fashion, but it's nice for a p4p#1 fighter to really have something special that sets them apart from the rest, and both of these guys seem a bit ordinary to me. It might be down to me being negative on boxing in general lately. End rant. Andre Ward has never been a pro fight, in my opinion, where the final bell rang and there was any doubt what the outcome was, while doing so with facing a run of legit fighters (from the Edison Miranda fight on). Kovalev was looking like something similar to that, until old-man Hopkins was able to go 12 rounds, with Isaac Chilemba (another good fighter) being able to go 12 rounds with him as well.

Does either ward or kovalev have the feel of the best p4p fighter in the sport? I know one of them will have earned it, but they both lack something for me. I know p4p doesn't really even mean much, but compared to p4p#1 fighters of the past...neither of these guys are very captivating. Ward is basically past his prime, he's a bit boring, has no personality, uses smothering tactics and doesn't even seem that interested in the sport. Kovalev is a bit raw, is a little reliant on power, struggled with a good mover/jabber and lacks personality himself. Kovalev is the kind of fighter i could picture losing or having bad performances against many fighters...ward is the kind of guy i could picture holding the p4p#1 spot hostage and not fighting the fights everyone wants to see. I know it's not possible to win them all in spectacular fashion, but it's nice for a p4p#1 fighter to really have something special that sets them apart from the rest, and both of these guys seem a bit ordinary to me. It might be down to me being negative on boxing in general lately. End rant. The pound for pound fighters are usually welterweights or below which are more agile, fleet footed, fast and aesthetically pleasing. Every once in a while you get a Roy Jones or an Ali but 168 and above, the fighters are just bigger and less mobile in general. That's kind of my thinking. They are skilled light heavyweights but they are bigger, more stationary dudes.

A boxer doesnt need to have superstar/cross over appeal to be the best. Jones jr was the best and he wasnt a boxing superstar. Kovalev and ward are in a strong division and if either of them dominates that division they deserve to be called the best. correction jones was a boxing superstar

Ward was arguably the best p4p fighter in the sport at one point. Kovalev is dominating one of the glory divisions of the sport. Kovalev absolutely does not lack personality. He has a great personality. He would struggle a lot against fighters? Really? He's damn near run 175 for years and has one less than stellar performance. Otherwise he's obliterated opponents. Besides, the best fighters in history have bad performances against fighters. Saying that the p4p #1 shouldn't have bad performances is completely ridiculous. The winner of this fight absolutely deserves the p4p #1 spot and will be very worthy of the crown. Winning a fight like this is what p4p #1 fighters do.

It's amazing how many people undervalue Kovalev's boxing abilities. I respect his abilities, it just doesn't feel like I'm watching a star who's on another level when i watch him fight. As i said before, maybe i just miss the past era...all the guys i grew up watching are retiring or have retired and this new crop just doesn't do it for me at this point. There's a whole bunch of potential if all the best fights get made. That's one positive thing about this fight.

Thread is a casual black hole.

He's the current #1 p4p. How does his personality stack up to the former #1 p4p fighters of the past? You went from being concerned the fight wouldn't happen to now being concerned about the personality of the possible #1 p4p fighter. But never expressed concern about the personality of the current #1 p4p fighter. You're agenda is clear as day I don't really view anyone as a consensus #1 right now....it's been a bit stagnant for me. This fight will seal it tho. You don't need to approach every topic like you're in an epic battle vs opposing fanbys ffs.

That doesn't matter. It's about personality according to the topic starter. Does Roman have P4P personality like the fighters of the past? In that case, Shannon Briggs is #1 p4p without a doubt. That dude is one funny character... LETS GO CHAMP!!

It's amazing how many people undervalue Kovalev's boxing abilities.

That doesn't matter. It's about personality according to the topic starter. Does Roman have P4P personality like the fighters of the past? It's not all about personality...do you feel like ward or kovalev is on par with mayweather, pacquiao, jones, whitaker, tyson, leonard, hagler etc? All those fighters had something different, but their own something nonetheless.

Since you said Ward is the type to sit on the P4P spot and not give us the fights we want. When has Ward ever done that? He cleaned out his former division. Moved up and is about to fight the #1 in a higher division . He has no history of not giving us the fights we want to see. The only fight I can think of that we wanted to see but didn't happen was the GGG fight and Ward can't be blamed for that I could picture him being a diva cuz he has been one...it doesn't mean that's what's gonna happen. Look at the past 3 years. Would you want that kind of run from the best p4p fighter in the sport. Look at the way ward has acted without much negotiating leverage...that's why it feels like he's not very interested in the sport.

So where is the thread comparing Gonzalez to past years and eras? I Is Gonzales scheduled to fight for the #1 spot in the eyes of many boxing fans?

You used three things to disqualify Ward that has nothing to do with P4P rankings. So I guess this is the new agenda now that the fight is confirmed. Make sure Ward doesn't get P4P if he wins. You people are see thru. I'm not "disqualifying" either guy from anything...as I said, they'll have earned it. They just both lack something for me to feel good about calling them the best p4p fighter in the sport. It doesn't mean they won't be, it's just my personal feeling. Maybe it would be different if i was a big fan of either guy. I just look at them next to past p4p#1 guys and they fall short in the "it" factor. Maybe i just miss past eras.

I think if Roman Gonzalez wins a title in yet another division, he should remain #1 p4p. I think the stronger case would be for Ward if he wins rather than if Kovalev wins, but I still think the top spot belongs to Roman

think youve misunderstood the thread mate, hes not comparing ward to active fighters, hes comparing him and kovalev to those from past years and eras. I didn't think it was that difficult to understand.:lol1:

A boxer doesnt need to have superstar/cross over appeal to be the best. Jones jr was the best and he wasnt a boxing superstar. Kovalev and ward are in a strong division and if either of them dominates that division they deserve to be called the best.

Neither of them have all that much charisma imo but proving your the best doesn't require any talking. :boxing:

im a big fan of kovalev but yeah i do agree, when i watch him i dont think hes some superstar, like i did when i watched mayweather and you knew you were watching the top guy in the sport. And as for ward, well dont get me started... That's a good way of putting it...boxing is full of guys that lack that superstar quality these days.