Andre Ward and Guillermo Rigondeaux boxing artists.

[gmc_rfc_06]

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 ****** 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 ****** 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.

[NEETzsche]

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.

[soul_survivor]

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.

[Doctor_Tenma]

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......

[gmc_rfc_06]

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.

[NEETzsche]

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

[mconstantine]

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 ****** 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.

[gmc_rfc_06]

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 ****** 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.

[mconstantine]

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.

[White_Knight]

Mayweather, Rigo and Ward the 3 best boxers in the world clearly!

They aren't the best until they conquer the heavyweight division.